Best CBT apps (2026)

Joel Dean, Founder of Joyful
Last updated October 30, 2026 · Facts checked October 30, 2026

Quick picks

• MindShift CBT: best free app for anxiety.
• CBT-i Coach: best free app for sleep, especially alongside treatment.
• FreeCBT: best free thought diary, with no account.
• Clarity: best for a thought diary plus mood check-ins.
• Wysa: best for an AI chat that walks you through skills.
• Joyful: best for doing a thought record out loud. Joyful is ours.
• Rejoyn: the prescription option, used with antidepressants.
• MoodGYM: best-studied online CBT course, a website rather than an app.

The table

Every figure in the table is from October 30, 2026, and Sources links each one. Joyful is ours. Prices change, so check before you pay.

First, what an app can and can't do

An app can teach CBT skills and give you a place to practice them. That's the job.

It can't notice when a plan isn't working, and it can't help in an emergency; for a diagnosis or a treatment plan, you need a licensed professional.

The pooled evidence is modest: small gains for depression and anxiety symptoms over control conditions across 66 randomized trials of smartphone programs, and too few head-to-head studies to say how apps compare with face-to-face treatment.¹ Best mental health apps goes into that review. The makers of MindShift and CBT-i Coach say much the same. MindShift calls itself "not a replacement for therapy or crisis care."² CBT-i Coach says it "is not intended to replace therapy for those who need it."³

In danger, or can't cope right now? An app is the wrong tool. See our crisis resources.

How we chose

MindShift CBT

Best for: anxiety, worry and panic, for free.

What stood out: it's free. Its App Store listing has no in-app purchases at all.⁴ Its site says it was originally developed with Anxiety Canada and lists cognitive restructuring, graded exposure, relaxation and mindfulness, and the app includes a thought journal and a fear ladder.^2,4

The research: less anxiety (a moderate change), less depression and better daily functioning, as reported by 380 adults who used MindShift for 16 weeks in an open study.⁵ There was no control group. Four of the five authors volunteer on Anxiety Canada's scientific advisory committee.⁵

Drawback: the evidence is thin. With no comparison group, the study can't show the app caused the change. It had 4.3 stars from 554 ratings, lower than most apps here.⁴

CBT-i Coach

Best for: sleep problems, especially if you're working with a clinician.

What stood out: it's free, from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, and based on the VA's therapy manual for CBT for insomnia.³ It walks you through learning about sleep, building sleep routines and improving your sleep environment.³ Nothing on its App Store label is marked as linked to you. According to the VA, its apps pass nothing that identifies you to the VA or to third parties.^3,6

The research: a pilot randomized trial gave the app to some of 18 patients who were all in CBT for insomnia, and they used it as intended, especially its sleep diary and reminders. Both groups slept better after treatment.⁷

Drawback: it's built to go with face-to-face care.³ The trial was small: 18 people. It didn't show the app added anything on its own.⁷

FreeCBT

Best for: a plain thought diary with no subscription.

What stood out: it's free and ad-free, and its code is open source.⁸ It walks you through the three-column technique: write the automatic thought, check it for distortions, then write an alternative.⁹ The only data on its App Store label is crash and performance data, and none of it is tied to you.⁹

Drawback: one small developer, 170 App Store ratings, and no research on the app.⁹ It does one exercise. That's all.

Clarity

Best for: a thought diary plus daily mood check-ins in one app.

What stood out: its listing covers spotting cognitive distortions, guided journals, mood and activity tracking, and an AI chatbot.¹⁰ It had 4.8 stars from 29,450 ratings.¹⁰

Drawback: tracking. On its App Store label, identifiers and usage data both fall under data that may be used to track you across other companies' apps and websites.¹⁰ The in-app list puts Pro Mode anywhere from $9.99 to $69.99 and doesn't mark which price is monthly and which is yearly.¹⁰ Its listing quotes testimonials. It names no study of the app.

Wysa

Best for: an AI chat that suggests a CBT or DBT skill for what you're facing.

