Feels vs How We Feel: Two Ways to Name What You Feel
How We Feel is one of the best emotion apps out there, and it shares a big idea with Feels: naming your exact emotion is more useful than rating your day. If you're looking at apps like How We Feel, here's an honest look at where the two differ.
Where How We Feel works well
How We Feel is free, made by a nonprofit, and was built with emotion scientists including Marc Brackett of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Its Mood Meter is a clever way in: you first pick how energetic and how pleasant you feel, which narrows things to one of four colored quadrants, then you choose a precise word. It also offers short strategies and videos for shifting your mood, and it runs on both iOS and Android.
How Feels is different
| Feature | How We Feel | Feels |
|---|---|---|
| How you find the word | Mood Meter: energy and pleasantness quadrants | Feelings wheel: core emotion, then more specific layers |
| Writing | Optional reflection after a check-in | A one-line note with every check-in, plus journaling prompts |
| Looking back | Mood history and trends | Patterns that link feelings to triggers and times |
| Platforms | iOS and Android | iOS (public beta) |
| Price | Free (nonprofit) | Free (beta) |
Who should stick with How We Feel?
If you're on Android, How We Feel is the clear choice today. It's also a great fit if the energy and pleasantness question helps you get unstuck, or if you like having guided strategies right inside the app after you check in.
Who should try Feels?
If you think in words more than in quadrants, the feelings wheel may feel more natural: start with "sad", end up at "lonely" or "disappointed". Feels also leans harder on the short note you write with each check-in, so when you look back you see not just what you felt, but why. Your reflections stay on your device.
Common questions
Is the How We Feel app free?
Yes. How We Feel is a free app made by a nonprofit, with no ads. Feels is also free while it is in public beta on iOS.
What is the Mood Meter in How We Feel?
The Mood Meter sorts feelings into four colored quadrants based on two questions: how much energy you have, and how pleasant the feeling is. You pick a quadrant first, then a specific emotion word inside it.
Is Feels available on Android?
Not yet. Feels is iOS-first while in public beta, and Android is on the roadmap. How We Feel is available on both iOS and Android, so it is the better pick if you are on Android today.
Can I use Feels and How We Feel together?
You can, but most people find one daily check-in habit is easier to keep than two. Try each for a week and keep the one you actually open without a reminder.
Ready to start tracking?
Feels is available as a free public beta on iOS. Download it now via TestFlight.
Download on iOS