Helvy
HOW WE COMPARE · THRIVA
Thriva is the UK app-led subscription tracker: finger-prick panels and a results-tracking app. Helvy is a curated panel programme with results against optimal ranges and a supplement-routing layer. Both ship from UKAS-accredited UK laboratories.
APP-LED vs PRODUCT-LED
01Thriva's value sits in the tracking app and the subscription cadence. Helvy's value sits in the interpretation and the clear next step.
MARKER COUNT
02Thriva panels typically cover 6-30 markers. Helvy's General Energy & Wellness panel covers 17, the broadest single panel in the range.
OUTPUT
03Thriva delivers reference-range biomarker readouts inside the app. Helvy explains every marker against optimal ranges.
ROUTING
04Thriva sells a broad vitamin range. Helvy offers a short, fixed list you build your own monthly box from.
POSITIONING
Thriva launched in 2017 and built the UK app-led testing category. The product shape is: a finger-prick panel arrives in the post, the customer collects the sample and posts it back, the lab processes it (Thriva currently advertises results in as little as 48 hours), and the results land in the Thriva mobile app. The app tracks results over time, shows trends, and prompts the customer to re-test on a subscription cadence (typically every three to six months). Thriva also sells a separate vitamin range as a follow-on product.
The Thriva model is well-designed for the customer who wants a low-friction subscription tracker: the app is clean, the cadence is automatic, the panels are simple to pick from. The marker counts are typically smaller than the comprehensive panels at Medichecks or the broadest Helvy panels — Thriva's panels generally sit in the 6-30 marker range, with the most comprehensive options being smaller than Medichecks or Helvy's GEW.
Helvy takes the routed-product shape. The output of a Helvy panel is not a tracked datapoint inside an app; it is every marker explained against an optimal range plus an optional supplement subscription you build yourself. The Helvy Plan layer handles the monthly supplement subscription and the six-month retest cadence. The supplements are chosen by you from a fixed list; they are not selected from, or based on, your results.
Both products ship from UKAS-accredited UK laboratories to ISO 15189. The lab work is comparable. The difference is the layer above: Thriva is an app-led tracker; Helvy is a report with a clear next step, plus an optional supplement plan you build yourself. The right choice depends on what the customer wants from the testing: tracking and re-test cadence, or results explained with an optional supplement plan you build yourself.
THRIVA
£49
ENTRY PANEL · UK
HELVY
£99
ENTRY PANEL · HORMONE BALANCE
Side by side
Each row reflects the most representative offering from each provider as advertised on their public site at the verification date below.
| Dimension | Helvy | Thriva |
|---|---|---|
| Anchor price | From £99 per panel | From £49 |
| Geography | UK | UK |
| Biomarker count (broadest panel) | 17 (General Energy & Wellness) | ~30 |
| Interpretation | Every marker, vs optimal ranges | Reference-range commentary in app |
| Optional supplement plan | In build, not open yet | Separate vitamin range |
| Lab accreditation | UKAS ISO 15189 | UKAS ISO 15189 |
| Results timeframe | 5 days | ~2-5 days |
| Tracking app | Web results page + PDF | Native mobile app |
| Subscription model | Optional supplement plan | Optional · monthly |
| Methodology transparency | Optimal ranges published, with sources | Reference ranges only |
HELVY DIFFERENTIATORS
THE LONG VERSION
Thriva built the UK app-led subscription testing category. The flagship is the native mobile app that holds the customer's results over time and prompts a re-test cadence. The panels are simple to pick from and the subscription model is well-tuned for the customer who wants ongoing testing without thinking about it each time. The vitamin range is the follow-on revenue line, marketed alongside the testing.
The app is the strongest piece of the Thriva product. It is clean, well-designed, and the trend tracking over multiple panels is one of the better implementations in the UK direct-to-consumer testing space. If the question the customer is asking is "can I track my biomarkers over time in a clean app with an automatic re-test cadence," Thriva answers yes.
The biomarker count and the output shape are where Helvy diverges. Thriva's panels typically sit in the 6-30 marker range. The output is the result inside the app, with reference-range commentary on flagged values. The interpretation is the customer's job. Helvy's panels run 5 to 17 markers, with General Energy & Wellness the broadest single panel at 17. The output is every biomarker explained against a published optimal range, with the markers that need attention leading the report.
The supplement offer is the second divergence. Thriva sells a broad vitamin range alongside the testing, chosen from a catalogue. Helvy keeps the list deliberately short: a fixed set of well-evidenced essentials you build your own monthly box from, with doses, forms and full labels published. In both cases the choice is yours; Helvy's difference is curation, not breadth.
The interpretation is the third divergence. Thriva tracks the biomarkers themselves over time and leaves the reading largely to the customer. Helvy reads each marker against published optimal ranges with sources (NICE CG181, JBS3, Endocrine Society guidance), not just the standard reference ranges, and explains what each result means. The reading is the wellness output; the biomarkers are the input.
Both products serve a real audience. Thriva is the app-led tracker for the customer who wants automatic re-test cadence and clean trend visualisation. Helvy is for the customer who wants results explained with a clear next step, plus an optional supplement plan. The right choice is which output shape fits the purchasing question.
If you want the broad first look, that is General Energy & Wellness at 17 markers, £149. If you are not sure which panel answers your question, three questions will route you.
WHEN THRIVA IS THE RIGHT CHOICE
Thriva is the right choice if you want a low-friction subscription that arrives on a cadence, results that land in a clean mobile app with trend tracking over time, and a supplement range you can layer on as a separate purchase. The app is the strength of the product; the subscription model is well-tuned. If the friction you want to remove from your testing is thinking-about-when-to-retest, Thriva removes it cleanly.
If you want a smaller panel at a lower entry price point and you are happy interpreting the biomarker readouts yourself, Thriva is a clean fit. The £49 entry price is below Helvy's £99 floor, and the panel sizes are tuned for the customer who wants regular ongoing testing at the lowest friction.
Helvy is not the right choice if you want a native mobile tracker app, if you want the lowest possible entry price for ongoing subscription testing, or if you only want biomarker readouts without an interpretation or an optional supplement plan.
THRIVA STRENGTHS
Honest framing of where Thriva is the better fit. Helvy is not always the right choice; the comparison should answer that honestly.
HELVY STRENGTHS
Where the Helvy programme, with its curated panel set and optional supplement plan, is the right shape for the purchasing question.
WHEN HELVY IS THE RIGHT CHOICE
Helvy is built for the customer who wants the testing to produce a routed output. The report tells the customer what each marker means, read against published optimal ranges rather than just the NHS disease thresholds. The optional Helvy Plan is a monthly supplement subscription you build yourself from a short, fixed list, with doses, forms and full labels published for every product.
The plan is the wedge on this comparison. Thriva does not ship one; the vitamin range is a separate purchase. If the question the customer is asking is closer to "what should I actually take, and why" than "can I track my biomarkers in an app", Helvy is the right shape.
Helvy is the routed UK option. Thriva is the app-tracked UK option. The lab work is comparable; the layer above the lab work is different. The right choice is which output shape fits the purchasing question.
Made up your mind?
If the routed report and the supplement plan are the shape you want over Thriva, order your panel today, or leave your email for the occasional guide.
Frequently asked
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from £99
6 PANELS · FIVE DAYS · UKAS UK LABS
The Hormone Balance panel is the entry point at £99. General Energy & Wellness at £149 is the broadest baseline if you do not know which to pick. Retest whenever you want to see what moved.
FURTHER READING
COMPARISON VERIFIED 2026-06-10 · COMPETITOR PRICES AND POSITIONING MAY CHANGE.
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