Migraine Buddy vs Claru (2026): Honest Comparison

Short answer: Migraine Buddy is the safe, established choice. It has a huge community, a generous free plan and years of polish. Claru is the better pick if you want to log an attack in a few seconds by voice, see a daily risk forecast built from your own data, and keep the app calm and simple when your head is pounding. If you mostly want free doctor reports and a community to talk to, stay with Migraine Buddy.

We make Claru, so read this with that in mind. We have tried to be fair: every claim about Migraine Buddy below comes from its App Store listing, website or privacy policy as of October 12, 2026, and we say plainly where it is ahead.

At a glance

Logging an attack: the biggest practical difference

A migraine diary only works if you fill it in on bad days. That is where the two apps feel most different.

Migraine Buddy uses a step-by-step form. You record the start, pain level, where it hurts, symptoms, triggers, medication, what helped and notes, one screen after another. It is thorough, and you can skip screens or start an attack now and complete it later. In recent Google Play reviews the most common complaint is not missing features. It is that starting and ending attacks takes too many taps and feels confusing.

Claru starts from the opposite end. Tap the microphone and say something like: "Started around two, throbbing on the left side, about a seven, slept badly, took ibuprofen." Claru's AI turns that into onset time, severity, pain type, location, trigger and medication, and shows you the filled form to check. Free accounts get three voice logs a month and unlimited manual logs; Pro removes the limit.

If you press the "I have a migraine now" button, Claru switches to Migraine Mode: a full-screen, dark view with bigger buttons, an optional auto-dim, no tab bar to swipe into by accident and your emergency contact one tap away. Migraine Buddy's dark default theme is well liked, but it does not have a separate attack mode like this.

Verdict: If you want the most detail per attack, Migraine Buddy's form is hard to beat. If your attacks leave you unable to read a screen properly, Claru is easier to use when it counts.

Forecasts: looking back versus looking ahead

Migraine Buddy's free plan includes a weather and barometric pressure forecast, which is genuinely useful if pressure swings affect you. MBplus adds weather and trigger reports and an estimate of how long an attack might last. We did not find a personal "how likely am I to get a migraine" forecast in its current App Store description.

Claru's home screen leads with a daily risk level (low, moderate, high or severe) and a confidence score. Underneath it, cards explain why: a recent cluster of attacks, a weekday that is often bad for you, a pressure drop, poor air quality, a short night, high stress or a phase of your cycle. The forecast and the drivers are free. You can also turn on alerts for high-risk days.

A forecast is not a guarantee, and nobody should plan their life around one. But knowing that tomorrow looks risky is a reason to protect your sleep, keep water and medication close and move the hard meeting if you can.

Verdict: Claru. Migraine Buddy tells you what the weather will do; Claru tells you what that, plus your own history, might mean for you.

Finding patterns and triggers

Both apps need a few weeks of entries before patterns mean anything.

In Migraine Buddy, the Patterns section, the Good Days Guide and charts that put your cycle, pressure and sleep next to your attacks are MBplus features. Its automatic sleep recording is free, which is a real advantage if you do not want to log sleep yourself.

Claru shows timing patterns (time of day, day of week), monthly frequency and severity for free once you have about ten entries. Pro adds weather, pressure, air quality and pollen correlations, combinations such as "stress plus poor sleep", medication effectiveness with average time to relief, sleep and exercise correlations and a weekly written summary of what changed.

One detail we care about: a few hours after you log an attack, Claru asks whether you are better, the same or worse and what helped. Most diaries lose this information because nobody goes back to fill it in. Over months it is what tells you which medication actually works for you, and how fast.

Verdict: Close. Migraine Buddy has more years of refinement and free sleep detection. Claru has the follow-up check-in and multi-factor patterns that suit people who want answers, not just charts.

Reports for your doctor

This is a point for Migraine Buddy. Its Migraine Impact Report and diary export are free, and reviewers often mention taking them to neurologist appointments.

Claru's doctor report is a Pro feature. You choose the period (7 days, 30 days or 3 months) and the sections: overview, frequency, severity, triggers, medication log, relief follow-ups and the full entry list. It comes out as a clean PDF you can email or print. If you want a free option, our printable headache diary and doctor appointment checklist cover the basics.

Price

Prices are from the US App Store on October 12, 2026 and vary by country and promotion. Migraine Buddy shows several price points, so check what your store shows you. The honest summary: Migraine Buddy gives away more for free, and Claru is cheaper if you pay for a year.

Data and privacy

Neither app is a medical device, and both use analytics. Two differences are worth knowing.

Migraine Buddy is owned by Aptar Digital Health, which bought its developer Healint in 2024. Its privacy policy says that by using the app you agree to your migraine data being analysed and disclosed anonymously, and that research may be sponsored by Aptar or third parties. Over the years the app has supported real-world studies with pharmaceutical companies. You can switch off research participation in your profile.

Claru's privacy policy says we do not sell your health data. You can export everything as a file or delete all your data and your account from inside the app. Read both policies yourself; they are short enough to skim.

Who should choose Migraine Buddy

• You want the largest community of people with migraine to chat with.
• You need free reports for doctor visits and will not pay for an app.
• You like recording every attack in detail and do not mind several screens.
• You use an iPad or Mac, or a language Claru does not support yet.

Who should choose Claru

• Logging during an attack is the part you always skip.
• You want to know whether today or tomorrow looks risky, and why.
• You want the app to ask how your treatment worked, so you learn what helps.
• You prefer a calm, simple app over a feature-packed one.
• You would rather pay $59.99 a year than up to $89.99.

Switching from Migraine Buddy

You do not need to throw away your history. Before you switch, export your Migraine Buddy diary or Migraine Impact Report and save it; it is still useful for your doctor. Then set up Claru with your current medications and the triggers you already suspect. Log every attack and a few normal days for three or four weeks, and Claru's insights will start to fill in. Some people run both apps for a month to compare. If you do, pick one as your main record so your history does not split in two.

Still deciding between several apps? Our comparison of five migraine trackers and guide to what to log in a migraine tracker help you test any app with a realistic entry. We have also compared Claru with Bearable and N1-Headache, and rounded up the best Migraine Buddy alternatives.

This comparison is based on public store listings, websites and privacy policies checked on October 12, 2026. Features and prices change; check the current listing before you buy. Claru is a wellness tool and does not replace medical advice.