Hydration Hero vs Waterllama: which cute water tracker fits you?

Pick Waterllama if you want the most established cute water tracker, with years of updates, 140 collectable characters to fill up and support for older iPhones on iOS 17. Pick Hydration Hero if you're on Android, want Power Ups that use weather and health data to tailor your daily goal, want to compete with your mates, want three editable characters (the boy hero, Robo the robot and a fish) who react to every drink and look dehydrated or sad when you skip water, Tamagotchi style, or drink enough coffee and wine that you want them counted honestly instead of as water. Both run on iPhone and Apple Watch, and both work on iPad: Waterllama has its own iPad version, while Hydration Hero is the iPhone app running on iPad.

I'm Sanket, and my studio, Digital Sauce, makes Hydration Hero, so read this knowing I'm biased. To keep it fair, everything about Waterllama below comes from its own App Store listing and website, checked on 3 November 2026. Apps change quickly, so check the current listing before you decide.

What's the quick verdict?

• Waterllama is the more established app. It has years of updates, the Apple awards its listing mentions, and a huge number of happy ratings. If a long track record matters most, it's the safer pick.
• Hydration Hero is the one to try if you're on Android, if you want your goal tailored with weather and health data through Power Ups, if you want friendly competition with real friends, or if coffee, tea and drinks at the pub make up a decent share of what you drink.
• Both run on iPhone and Apple Watch. Waterllama also has its own iPad version; Hydration Hero is the iPhone app, which runs on iPad too. Only Hydration Hero is also on Android.
• Both are cute and gamified. Waterllama has you collecting lots of characters. Hydration Hero gives you three editable characters (the boy hero, Robo and a fish) who react to every drink and look dehydrated or sad when you skip water, a bit like a Tamagotchi.
• Both are free to download. Each sells extras through in-app purchases.

What makes Hydration Hero feel like a Tamagotchi for water?

Hydration Hero has three editable characters: the boy hero, Robo the robot and a fish. All three react to each drink you log, so a glass of water gets a reaction instead of just a number going up. That's the game: you're looking after your little crew as much as yourself.

It works the other way too. When there's no intake, the characters go dehydrated or sad. If you remember the Tamagotchi, the virtual pet you had to keep fed, it's the same idea, except the thing that keeps them happy is you drinking water.

Here's how that plays out across a day:

• Three characters, all editable. The boy hero, Robo and the fish are yours to edit.
• Every drink gets a reaction. Log a glass and all three respond.
• Skip water and they show it. With no intake, they look dehydrated or sad, which is a gentler nudge than another reminder.

Waterllama gamifies hydration differently: its App Store listing says you collect and fill up 140 cute characters. As of November 2026 its listing doesn't say whether they react to each drink or look sad when you skip water, so check the current app if that matters to you.

What does Waterllama do well?

Quite a lot, honestly. Waterllama has been on the App Store since March 2019 and is made by Llama Luna Apps. Its listing says it won a 2022 App Store Award and was a 2022 Apple Design Award finalist. As of 3 November 2026 it has a 4.8-star average from about 4,600 ratings on the Australian App Store, and a 4.9 from more than 164,000 ratings in the US. That's a lot of people sticking with it.

According to its App Store listing and website, Waterllama offers:

• Lots of characters. You collect and fill up 140 cute characters as you drink.
• Apple's whole family of devices. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple silicon Macs and Apple Vision Pro, and has iMessage stickers.
• Widgets everywhere. There are home screen, lock screen and Control Centre widgets, plus Shortcuts and Siri support.
• Plenty of drinks. 150+ common drinks are counted for their water content, and you can create your own. It also tracks caffeine and calories.
• A thoughtful goal calculator. It works from your weight, activity, climate and gender, with options for pregnancy and breastfeeding. Its website says it can take the weather into account too.
• More to do. There are 10+ challenges, 50+ hydration tips, charts, monthly recaps and monthly in-app events.
• Apple Health sync for water, caffeine and dietary energy, and 22 languages.

