ILTY vs Woebot
First, the thing most comparisons won't tell you: Woebot Health retired the consumer Woebot app on June 30, 2025. You can't download it. This page is kept for anyone still searching — here's the honest historical comparison, and where to go instead.
Last updated July 27, 2026
Quick Summary
Woebot is best if:
- ✓You want to learn CBT techniques systematically
- ✓You prefer structured, lesson-based content
- ✓You're new to cognitive behavioral concepts
- ✓You want a research-backed approach
ILTY is best if:
- ✓You want to talk through something specific
- ✓You find scripted chatbots frustrating
- ✓You want different approaches for different moods
- ✓You want conversations that end with action steps
About Woebot
⚠️ Woebot Health retired the consumer Woebot app on June 30, 2025, after roughly eight years. It is no longer available to individual users on any platform. Woebot Health continues to operate in B2B and research contexts, but there is no consumer app to download. If you came here to choose between the two, see our 8 tested Woebot alternatives — Wysa is the closest successor on research backing and free access.
Historically: Woebot launched in 2017 and was one of the first AI chatbots specifically designed for mental health. It was created by clinical psychologists at Stanford and grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
The app delivered CBT-based interventions through conversational exercises. It tracked your mood, taught you about cognitive distortions, and guided you through techniques like thought challenging and behavioral activation.
Woebot published peer-reviewed research showing effectiveness for reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. It was a legitimate therapeutic tool with real clinical backing, and that research remains in the record — the shutdown reflected the business and regulatory difficulty of direct-to-consumer mental-health chatbots, not a failure of the CBT approach.
About ILTY
ILTY takes a different approach. Instead of structured lessons, it offers genuine conversation with AI companions who respond to what you're actually saying.
ILTY has multiple distinct companions with different personalities: some offer gentle validation, others provide more direct feedback. You choose who to talk to based on what you need in that moment.
Rather than following a curriculum, conversations flow naturally and end with actionable next steps—something concrete you can do, not just vague advice.
Detailed Comparison
Conversation Style
Woebot
Structured, lesson-based. Follows predetermined conversation paths with CBT exercises.
ILTY
Natural, responsive. Follows where the conversation goes based on what you say.
Better for: ILTY for natural conversation, Woebot for structured learning
Therapeutic Approach
Woebot
CBT-focused with evidence-based techniques. Teaches concepts through interactive exercises.
ILTY
Multiple approaches depending on companion chosen. Focuses on processing and clarity.
Better for: Woebot for pure CBT, ILTY for varied approaches
Personalization
Woebot
Limited. Conversations feel similar regardless of your specific situation.
ILTY
High. Different companions for different needs. Responses adapt to what you share.
Better for: ILTY
Emotional Depth
Woebot
Supportive but can feel surface-level. May redirect to exercises when you want to talk.
ILTY
Designed for deeper emotional processing without rushing to solutions.
Better for: ILTY
Learning CBT
Woebot
Excellent. Clear explanations of concepts like cognitive distortions and behavioral activation.
ILTY
Uses CBT techniques but doesn't explicitly teach them as a curriculum.
Better for: Woebot
Crisis Support
Woebot
Provides crisis resources and safety information when needed.
ILTY
Provides crisis resources and can help you work through difficult moments.
Better for: Similar—both direct to professional help for true crises
Availability
Woebot
None — the consumer app was retired June 30, 2025 and cannot be downloaded.
ILTY
24/7 via iOS app
Better for: ILTY (Woebot is no longer available)
Cost
Woebot
(Was free for core features; consumer app discontinued.)
ILTY
$12.99/mo or $99.99/yr (7-day trial)
Better for: Not comparable — Woebot can no longer be purchased or downloaded
Who wrote this: ILTY publishes this comparison, and ILTY is one of the two apps in it. We rank ourselves below competitors where they genuinely win — you’ll see several of those calls below. Read it with the bias in mind and check the other side’s claims too.
Our Honest Take
The honest headline in 2026: this is no longer a live choice. Woebot Health retired the consumer app on June 30, 2025, so there is no Woebot to compare ILTY against — only a record of what it did well.
Woebot was a well-designed CBT delivery system. If your goal was to learn and practice CBT techniques, it did that effectively. The research backing was real and the approach clinically sound.
Its limitation was that it could feel scripted. When you were in the middle of something emotional and just wanted to talk, being routed through a lesson was frustrating. Woebot was built to teach, not necessarily to listen.
ILTY is built for those moments when you need to process something and want a conversation, not a lesson. It's less structured but more responsive. It doesn't teach CBT explicitly, but it helps you think through what you're feeling. It is also a paid app — Woebot was free, and we're not going to pretend that's a like-for-like swap.
If what you actually want is Woebot's structured CBT curriculum, ILTY is the wrong replacement and we'd rather say so: use Wysa (closest on research backing, real free tier) or MindShift CBT (free, Anxiety Canada). Our full ranked list is at 8 tested Woebot alternatives.
The research behind this
Rankings on this page draw on The 2026 State of AI Mental Health Apps, our own study of 15 apps across 8 criteria. Crisis handling was tested by hand: the same four escalating messages typed into every app, screenshots kept. Four of them never produced a crisis number. Every score is published with the reasoning behind it, including ILTY’s, and the rubric is CC-BY if you would rather score apps yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Woebot still available in 2026?
No. Woebot Health retired the consumer Woebot app on June 30, 2025. It cannot be downloaded on iOS or Android, and there is no free or paid consumer tier. Woebot Health still operates in B2B and research contexts. For replacements, see our ranked list of 8 tested Woebot alternatives.
Is Woebot or ILTY better for anxiety?
Woebot is no longer downloadable, so it isn't an option in 2026. Historically it excelled at teaching structured CBT techniques for anxiety through its lesson-based approach; ILTY is better for in-the-moment anxiety conversations where you need to talk through what's happening rather than complete an exercise. If you want the structured-CBT half of that, Wysa or MindShift CBT are the live replacements.
Is Woebot free? Is ILTY free?
Woebot's core features were free, but the consumer app was discontinued on June 30, 2025, so it's no longer available at any price. ILTY is not free — it's a paid subscription with a 7-day free trial, and there's no permanently free tier. If free is a hard requirement, use MindShift CBT or Wysa's free tier instead; we'd rather tell you that than sell you something.
Can these apps replace therapy?
Neither Woebot nor ILTY should replace therapy for serious mental health conditions. They're best used as supplements to professional treatment or for everyday emotional support that doesn't require clinical intervention.
Which is more private?
Woebot stated it didn't sell data and used industry-standard security, though the consumer app is now discontinued. ILTY doesn't sell data, doesn't show ads, and doesn't use conversations to train models. Check each app's privacy policy for details.
See for Yourself
The best way to know if ILTY is right for you is to try it. Free to download, with a one-week free trial.
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