Using a mental health app can be like having your own mini therapist in your pocket—and for some, being able to turn to an app when you need support is not only useful, but can mean the difference between suffering in silence and getting the help you need. As a licensed social worker and mental health professional, I can tell you that all apps are not created equal. Over the past few years, I’ve done extensive research and testing of the most popular mental health and therapy apps out there, and I’ve been impressed at how helpful some of them are—which has been borne out by research. Here are a few of my favorites.
Compare Top Picks
Compare Top Picks
Best for Therapy
Talkspace
Best for Therapy Talkspace
talkspace
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People looking for a wide range of mental health services and resources
Online therapy, messaging, classes, live workshops, reflection questions
Yes, check to see if your insurance is accepted
For mental health services: $69 to $120 per week for therapy, billed as a monthly subscription; $299 for initial psychiatry evaluation, $179 per follow-up session; Talkspace Go costs $29.99 per month
iOS and Android
Yes, 7-day free trial of Talkspace Go
Best for Between-Session Support
BetterHelp
Best for Between-Session Support BetterHelp
betterhelp
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Therapy seekers anywhere in the country who want to be able to communicate with their therapist between sessions
Online therapy, messaging, journaling, worksheets
No
$70 to $100 per week, billed as a monthly subscription
iOS and Android
No
Best for Meditation
Headspace
Best for Meditation Headspace
headspace
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People looking to learn about and build meditation and mindfulness practices
Meditation exercises, mindfulness exercises, sleep exercises, stress exercises
No
Free to download, $12.99 monthly subscription, $69.99 annual subscription
iOS, Android
Yes, 14 days
Best for Sleep
Calm
Best for Sleep Calm
calm
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People who want to improve their quality of sleep and fall asleep faster
Meditation exercises, sleep stories, soundscapes, music playlists
No
Free to download, $14.99 monthly subscription, $69.99 annual subscription
iOS, Android
Yes, 7 days for the monthly subscription, 14 days for the annual subscription
Best for Breathwork
Breathwrk
Best for Breathwork Breathwrk
breathwrk
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People who want to learn how to incorporate breathwork into their meditation practice
Breathing exercises
No
Free to download, $12 monthly subscription, $69 annual subscription
iOS, Android, web
Yes, 7 days
Best for CBT
Worry Watch
Best for CBT Worry Watch
worrywatch
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People who want to learn cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to address anxiety
Guided journaling, mood tracker, CBT exercises
No
Free to download, $2.99 monthly subscription, $11.99 annual subscription
iOS
No
Full Review
What to Expect from Mental Health and Therapy Apps:
How much do they cost? Therapy apps offering online therapy services can offer subscriptions for as little as $70 or as much as $480 per month, while mental health apps are usually free to download with premium subscriptions that you can pay monthly or annually. Mental health apps often offer free trials.
Who are they for? Therapy apps can give you access to treatment for a variety of mild to moderate mental health concerns, such as anxiety and depression. Mental health apps can be a great resource for those who want to learn or practice mindfulness and meditation or who want to improve their sleep.
Can I use them on Android or iOS? With the exception of Worry Watch, which is only for Apple products, all apps on this list are available on both Android and iOS.
Will insurance cover them? Some online therapy companies with apps accept insurance, but mental health apps usually do not. Instead, you’ll pay out of pocket for a monthly, annual, or even lifetime subscription.
How do I use them? When using an online therapy app, you can access all of its services (including video, phone, or text-based therapy sessions and additional resources) through the app on your phone or tablet. For more general mental health apps, download them to your phone or tablet and interact with their exercises, meditations, and other mental health services there.
Will they keep my information private? Be sure to read through any company’s privacy policy to better understand whether it is HIPAA-compliant (HIPAA is the law that protects personal health information) and whether it shares any private information with third parties; we recommend opting out of data collection.
Do they work? As with any venture, you get out of it what you put into it. If you do the hard work in therapy and regularly practice the techniques that an app is teaching you, you’re more likely to see results.
How I Review Online Therapy Services
I’ve spent months trying out the best and most popular mental health and therapy apps, offering everything from meditation to sleep help to mood tracking and CBT; I’ve also spent years testing and surveying real therapy users and reviewing their experiences to help rate and share the best online therapy services. You can see a full breakdown of our online therapy research and testing process on Verywell Mind. Here is an overview of how I capture and evaluate firsthand experience for both online therapy companies and mental health apps.
App Testing
I had 23 testers try 29 different mental health apps for a month each. If an app offered a “pro” or “premium” version, we tried that along with the free version in order to get a greater understanding of all the app had to offer. My testers engaged with their app every day in order to test its services and understand the impact it had on their lives with regular, consistent use.
Firsthand Experience
I had 65 different people sign up for talk therapy with all 55 online therapy companies reviewed. Over the past three years, I’ve published 153 reviews (here are our reviews for BetterHelp and Talkspace, for instance). I had my testers try out each company’s therapy services, and if the company offered other services (like couples therapy and kid or teen therapy) we tested those too.
I asked each tester to try each service for at least a month, which usually meant between two and six sessions at each company. I also asked testers to switch therapists partway through, if possible, in order to get a holistic idea of the offerings and quality of each company. My testers were located all across the United States and abroad, meaning I gained extensive information about each company’s services in a variety of areas.
Cost of Mental Health and Therapy Apps
The price of an app can vary wildly depending on the service provided. A therapy app that you access through an online therapy company will charge you the cost of a therapy session. Often, this comes in the form of a monthly subscription, which will cover sessions for the month along with any other materials or resources offered. Other online therapy companies with apps might charge you per session, meaning you only pay for one at a time, but you can still access those sessions through the app.
Other mental health apps, like meditation or sleep apps, also offer subscriptions, but at a much lower cost. While many apps are free to download and some are free to use, many charge for “premium” or “pro” versions. These could cost anywhere from $3 to $20 a month or more, and you often have the option to sign up for an annual subscription or a lifetime subscription for a lower monthly fee overall.
Why Trust Verywell Mind
Hannah Owens is Verywell Mind’s Mental Health Editor. Hannah is a licensed social worker with a clinical background in community mental health. She’s worked at programs treating those with serious mental illness, providing both individual and group therapy. In her time at Verywell Mind, Hannah has designed and run years of online therapy testing, overseeing and editing reviews of the top online therapy companies out there and writing and editing roundups of the best online therapy services based on our extensive and thorough testing. Hannah brings her unique combination of both clinical and editorial expertise to her work for Verywell Mind.
Licensed social worker since 2019
Clinical background in community mental health
Specializes in serious mental illness
Believes in the mission of online therapy to make mental healthcare more accessible
