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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

athenaText vs Aetna Health

athenaText 3.9★ · Free to download 40
Winner Aetna Health
Aetna Health 4.7★ · Free to download 70

Aetna Health is the better choice for general health insurance management due to its broader functionality and higher user satisfaction, despite some technical issues, while athenaText is a niche communication tool for healthcare professionals with significant reliability problems.

Full reviews: athenaText · Aetna Health

Aetna Health, with a significantly higher lifetime rating and vastly more reviews, offers a comprehensive platform for managing health insurance, though it struggles with technical glitches and provider directory accuracy. athenaText, while praised for secure staff communication, is plagued by persistent login, update, and notification issues that severely impact its usability for healthcare professionals.

Head to head

Features & Functionality edge: Aetna HealthR2R3R7R8
athenaText athenaText is designed for secure, HIPAA-compliant communication among healthcare staff, allowing for efficient team updates and communication from various locations R2R20. However, users report limitations like inability to attach patient charts, lack of group support on the iPhone app, and missing features like dictation or chart sign-off R3R7. Some users also desire snooze functionality for notifications or the ability to copy and paste text R8.
Aetna Health Aetna Health provides features for managing insurance benefits, finding care providers, viewing ID cards, and submitting claims . However, users frequently encounter issues with the provider directory being outdated or inaccurate, making it difficult to find in-network doctors or confirm specialties . The app's AI assistant is often criticized for providing incorrect or unhelpful responses , and the claims submission process is described as intentionally difficult . Some users also report the inability to add ID cards to Apple Wallet despite the feature being advertised .
Ease of Use tieR1R3R4R5
athenaText When athenaText works, users find it easy to use, convenient, and user-friendly for quick communication R5. However, many users report significant usability issues, including constant logouts, requiring frequent sign-ins R1R4, notifications not working or messages not loading R6R10, and the app getting stuck on 'syncing' . Some experience controls disappearing or being unable to scroll , and the app is described as 'clunky' R3.
Aetna Health Aetna Health is praised by some for its good UI/UX design and easy accessibility . However, a significant number of users find the app not user-friendly, describing the interface as a 'confusing mess' and difficult to navigate . The login process can be cumbersome , and the search function for providers is often criticized for being restrictive, slow, or providing irrelevant results .
Reliability & Performance tieR6R10R17R19
athenaText athenaText suffers from severe reliability issues, with many users reporting the app constantly crashing R41, not loading messages R6, or being completely unusable after updates R17R19. Users frequently have to delete and reinstall the app to get it to work temporarily R6R41. There are also reports of the app not notifying users of new messages, risking delayed provider notification R10.
Aetna Health Aetna Health also faces significant reliability challenges, with users frequently encountering 'technical issues' or 'system temporarily unavailable' messages that prevent login or use of app functions . Some users report the app being slow, laggy, and glitchy . There are also issues with the app not working on older phone models due to update requirements . However, some users report consistent performance and fast responses .
Support & Updates tieR6R10R15R17
athenaText athenaText users report poor support, with issues like notifications not working being reported to support monthly without a fix R10. Feedback submission within the app is broken, preventing users from sharing detailed issues R15. Users are often told to reinstall the app as a solution R6. There are also persistent problems with forced updates that lead to an endless loop of being prompted to update without an actual update option R17R19.
Aetna Health Aetna Health users report that messaging through the app often leads to 'AI garbage' responses, making it a waste of time compared to phone support . Some users have experienced IT services suggesting trying a different browser when the app isn't working . The app also has issues with forced updates that prevent access for users with older phones .
Pick athenaText if

You are a healthcare professional who needs a HIPAA-compliant messaging tool for internal staff communication, and you are willing to tolerate frequent technical issues and workarounds to use it R2.

Pick Aetna Health if

You are an Aetna insurance member looking for an app to manage your benefits, find providers, and access ID cards, and you are prepared to deal with occasional technical glitches and potentially inaccurate information .

Evidence note: The review base for Aetna Health is significantly larger, which naturally leads to a wider range of reported issues despite its higher average rating. athenaText's smaller user base still reports pervasive and critical reliability problems.

