Ada is a free app and web symptom assessment. Pymander is a free AI doctor you text, with no app to install.
How Ada works: Ada runs a symptom assessment, asking questions about your age, symptoms and duration and comparing your answers to a database of conditions. Its site describes the free symptom checker as built on AI and clinical evidence, and says it covers around 3,600 conditions.
How Pymander works: you text a phone number and talk in plain language. The AI doctor asks follow-ups, tells you what is likely going on and how urgent it is, and answers medication questions in the same thread.
Price: both are free for the core experience. Ada is an app (iOS and Android) plus a web assessment. Pymander needs no app and no account.
Where Ada is stronger: a long track record and scale. Ada's app page cites 15 million users and 30 million assessments, and its site points to clinical studies on accuracy. Where Pymander is stronger: it is a conversation, not a questionnaire, so you can ask a follow-up, ask about a medicine, or ask what to do tonight without starting over.
Neither prescribes or diagnoses. Both are for understanding what your symptoms might mean and what to do next. For emergencies, call 911.
Verdict: want an app-based assessment with a published evidence base: Ada. Want to text, ask follow-ups and keep the conversation going: Pymander.
Start a free consult by text at https://pymanderhealth.com
What a Pymander AI doctor consult looks like
Common questions
Is Ada Health free?
Ada's site describes a free symptom checker, in the app and on the web. Pymander is free too.
What is the difference between Ada and Pymander?
Ada is a question-by-question assessment in an app or on the web. Pymander is a text conversation with an AI doctor and needs no app.
Is Ada a doctor?
No. Ada is an AI symptom assessment tool. Pymander is also an AI, not a licensed clinician. Neither diagnoses or prescribes.
Can I ask follow-up questions?
In Pymander, yes. You keep texting in the same thread. Ada runs as an assessment that ends in a report.
Which should I use for something urgent?
Neither. For chest pain, trouble breathing, stroke signs or severe bleeding, call 911.