Compare mental health apps and therapy
Eleven comparisons, and one rule for all of them: every price, plan and privacy claim comes from the company's own page or App Store listing, with the date we read it. When two of a company's pages disagree, which happens more than you'd expect (Calm's trial length, Rosebud's free plan), we print both. Joyful is ours. It gets the same checks, it's labeled every time it appears, and we say when something else fits better.
Start here
Picking a journal app: the best AI journaling apps puts seven side by side, and best journaling apps covers the ones without AI. Looking for a therapist: BetterHelp vs Talkspace first, then BetterHelp alternatives for the free and low-cost routes, from $40 sliding-scale sessions to workplace EAPs. Meditation or sleep: Headspace vs Calm.
In this section
- Best AI journaling apps (2026)Seven AI journaling apps compared on price, free plan, voice, CBT tools and privacy, from each company's own pages on October 29, 2026. Joyful is ours.
- Best CBT apps (2026)Eight CBT apps compared on price, what research tested them, privacy and who each suits, checked October 30, 2026. Free options first. Joyful is ours.
- Best gratitude journal apps (2026)Eight gratitude journal apps compared on price, privacy and format, checked October 30, 2026, plus what the research shows. Joyful is ours.
- Best journaling apps (2026)Eight journaling apps compared on price, free plan, platforms and where entries are stored, checked October 30, 2026. Joyful is ours.
- Best mental health apps (2026)Eight mental health apps sorted by need, from sleep and anxiety to trauma and therapy, with prices and privacy checked October 30, 2026. Joyful is ours.
- Best mood tracker apps (2026)Seven mood tracking apps compared on price, what they log, where your data lives and who each suits, checked October 30, 2026. Joyful is ours.
- BetterHelp alternativesBetterHelp alternatives, from insurance-covered online therapy to $40 sliding-scale sessions, health centers, training clinics and EAPs. Checked Oct 29, 2026.
- BetterHelp vs TalkspaceBetterHelp vs Talkspace on cost, insurance, therapists, psychiatry, teens and privacy, including the FTC's 2023 order, checked on October 29, 2026.
- Day One alternativesSix Day One alternatives compared on price, free plan, platforms, encryption and Day One import, from each company's pages on October 30, 2026. Joyful is ours.
- Headspace vs CalmHeadspace vs Calm compared on price, trial, sleep content, AI, therapy and privacy, from each company's pages and App Store listings on October 29, 2026.
- Rosebud alternativesRosebud retired its free plan on September 30, 2026. Six alternatives compared on price, free plan, voice and privacy, checked October 30, 2026. Joyful is ours.
Three questions before you pay
Star ratings won't do it. On October 29, 2026, BetterHelp, Talkspace, Headspace and Calm all showed 4.8 stars on the US App Store.1,2,3,4
These separate them better:
- Who answers you: A licensed therapist, a coach, an AI, or no one? Only a licensed professional can treat or prescribe.
- What happens to your words: Read the privacy policy before the intake questions. Those answers are what the FTC's BetterHelp case was about.
- What it costs after the trial: Look for the full price, how often it bills, and how to cancel.
The second one isn't hypothetical. The FTC's 2023 order against BetterHelp, which came with a $7.8 million payment, was about health questionnaire answers shared with advertising platforms.5
What made you start looking for an app or a therapist this week? Write the moment down in two or three sentences.
Answer this with Joy