What stood out: Wysa says its techniques are "inspired from" CBT and DBT, plus meditation, and that you stay anonymous.¹¹ Wysa's App Store label marks no data as linked to you.¹¹ Paid "guided support" with a mental health professional costs extra.¹¹

Drawback: the prices stack up. Premium started at $74.99 a year on its list, and guided support was $29.99 a week or $79.99 a month.¹¹ Its "93% find it helpful" figure is the company's own.¹¹

Joyful (ours)

Best for: doing a thought record by talking instead of filling in boxes.

What stood out: you do the thought record out loud, on a voice call with Joy, who remembers earlier calls. The Thought Record guided entry takes one thought at a time, and each entry gets a summary of emotions, themes and thinking patterns. After 10 free entries in the app, the App Store lists Joyful at $13.99 a month or $118.99 a year.¹²

Drawback: no published research on Joyful, only 10 free entries, and it costs more than every free app above. It's a journaling companion, with no CBT lessons to work through. We built it. Read this entry with that in mind. Want to practice without an app first? Our free thought record works in your browser.

Rejoyn

Best for: adults 22 and older with depression who already take an antidepressant, through their doctor.

What stood out: Rejoyn's listing says it is authorized by the FDA and needs a prescription.¹³ Over 6 weeks, it delivers brain-training exercises and short skills lessons, in less than 2 hours a week.¹³

The research: its phase 3 trial randomized 386 adults, who all kept taking their medication, to Rejoyn or to a sham app with a working memory task. In the main analysis, the difference on the depression scale at 6 weeks was 1.78 points, just short of statistical significance (P = 0.0568).¹⁴ A wider analysis of everyone randomized favored Rejoyn.¹⁴ Most authors worked for the companies behind it.¹⁴

Drawback: you can't just download and use it. It's an add-on to medication and isn't meant to be used alone.¹³ Its App Store rating was 3.8 from 30 ratings.¹³

MoodGYM

Best for: a structured CBT course in five modules, on the web.

What stood out: it was built by researchers at the Australian National University and is now run by e-hub Health.¹⁵ The five modules cover feelings, thoughts, "unwarping," destressing and relationships.¹⁵

The research: a meta-analysis of 11 randomized comparisons found a small effect on depression symptoms and a medium one on anxiety.¹⁶ After adjusting for publication bias, the depression effect was no longer significant. The authors add that adherence can fall below 10%.¹⁶

Drawback: it isn't an app. It costs AU$39 for 12 months.¹⁷ It's for people aged 16 and older, or 18 in the US.¹⁷

Free options and privacy compared

Every label above is the developer's own account, copied from the US App Store on October 30, 2026.^{4,3,9,10,11,12,13} Apple adds to each one that the information "has not been verified by Apple," and we didn't audit them either.

For an app we didn't cover, look it up on MIND (mindapps.org), where 491 apps have been rated by trained raters at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's Division of Digital Psychiatry against the American Psychiatric Association's app evaluation framework.¹⁸

Which one is best for you

• You want to start for free: MindShift CBT for anxiety, CBT-i Coach for sleep, or FreeCBT for a thought diary.
• Your therapist gave you CBT homework: CBT-i Coach for sleep, or a thought diary you'll open every day. MindShift can export your thought records for a clinician.²
• You want something to talk back: Wysa, or Joyful (ours) if you'd rather speak than type.
• You take an antidepressant and still feel low: ask your doctor whether Rejoyn fits.
• You'd like a full course with modules: MoodGYM.
• You'd rather work with a CBT therapist: what CBT is covers how to find one, and BetterHelp alternatives lists free and low-cost therapy.

Questions people ask

What is the best app for CBT?

For most people starting out, MindShift CBT. It's free and has a published study behind it.^4,5 For sleep, CBT-i Coach is free and built on the VA's insomnia manual.³

What is the best free app for CBT?

Three are fully free: MindShift CBT, CBT-i Coach and FreeCBT. None has a paid tier on its App Store listing.^4,3,9 You can also do a thought record on paper with our CBT worksheets.

Can an app replace CBT with a therapist?

No. Apps beat no help on average, with small effects, and there are too few studies to compare them with a therapist.¹ For a diagnosis, a plan that changes when it isn't working, or help in a crisis, you need a professional.

Is Woebot still available?

Not to the public. On October 30, 2026, its App Store listing said you need an access code from a provider, employer or other partner to use it.¹⁹