Respira
Respira vs ZYRTEC AllergyCast
Both are free iPhone apps for tracking pollen. They are built around different ideas, and which one suits you depends on what you actually want out of it. Everything below is taken from each app's own App Store listing, checked on 2026-09-03.
What each one is
ZYRTEC AllergyCast (McNeil-PPC, Inc) — A pharmaceutical brand's allergy app. Its distinguishing feature is a personalised symptom-severity prediction: you log how you feel, and it forecasts how bad your day is likely to be, getting more specific to you over time. 4.2 from about 550 ratings (US App Store, 2026-09-03).
Respira — a pollen and air-quality app for twelve countries, with per-species allergen tracking, a symptom diary you can export, and Home and Lock Screen widgets. 4.9 from 14 ratings (Spanish App Store); not yet rated in the US.
Side by side
| Feature | Respira | AllergyCast |
|---|---|---|
| Countries covered | Yes Twelve: the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom |
Not stated Its listing does not state which countries it covers |
| US pollen species named | Yes Eleven species, from the Google Pollen API |
Not stated Describes "top allergens in your area" without naming a species count |
| Air quality | Yes AQI plus PM2.5, PM10 and ozone, on the EPA scale in the US and the European index elsewhere |
Yes Air quality is one of the inputs to its impact score, with an air-quality map |
| Symptom diary | Yes Symptoms, severity, medication and notes, with a monthly calendar |
Yes Symptom logging, behind a sign-in, feeding its predictions |
| Personal symptom prediction | No Respira reports measured and forecast pollen. It does not predict how you personally will feel |
Yes A personalised daily symptom-severity prediction, its headline feature |
| Home and Lock Screen widgets | Yes Home Screen and Lock Screen |
Not stated Not mentioned in its listing |
| Exportable report for a clinician | Yes PDF export of the diary (Pro) |
Not stated Not mentioned in its listing |
| Destination / travel forecast | Yes Destination forecast and pre-trip alerts (Pro) |
Not stated Not mentioned in its listing |
| Multiple saved locations | Yes Saved locations, synced across devices |
Not stated Its listing describes forecasts "based on your current location" |
| Established US user base | No Launched in the US in August 2026. No US ratings yet |
Yes About 550 US ratings, and the reach of a national pharmacy brand behind it |
“Not stated” means the app's own listing does not mention it. It is not a claim that the feature is missing — only that we found no source saying it is there, and we would rather say so than guess.
Which one should you use
AllergyCast does something Respira does not: it predicts how you personally are likely to feel, not just what the pollen level is. If that prediction is the feature you want, it is the one to use. Respira is the better fit if you want the underlying measurements across more species and countries, a diary you can export for a clinician, and widgets.
The honest summary: AllergyCast has a far larger US user base than Respira, which launched in the United States in August 2026 and has no US ratings yet. If a long track record is what reassures you, that is a real point in its favour, and no feature table changes it.
Try Respira
Free on the App Store. Eleven pollen species in the United States, air quality on the EPA scale, and a symptom diary you can export as a PDF for your allergist.
Other comparisons
Respira is an informational tool. It does not replace diagnosis or advice from a medical professional. Competitor details are taken from their public App Store listings on 2026-09-03 and may have changed since.