Its listing also spells out what's free. The free version covers tracking, smart reminders, the Apple Watch app, streaks, the goal calculator, a custom goal, the llama character, the log calendar, lock screen widgets and Apple Health sync. Premium adds 100+ characters, 10+ challenges, 150+ drinks, custom drinks, reminder sounds and history editing. You can pay monthly, yearly or once.

If you want a big, cosy world of characters and an app with a long track record on Apple devices, Waterllama is very good at that.

What does Hydration Hero do differently?

We built Hydration Hero for people who've downloaded a water app, used it for a week and forgotten it exists. Instead of a collection, you get three editable characters, led by a full-body hero you design yourself, and they all react to every drink you log. Here's what it does:

• Drinks counted honestly. Hydration Hero factors in the real hydration effect of each drink, including the dehydrating effects of caffeine and alcohol, and your daily goal adjusts to what you've actually had. A flat white and a glass of water don't get the same credit.
• Mate challenges. You can add friends, challenge them, send nudges and see each other's progress. Challenges work between iPhone and Android, so your mates don't need the same phone as you.
• Habit challenges. Quit caffeine, cut down on alcohol, or add a daily dose of something herbal.
• The basics, done well. Personalised goals, reminders at intervals you choose, streaks, badges, custom drinks, and home screen and lock screen widgets.
• Power Ups for a smarter goal. Power Ups use weather and health data to give you a more tailored daily water recommendation, so a hot day can raise your target. They work the same on Android, with health data from Health Connect instead of Apple Health.
• Optional health sync. On iPhone it can save the water you log to Apple Health, and on Android to Health Connect. Water you've logged in other apps can count towards your goal too.
• iPhone, Apple Watch and Android. The iPhone app also runs on iPad. It's on Google Play as well as the App Store. On iPhone you can try it instantly as an App Clip before installing anything.
• 32 languages, and it's made in Melbourne.

Where Hydration Hero is weaker, so you don't have to find out after downloading:

• It's much newer. It launched in 2024 and has 16 ratings on the Australian App Store (5.0 average), against Waterllama's thousands.
• You need an account. You sign in with Apple or Google before you start.
• It needs newer software. It requires iOS 18.6 or later, and watchOS 11.6 or later on Apple Watch. Waterllama runs on iOS 17 and watchOS 10.
• Fewer drinks and characters out of the box. You get three characters to edit, not a collection of 140.

How do Waterllama and Hydration Hero compare side by side?

Why does it matter how an app counts coffee?

Most water trackers count volume, so a long black and a glass of water get the same credit. But drinks don't all hydrate you the same. In a trial that compared 13 common drinks with water, milk and oral rehydration solution were held in the body better than water (Maughan et al., 2016).

Coffee and alcohol are more nuanced than "they dehydrate you". Moderate coffee hydrated about as well as water in a 2014 study of regular coffee drinkers. In a small trial in older men, wine and spirits caused a short, small rise in urine output, while beer didn't (Polhuis et al., 2017).

Waterllama counts each drink for its water content, which already beats counting everything as water. Hydration Hero also builds caffeine and alcohol into your goal, so a big coffee day or a night out isn't simply ticked off as water. If those drinks are a real share of your day, that difference shows up. More in does coffee count as water?

Which water tracker should you pick?

Pick Waterllama if:

• collecting lots of characters is what keeps you coming back;
• you want an app with a long track record and a very large number of ratings;
• your iPhone is on iOS 17 and can't update to iOS 18.6 (or your Apple Watch can't update to watchOS 11.6);
• you mainly want to log on an iPad and prefer an app with its own iPad version.

Pick Hydration Hero if:

• you're on Android and want a cute Waterllama alternative;
• you want your daily goal tailored with weather and health data through Power Ups;
• you're more motivated by beating your mates than by collecting things;
• you want Tamagotchi-style characters who react to every drink and look sad when you skip water;
• you drink coffee, tea or alcohol and want honest numbers;
• you want to try the app on iPhone before installing it.

Pick neither if you only want a record of what you drink. Apple Health on its own can store water you log under Nutrition, with no extra app. And if you're not sure how much you should be drinking in the first place, our water intake calculator gives you a daily number in litres or ounces.

