HealthAPI.fit

Deep Dive Guides / Choosing a Health Data API

Choosing a Health Data API

There's no single "best" health data aggregator. The right choice depends on your use case, coverage needs, intelligence requirements, and integration strategy. This guide helps you choose.

The Core Decision

Are you building for mass-market users (consumer apps, insurance, mental health) or device enthusiasts (fitness pros, clinical trials, medical research)?

This single question determines whether you need intelligence layers + smartphone coverage (Sahha, Rook) or raw data + device breadth (Terra, Spike).

Platform Overview

🧠 Sahha

Positioning: Intelligence-first, smartphone-native

Key differentiator: Only platform with validated intelligence layers + 100% coverage (smartphone sensors)

Best for: Consumer apps, insurance, mental health, AI agents

Pricing: Per-user/month

🌐 Terra

Positioning: Device breadth leader

Key differentiator: 300+ device integrations (largest device catalog)

Best for: Device-agnostic apps, wearable enthusiasts, raw data needs

Pricing: Per-connection

🏥 Rook

Positioning: Platform API specialist (HealthKit/Health Connect)

Key differentiator: 10-day data retention, strong developer community

Best for: Platform-first approach, data retention needs

Pricing: Per-user/month

🔬 Spike

Positioning: Medical equipment integration

Key differentiator: EMR systems, medical devices, HIPAA/GDPR compliance

Best for: Clinical trials, hospital systems, medical research

Pricing: Custom (enterprise)

⚠️ Note: Vital Rebranded to Junction (Labs Only)

Vital has rebranded to Junction and now focuses exclusively on lab testing integration. It is no longer a general-purpose wearable data aggregator. Recommended for lab-only use cases. For wearable/smartphone data, consider other platforms.

Complete Platform Comparison

Factor Sahha Terra Rook Spike
Wearable Integration HealthKit Health Connect + Smartphone 300+ devices HealthKit Health Connect HealthKit Health Connect Limited devices Medical equipment EMR systems
Intelligence Layers 5 Scores 14 Archetypes Trends MCP Raw data only Raw data only GenAI processing
Data Retention 3 months Pass-through (no storage) 10 days Pass-through
Real-time Data ✓ Webhooks ✓ Webhooks ✗ Batch only ✓ Webhooks
Developer Support Very High (Slack, near-immediate) Medium (Email support) High (Slack community) Medium (Email support)
Smartphone Sensors ✓ Full support (100% coverage) ✗ None ~ Limited ✗ None
Clinical Validation 18+ studies (University of Otago) None (data aggregator) None (data aggregator) Medical device focus
AI/ML Integration MCP protocol (native AI agent support) REST API only REST API only GenAI features (limited)
Pricing Model Per-user/month Per-connection Per-user/month Custom (enterprise)
Use Case Fit Consumer apps, insurance, mental health, AI Device breadth, raw data, enthusiast apps Platform API, data retention needs Clinical trials, medical equipment

See Full Platform Comparison →

Next Steps