Is Aidy Really Free? Why the IBD App Has No Subscription

Yes, Aidy is free. People with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis can use the Aidy app on iPhone or start with Aidy by text message without paying for a subscription or entering a credit card. That was not always true. For a period, Aidy offered paid plans that kept some features behind a subscription. We removed them because Aidy can help far more people when cost never stands between a patient and the tools that keep their care on track.

Is Aidy Really Free, or Is There a Catch?

Every feature in Aidy is available at no cost to patients. That includes daily symptom and stool logging, meal logging by photo or description, medication tracking, and biologic tools such as dose reminders, a countdown to the next dose, and injection-site rotation. It also includes disease activity trends based on the modified Harvey-Bradshaw Index for Crohn's and the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index (SCCAI) for UC, food and symptom correlations, and reports you can bring to appointments. The App Store listing shows Aidy as free with no in-app purchases, and there is no premium tier or trial that expires.

A fair follow-up question is how a free health app pays for itself. Aidy earns revenue by working with health plans, employers, and researchers, along with organizations such as specialty pharmacies and GI practices that want their patients better supported between visits. Aidy encrypts user data, does not sell it, and does not use it for advertising.

Why Aidy Used to Have Paid Plans

Like many early-stage health apps, we tried a subscription model. Under that model, features such as doctor-ready reports, longer history views, and parts of the food log sat behind a premium plan. The goal was to fund development directly through the people using the app.

Over time it became clear that a paywall worked against the reason Aidy exists. The people who most need an organized record of their symptoms, medications, and flares are often the people managing the highest medical bills. A patient preparing for a gastroenterology visit after a difficult month should be able to bring a complete report without first deciding whether it is worth another charge. In early 2026, we removed the paywalls, and every Aidy user now has access to every feature. Shifting revenue to partners who benefit when patients stay on treatment lets us keep the app free for the people who use it every day.

Healthcare Is Already Expensive for People With IBD

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is costly to live with. A Crohn's & Colitis Foundation analysis of insurance claims found that people with IBD had direct healthcare costs of $22,987 per year compared with $6,956 for people without IBD. The same study found that out-of-pocket spending for people with IBD averaged $2,213 per year, more than twice the $979 reported for people without the condition.

Those costs show up in daily decisions. A national survey analysis published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases found that about 23% of U.S. adults with IBD reported financial hardship from medical bills, and roughly 1 in 6 reported cost-related medication nonadherence, meaning they skipped, delayed, or stretched medication because of cost. Insurance did not fully protect them: among privately insured patients in that study, 24% reported cost-related nonadherence. Across the general U.S. population, 17% of adults delayed or went without medical care, prescription drugs, or mental health care because of cost in 2024, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.

Why Staying on Treatment Should Not Come With Another Bill

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are lifelong immune-mediated conditions. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) explains that an abnormal immune system reaction may be one cause of Crohn's disease, leading to inflammation in the digestive tract. Managing that kind of condition means years of medications, labs, and appointments, and each one already carries a cost.

Much of what helps people stay on treatment happens between visits. A 2025 systematic review of medication non-adherence in IBD identified several modifiable risk factors, including poor understanding of the disease or its treatment, poor communication with clinicians, forgetting doses, and not using reminders. Aidy is built around those exact gaps: reminders for each medication, plain-language education with linked sources, and organized reports that make it easier to communicate with your care team. Charging for those tools would put a price on the parts of care that patients can control themselves, and patients with chronic conditions have enough bills already.

How to Get Started With Aidy for Free

There are two ways to start. You can download Aidy: Manage Crohn's & Colitis from the App Store on iPhone, or you can enter your phone number at aidyhq.com and Aidy will text you, with no download required. Either option is free, and you can export or delete your data whenever you choose.

Most people begin by adding their diagnosis and current medications, then logging symptoms and meals for a few days to build a baseline. Over time, Aidy turns those entries into trends and a report you can share at your next appointment. Aidy provides educational support and organization tools. It does not replace advice, diagnosis, or treatment from your gastroenterologist or care team, and any change to your medication should be discussed with them first.