#1 · Woebot (DISCONTINUED June 2025)
Best for: (Used to be: learning CBT systematically through a chatbot)Stanford-built CBT chatbot, RCT-evidenced — consumer app shut down June 30, 2025.
Was the best CBT chatbot in the category — the decision-tree approach kept the CBT teaching accurate and consistent — but Woebot Health retired the consumer app on June 30, 2025. Listed to document the gap. For a live replacement, Wysa's free tier is the closest CBT chatbot and MindShift the most clinically credible free option; see our Woebot alternatives roundup.
Strengths
- +(Historical) Built by Stanford clinical psychologists
- +(Historical) Published RCT evidence (multiple studies since 2017)
- +(Historical) Free for consumer use
- +(Historical) Decision-tree consistency meant CBT was taught accurately
Where it falls short
- −DISCONTINUED — Woebot Health retired the consumer app on June 30, 2025; not downloadable in 2026
- −(Historical) Scripted — limited responsiveness to specifics
Pricing
(Was free; consumer app discontinued.)
vs. ILTY
Woebot is no longer available to consumers. Historically it won for systematic CBT teaching; ILTY uses CBT principles but isn't a CBT curriculum.
#2 · Wysa
Best for: Gentle CBT with human-coach upgrade pathCBT chatbot with optional human-coach add-on.
Second-best CBT chatbot, with the meaningful differentiator of a real human coach if AI-only isn't enough.
Strengths
- +Multiple peer-reviewed studies
- +Free tier covers core CBT exercises
- +Real human-coach upgrade for harder cases
Where it falls short
- −Decision-tree feels scripted
- −Tone defaults to gentle
Pricing
Free tier; ~$99/yr Premium.
vs. ILTY
Wysa wins for CBT-chatbot-with-coach. ILTY wins for conversation outside the CBT structure.
#3 · MindShift CBT
Best for: Free CBT specifically for anxietyAnxiety-specific CBT from Anxiety Canada — fully free.
If you want free CBT for anxiety specifically, MindShift is the answer. It's clinician-built and the anxiety focus means depth where general CBT apps stay surface.
Strengths
- +Built by an actual anxiety-specialist nonprofit
- +Truly free, no upsell
- +Comprehensive anxiety modules: thought-challenging, exposure planning, social anxiety
Where it falls short
- −Workbook-style — feels dated and demanding
- −No AI conversation
vs. ILTY
MindShift wins for free anxiety-CBT. ILTY wins for conversation about anxiety rather than worksheets.
#4 · Sanvello (DISCONTINUED)
Best for: (Used to be: structured CBT exercises with an optional therapy upgrade)Consumer app delisted; folded into Optum/AbleTo as a health-plan benefit.
Kept as a historical entry because Sanvello was one of the most-recommended CBT apps and people still search for it by name. It is no longer downloadable: the consumer product was retired and absorbed into Optum/AbleTo, where access runs through an employer or health plan rather than the App Store. If Sanvello was your plan, the closest living substitutes on this list are Wysa (CBT exercises plus a real human-coach upgrade, which is the nearest thing left to Sanvello's clinician escalation) and MindShift CBT (free, clinician-built exercise library).
Strengths
- +(Historical) Wide library of CBT exercises
- +(Historical) In-network with several insurance plans for the therapy upgrade
- +(Historical) Daily mood/anxiety tracking complemented the exercises
Where it falls short
- −DISCONTINUED for consumers — verified 2026-08-13: the App Store listing returns no result, both Google Play packages 404, and sanvello.com no longer resolves. The product was folded into Optum/AbleTo, reachable only through an employer or health plan. Note that several 'Sanvello review 2026' pages still circulating quote a live 4.8 rating and $8.99/mo pricing; that data is dead.
- −(Historical) Exercise-driven — felt like homework
- −(Historical) Free tier was intentionally limited
Pricing
(No longer available to consumers — access is via an employer or health plan)
Platforms
(Delisted from the App Store and Google Play)
vs. ILTY
Not a live comparison anymore. If you came for Sanvello's exercise-based CBT with clinician escalation, Wysa is the closest surviving option; ILTY applies CBT moves inside conversation rather than shipping a CBT exercise library.
