Medical ID on iPhone and Emergency information on Android are free and already on your phone, and at home they are enough for many people. Abroad they have two limits: they show only what you typed, in the language you typed it, and only on your phone. HealthPass puts the same essentials on a card a doctor reads in English, German, French, Spanish or Portuguese without an app — and that card is only one part of what it does.
Both keep your conditions, medications, allergies and emergency contacts where a first responder can reach them without your passcode. Medical ID does this from the lock screen of your phone; HealthPass does it with a QR code on your phone, your wallet or a printed card. If all you need is that information on your own phone at home, Medical ID is a good, free choice.
| Feature | HealthPass | Medical ID |
|---|---|---|
| Conditions, medications, allergies, emergency contacts | Yes | Yes |
| Reachable without unlockingMedical ID from the lock screen; HealthPass by QR code | Yes | Yes |
| Readable when your phone is lost, flat or brokenHealthPass card can be printed or carried in a wallet | Yes | No |
| Shown in the doctor's languageMedical ID shows the text you typed, in your language | Yes | No |
| Vaccination recordNot part of Medical ID | Yes | No |
| Health requirements for your destination | Yes | No |
| Doctor's letter for travelling with medication | Yes | No |
| Documents: doctor's letters, device cards, prescriptions | Yes | No |
| Hospitals, pharmacies and clinics near your destination | Yes | No |
| Trip health summary for your own doctor | Yes | No |
| Medication remindersReminders live elsewhere in the Health app | Yes | No |
| FreeHealthPass card and free plan are free; travel features are paid | Partly | Yes |
An emergency card answers one question: what should a stranger know if you cannot speak? A trip with a health condition asks many more, and they start weeks before you leave.
Destination health requirements
What the country you are visiting asks for or recommends, and a watch that tells you when that advice changes.
Vaccinations in one place
Your vaccination record with dates, so a border check or a travel clinic does not depend on a paper booklet.
A doctor's letter for your medication
Diagnosis, generic names, doses and quantities in up to five languages, ready for your doctor to sign — the document customs and airlines actually ask for.
Your documents with you
Doctor's letters, pacemaker or ICD cards, prescriptions and insurance papers stored securely and available offline.
A card the doctor can read
Scanned with any phone camera, it opens in the doctor's language — English, German, French, Spanish or Portuguese — with no app and no login on their side.
Care near you
Hospitals, pharmacies and clinics near your destination when you need one, not after an hour of searching in a language you do not read.
Reminders across time zones
Medication reminders that keep going when your day shifts by six hours.
Travelling together
Companions on a trip, so the person beside you can help when it matters.
A summary for your own doctor
What happened on the trip, sent to your doctor, so a treatment abroad does not get lost between two health systems.
If you rarely leave your own country and your phone is always with you, Medical ID covers the emergency. Set it up — it costs nothing. For travel, use both: Medical ID on the lock screen, and the HealthPass card for the doctor who does not read your language or never gets your phone. You can make that card for free without an account.
Medical ID and Android Emergency information are free and preinstalled. HealthPass has a free plan forever with the emergency card and QR access; PLUS is $9 a month and PREMIUM $15 a month, or $25 and $39 for a single 90-day trip without a subscription.
Make your emergency card in the languages of your trip — free, no sign-up, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
It is a complement. Keep Medical ID on your lock screen. HealthPass adds a card that works without your phone and in the doctor's language, plus the travel features Medical ID does not have: vaccinations, documents, destination requirements and care near you.
They can open it from your lock screen, but it shows the text you typed in your own language. A doctor in Lisbon or Lyon may not read English or German medical terms. The HealthPass card opens in their language.
Medical ID lives on the phone, so it is gone with it. The HealthPass card can be printed or kept in a wallet, and its QR code opens on the responder's own phone.
No. They scan the QR code with their phone camera and the card opens in a browser, with no app and no login.
Yes. You can make a printable card in up to five languages without an account, and the free plan keeps a card with a QR code forever.
Checked: 2026-11-05. Medical ID is a trademark of its owner; HealthPass is not affiliated with it.