Are there other apps like Waterllama?

Yes. If you like the idea of a character that grows or fills up as you drink, Plant Nanny (you grow cute plants as you drink, on the App Store since 2018) and WaterMinder (a straightforward tracker, on the App Store since 2013) are worth a look alongside Waterllama and Hydration Hero. We compare them in the best water tracker apps, and go head to head in Hydration Hero vs WaterMinder.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hydration Hero like a Tamagotchi?

Kind of, and that's the point. Hydration Hero has three editable characters: the boy hero, Robo the robot and a fish. They all react to each drink you log, and they go dehydrated or sad when there's no intake, so keeping them happy means drinking water.

Is Waterllama free?

Waterllama is free to download. As of November 2026, its App Store listing says the free version includes water tracking, smart reminders, the Apple Watch app, streaks, the goal calculator and Apple Health sync, while Premium adds 100+ characters, 10+ challenges, 150+ drinks and custom drinks. Premium is sold as a monthly or annual subscription or a one-time purchase. Check the current listing for prices in your country.

Is there a Waterllama alternative on Android?

Yes. Hydration Hero is on Google Play as well as the App Store, with three editable characters (the boy hero, Robo and a fish) who react to every drink. As of November 2026, Waterllama's own website links only to the App Store, and we couldn't find a Google Play version from its developer, Llama Luna Apps. A similarly named app on Google Play is from a different developer, so check the developer name before you install.

Does Hydration Hero count coffee?

Yes. You log coffee like any other drink, and Hydration Hero counts it by its real hydration effect instead of treating it like water. Its App Store listing says it factors in the dehydrating effects of caffeine and alcohol, and your daily goal adjusts to what you've had.

Does Hydration Hero work with Apple Health?

Yes. On iPhone you can let Hydration Hero sync water with Apple Health, so the water you log is saved there and water logged in other apps counts towards your goal. On Android it does the same with Health Connect. It's optional, and you can turn it off at any time.

Does Hydration Hero adjust my water goal for hot weather?

Yes. Hydration Hero's Power Ups use weather and health data to give you a more tailored daily water recommendation, so your goal can go up on a hot day. They work the same on iPhone and Android, using Apple Health or Health Connect for health data. Waterllama's website says its goal calculator can factor in the weather too; check its current listing for how that works.

Which is better, Waterllama or Hydration Hero?

It depends on what keeps you going. Both run on iPhone and Apple Watch; Waterllama also has its own iPad version, and Hydration Hero's iPhone app runs on iPad. Waterllama is the more established app, with 140 collectable characters and thousands of ratings. Hydration Hero is newer and suits people on Android, people who want weather and health Power Ups to tailor their goal, people motivated by challenges with mates, and people who want coffee and alcohol counted by their real hydration effect.

Related reading

• Hydration Hero: what the app does, with screenshots
• Water intake calculator: your daily water number in litres or ounces
• The best water tracker apps: five options and who each suits
• Hydration Hero vs WaterMinder: our other head-to-head comparison
• Does coffee count as water?: what caffeine really does to hydration
• All posts on the blog

Sources

• Water tracker Waterllama, App Store listing (Australia), checked 3 and 4 November 2026
• Waterllama website, Llama Luna Apps, checked 3 and 4 November 2026
• Hydration Hero: Water Reminder, App Store listing (Australia)
• Hydration Hero, Google Play listing
• Hydration Hero privacy policy, Digital Sauce
• A randomized trial to assess the potential of different beverages to affect hydration status: development of a beverage hydration index (Maughan et al., 2016), American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
• No evidence of dehydration with moderate daily coffee intake (Killer et al., 2014), PLoS One
• The diuretic action of weak and strong alcoholic beverages in elderly men (Polhuis et al., 2017), Nutrients

Last updated 4 November 2026. Competitor details are from Waterllama's own App Store listing and website as of that date and may have changed. Hydration Hero platform, Power Up and character details confirmed by Digital Sauce. This is general information, not medical advice.