Frequently asked

Are these apps free to use?
Both athenaText and Aetna Health are free to download and use, though athenaText is a companion app for healthcare providers using the athenaOne platform, and Aetna Health is for Aetna insurance members (Free to download for both apps).
Which app is more reliable?
Neither app is consistently reliable, as both athenaText and Aetna Health users report frequent issues with crashing, login problems, and technical errors (R1, R4, R17, R41, , for athenaText; , , , , , for Aetna Health).
Can I use these apps on an iPad?
Aetna Health users report that the app is not formatted for iPad screens and is difficult to navigate on a larger device, suggesting a dedicated iPad version is needed R63R69R84. athenaText reviews do not specifically mention iPad formatting, but one user notes it can be utilized on an iPad R20.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R2] athenaText 5/5 · US APN review: Excellent tool for staff communication!
  2. [R3] athenaText 3/5 · US Clunky: The new version of the app that’s embedded in AthenaOne works well. But the iPhone app doesn’t and never has. You cannot attach a patient chart. While the version in athena one supports groups, the iPhone app doesn’t appear to - I can’t find my groups when I type the group name. And when typing individual recipient names, it often double- enters the name after selecting from matches, then
  3. [R7] athenaText 2/5 · US OBGYN: The reason for me to rate this at 3 is because neither can I dictate nor can I enter info through texting in my encounters - hence I cannot sign off on charts on my phone
  4. [R8] athenaText 4/5 · US Snooze Functionality (like the Outlook iOS app)?: Apps pretty good! But I’d love if we could get snooze functionality (like in the Microsoft Outlook iOS app) where we can disable notifications when we’re off of work…then I’d give 5 stars. :)
  5. [R1] athenaText 1/5 · US Logs out all the time.: Logs out all the time.
  6. [R4] athenaText 1/5 · US Have to sign in everytime you open app: This app used to stay signed in everytime I needed to open it with the occasional re sign in every so often. Now, it requires to sign in everytime you open the app. Not sure what the point of that was as it takes away the convenience of the app and takes time to sign in everytime I need to use the app. Pretty pointless app now since it takes 10 min to sign i
  7. [R5] athenaText 5/5 · US Works well: Convenient and reliable
  8. [R6] athenaText 3/5 · US App needs work: The concept of this app is great but it needs work. Every time I make a comment about it, I’m told to remove the app and redownload it. No other app do I have to do that with. It works for a while and then the notifications stop coming, it won’t show new employees, and it will sometimes give you a notification but won’t load the new message. I have to close out several times to get
  9. [R10] athenaText 1/5 · US Dangerous game: Due to continues issues last year with app not notifying is risking delaying provider notification when staff tries to reach provider. Have told Athena support almost monthly, yet no fix
  10. [R17] athenaText 1/5 · US Update issue: I’m constantly getting this message when I open the Athena app. I click on the update link and it takes me to the App Store and it shows the Athena app and the link to “open”. I open the app and in circles I go. When I change my pass code, it’ll work until I open the app again. What’s going on? “App Update Required! The current app version you are using is obsolete. To continue us
  11. [R19] athenaText 2/5 · US Athenatext: Smh Athenatext continues to go in and out whether in office or if you’re trying to use the app. Attempting to use the app I keep getting an update message when the app has already updated. Please fix this is annoying.
  12. [R15] athenaText 1/5 · US Nightmare: The app constantly asks me how I like the app. Every single time, I select it needs improvement. Then it asks me if I'd like to share feedback, which I say yes. Then it tells me that an error occurred and that I’m unable to submit a Feedback response. So if you’re looking to fix anything, try fixing the feedback option so that users can give you accurate feedback about how much this app
  13. [R41] athenaText 1/5 · US Crashes almost every time: Subject says it all. Have had to reinstall it multiple times - essentially useless with current glitches.
  14. [R20] athenaText 5/5 · US Efficient way to communicate: Easy to use across platforms. Can utilize on iPad, laptop and phone quickly
  15. [R63] Aetna Health 3/5 · US Formatting for iPad: I like the app but it no longer if formatted to fit the iPad screen. I am typing on a giant touchpad and can’t see most of the screen. Perhaps it might be better on my iPhone.
  16. [R69] Aetna Health 3/5 · US No IPAD version: This app should be IPAD compatible. It will make it easier to navigate on this device.
  17. [R84] Aetna Health 3/5 · US App for iPad: Aetna app for iPhone is hard to maneuver through on a small screen. Can you develop one for iPad?

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store