How to Choose an ME/CFS Tracking and Pacing App (2026)
With ME/CFS, the hardest thing to see is the link between what you did and how you felt days later. Post-exertional malaise (PEM) can arrive 24 to 72 hours after the exertion that caused it, which is why memory alone so often gets it wrong. A good app makes that delay visible.
A note before we start: we make Mya, one of the apps below. We've described the others by what they say they're for, and said who each one suits. One thing is true of every app here: none has been shown to prevent PEM. They help you see your own pattern so you can pace.
What a good ME/CFS app should do
- Be usable on your worst days. If logging costs energy you don't have, it won't last.
- Link crashes back to exertion, including physical, mental, emotional and social exertion, and including the days before.
- Help you pace within your energy envelope, rather than push it.
- Use measures doctors and researchers recognise, such as the Bell CFS Disability Scale and the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire.
- Build a dated record you can show a doctor, an employer or a benefits assessor, because being believed is half the battle.
- Protect your data. Check where it's stored and whether it's sold or used for adverts.
The kinds of app to choose from
Heart rate and HRV pacing apps
Apps like Visible measure heart rate and heart rate variability, from a morning check or a wearable, and turn them into a daily pacing budget. Their continuous monitoring usually needs a paid plan and a compatible wearable. They suit people who want live, automatic signals and are happy to wear a device.
General symptom trackers
Apps like Bearable let you log symptoms, activities and energy and look for links afterwards. They suit people who want to design their own tracking or manage several conditions. They aren't built around PEM's delay unless you set that up yourself.
ME/CFS-specific trackers
Mya is built around PEM: a daily check-in for energy and symptoms, crash records linked to the exertion that came before them (even days later), an activity diary for pacing within your energy envelope, the Bell CFS Disability Scale and the DePaul Symptom Questionnaire Short Form (DSQ-SF, by Leonard A. Jason, PhD, DePaul University), optional Apple Health or Health Connect sync, and a free PDF report built to be evidence. Premium (with a free trial) adds weekly AI insights, a chat about your own data, and a review of how your days compare before and after a crash.
Which should you choose?
- You want to understand your crashes and build a record you can show others: an ME/CFS-specific tracker like Mya.
- You want live heart rate signals from a wearable: a pacing app like Visible. Some people use both.
- You track several conditions and like to customise: a general tracker like Bearable.
Common questions
What is the best app for ME/CFS?
It depends on what you need. Mya is built for ME/CFS, linking crashes to the exertion before them and building a dated record with the Bell scale and DSQ-SF. If you want live heart rate pacing from a wearable, Visible is designed for that. If you track several conditions, a general tracker like Bearable may suit you. Some people combine a pacing app with a symptom tracker.
Is there an app that helps with pacing for ME/CFS?
Yes. Mya has an activity diary for pacing within your energy envelope and shows which exertion tends to come before your crashes. Heart rate apps like Visible give a daily pacing budget from wearable data. None has been shown to prevent PEM; they help you see your own limits.
Can an app predict an ME/CFS crash?
Not reliably. Apps can show patterns, such as crashes often following a busy day two days earlier, or warn when your heart rate signals look strained, but no app has been shown to predict or prevent PEM.
Can an ME/CFS app help with a benefits claim?
A dated record of your symptoms, crashes and function over time can support a claim, alongside medical evidence. Mya's report is designed for this.
Try Mya
An ME/CFS tracker built around PEM: crashes linked to what came before them, pacing within your energy envelope, and a free report that works as evidence.
This article is for general information and isn't a substitute for medical advice. Valimia makes Mya. Other apps are described from their own public descriptions as of October 2026 and may have changed.