Ebb vs Clove: two gentle trackers, one honest comparison
Full credit first: Clove is a genuinely good app, and an unusually principled one — open-source, free, no accounts, no ads, everything stored on your phone. It tracks pain, mood, symptoms, meals, and activities with a calm design. If you want a completely free tracker and don't need appointment paperwork, Clove might be all you need, and this page isn't going to pretend otherwise.
Ebb and Clove actually share a philosophy: tracking should survive your worst days, so both keep logging light, skip streaks and guilt, and keep your health data on your device. The differences are smaller than with most apps — but they matter at one specific moment: sitting across from your doctor.
Where Ebb is different
Ebb is built around the appointment, not just the diary:
- The doctor-ready PDF report. Pick 30 or 90 days, 6 months, or everything — Ebb produces a report with a trend chart per symptom plus your daily ratings and notes, laid out for a clinician to skim (see a real sample).
- A consistent 1–5 severity scale. Every symptom, every day, one comparable number — which is what makes the trend charts and the report readable months later.
- Backfill missed days. Slept through a day boundary or skipped a rough week? Go back and log it whenever.
- CSV export on the free tier. Your full history, yours to take anywhere.
Which one fits you?
- Choose Clove if you want a completely free, open-source diary and your tracking is mainly for yourself — spotting patterns, staying oriented.
- Choose Ebb if your tracking has a destination: a rheumatologist, a GI, a psychiatrist, a disability file — anywhere a clean, charted record of how you've actually been needs to land.
Free tier: track up to 5 symptoms with full logging, history, and 7-day trends.
Premium: unlimited symptoms, full trend charts, and PDF/CSV export for appointments.
Common questions
What do Ebb and Clove have in common?
A lot: both are gentle, low-pressure trackers with customizable symptoms, optional reminders, no streaks, and data stored privately on your device. If you like one's philosophy, you'd probably like the other's.
What is the main difference?
The doctor report. Ebb Premium exports a PDF for the period you choose — 30 or 90 days, 6 months, or everything — with a trend chart per symptom plus your daily 1–5 ratings and notes, built for handing to a clinician. Clove focuses on in-app calendar and insights. Clove is also open-source and fully free, while Ebb has a free tier plus paid Premium.
Is Ebb free compared to Clove?
Clove is free and open-source. Ebb's free tier covers up to 5 symptoms with full logging, history, 7-day trends, reminders, and CSV export; Premium ($4.99/month or $29.99/year) adds unlimited symptoms, full trend ranges, and the doctor-ready PDF report.
Is Ebb on Android?
Not yet — Ebb is iPhone only right now.