The short version: poop tracking is free. Food, symptom and most other tracking is part of Balloon Plus.
You can use Balloon indefinitely without paying — logging your bowel movements, timing them, and using the guided belly massage sessions all work on the free version. The features that analyse what you eat and how you feel are the ones that need a subscription.
Free - no subscription needed
Poop logging - log as many bowel movements as you like, with Bristol type, colour, size, duration and notes
Poop timer - time how long you spend, and log straight from it
Belly massage - the full set of guided massage sessions
Your daily, weekly and monthly overview — the 7-day card on your dashboard, Day View and a monthly calendar view
Gut health report - share a PDF summary of your data with your doctor
Analysis - charts related to your poops
Balloon Plus
Food and meal logging, including AI photo analysis of your meals
Fiber tracking against a daily target
Symptom tracking
Mood tracking (iOS 18 and later)
Medication and supplement tracking
Water tracking
Apple Watch app
Apple Health sync for your fiber data
Monthly charts and unlimited history - the free version shows recent 7-day data; Plus opens up your full record
Habit correlations - see how sleep, steps, stress and other habits line up with your gut
Priority support
A common mix-up
You may have read that "core tracking features are free." That means poop tracking specifically. Food and symptom logging are not free — they're part of Plus. If you've been told otherwise, we're sorry for the confusion.
The quickest way to tell in the app: open the "+" menu. Anything with a small lock icon next to it needs Plus. Tapping it opens the subscription screen rather than the feature.
What happens if I cancel
You keep full access to poop tracking, and none of your data is deleted — your food, symptom and other Plus logs stay in your account. You just won't be able to add to them or see the Plus analysis until you resubscribe.
Cost and free trial
Balloon Plus comes as a monthly or annual subscription, and the annual plan includes a 7-day free trial. Prices vary by country, so you'll see the exact amount for your region in the App Store. Subscriptions are handled by Apple.
If money is tight, message us through the in-app chat — we work with people case by case so cost isn't a barrier to looking after your gut health.