#5 · CBT-i Coach
Best for: Free CBT for insomnia (CBT-I) specificallyFree, government-built CBT for insomnia.
If "can't sleep" is your issue and you don't want sleeping pills, CBT-I Coach is the gold standard. Free, government-built, evidence-based. Best in class for one specific thing.
Strengths
- +Built by the US Department of Veterans Affairs + Stanford
- +Implements CBT-I, the gold-standard non-medication insomnia treatment
- +Truly free, no ads, no upsell
Where it falls short
- −Insomnia-specific only — useless if your issue isn't sleep
- −Static UX
- −Best used with a clinician but doesn't require one
vs. ILTY
CBT-i Coach wins for sleep-onset insomnia specifically. ILTY wins for the anxiety side of insomnia.
#6 · Rootd
Best for: CBT skills for panic attacks specificallyPanic-attack interruption with CBT-grounded skills.
Rootd's CBT is good but narrow — it's panic-disorder-specific. If your issue isn't panic, this isn't your CBT app.
Strengths
- +Panic-specific CBT exercises (interoceptive exposure, grounding)
- +Founder built it from her own panic-disorder experience
Where it falls short
- −Narrow scope — panic-only, not general CBT
- −Limited content beyond panic
Pricing
Free tier; Premium ~$60/yr.
vs. ILTY
Rootd wins for panic-attack CBT. ILTY wins for general anxiety conversation.
#7 · Youper (SHUTTING DOWN Sept 2026)
Best for: (Used to be: CBT-lite daily check-ins)Mood tracker with light CBT framing — closing September 30, 2026.
Kept as a historical entry because people still search for it. Youper's CBT layer was thin but honest, and the research behind it was real. It closes September 30, 2026, is already delisted from both stores, and deletes user data October 1. For CBT-as-a-daily-practice, MindShift CBT is the closest living substitute on this list (free, and the CBT is the main event rather than a wrapper); Wysa if you want the check-in delivered as a conversation.
Strengths
- +(Historical) Daily structured check-ins
- +(Historical) Pattern visualization over weeks
- +(Historical) CBT and ACT foundations with published research behind them
Where it falls short
- −SHUTTING DOWN September 30, 2026 — verified 2026-08-13: the US App Store lookup returns no result, the Google Play listing 404s, and youper.ai carries its own shutdown banner with data-export instructions. Subscriptions are disabled and user data is purged on 2026-10-01 — export your check-in history before then.
- −(Historical) CBT framing was light — closer to mood tracking than therapy
- −(Historical) Survey-like rather than conversational
Pricing
(No longer sold — subscriptions disabled ahead of the shutdown)
Platforms
(Delisted from both app stores; app stops working 2026-09-30)
vs. ILTY
Not a live comparison anymore. MindShift CBT or Wysa are the surviving picks for CBT-flavored check-ins; ILTY applies CBT moves inside conversation and was never the mood-tracker replacement.
#8 · ILTY
Best for: Conversation that draws on CBT without being a CBT curriculumAI mental-health companion that uses CBT principles within conversation.
ILTY is at the bottom of this specific list because the ranking is for tools whose PRIMARY identity is CBT. ILTY uses CBT principles but isn't positioned as a CBT teacher — it's a conversation tool that happens to apply CBT moves when relevant.
Strengths
- +Companions apply CBT techniques (cognitive reframing, behavioral activation, thought challenging) within natural conversation
- +Mr. Relentless companion is particularly good at challenging cognitive distortions in real time
- +On-device privacy
Where it falls short
- −Not a CBT curriculum — won't teach you cognitive distortions systematically
- −Subscription required
Pricing
$12.99/mo or $99.99/yr after 1-week trial.
Download ILTYFree to download · 7-day trial · then $12.99/mo or $99.99/yr