Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized mental health care. We personally tested the top AI therapy apps, exploring features like journaling, meditations, and tailored self-care. Plus, a few of our picks integrate with online therapy and coaching, so you can find the right level of care for your needs.
For those looking to get started, our top three picks should work for most people:
- Ash: One of the more responsive and nuanced chatbots we’ve tried, plus weekly insights—currently free.
- Headspace: Alongside its famous mindfulness exercises and sleepscapes, Headspace offers a chatbot companion, Ebb, who can provide personalized meditations and activities. Plus, access therapy straight from the app.
- Wysa: A decent chatbot trained on CBT, DBT, and other evidence-based therapeutic models, with extensive premium features and customized mindfulness exercises. Mental health coaching with a human is also available.
A Note on Using AI Chatbots for Mental Health
As a note of caution, while AI chatbots can be a great tool for gaining more insights into your mental health or as a safe place to vent, they should never be considered a replacement for therapy. That said, there are still other important factors to look for when determining whether an AI chatbot could be a good fit for your mental health needs.
We recommend using AI therapy apps developed and quality tested by mental health professionals, like psychologists with doctorate degrees, and not just people with tech backgrounds. Additionally, specific lenses and tools like meditation and mindfulness practices, a CBT-based model, etc, are green flags that the app or chatbot could be helpful.
If you need mental health support from a human, you can check out our list of the best online therapy options.
Price: Free (for now)
Role: Companion/coach
Ash is a free AI chatbot developed by mental health professionals. While not a replacement for therapy, it can be a decent place to vent and problem-solve, plus we like the weekly insights.
Price: $12.99 monthly or $69.99 yearly
Free Trial: Yes, 7–14 days
Role: Best for recommending mindfulness exercises
Headspace's AI chatbot, Ebb, offers a space to chat, but what we really like is that it will recommend meditations and mindfulness activities tailored to your mental health needs.
Price: $9.99 monthly, $74.99 yearly, $149.99 lifetime
Free Trial: Yes, 7 days.
Role: Best for mental health check-ins
Wysa is a well-rounded app, offering a chatbot, journaling, meditations, coping skill lessons, and access to a human mental health coach for an additional fee.
Price: $69.99 yearly
Free Trial: Yes, 7 days.
Role: CBT-based coach
Youper's AI chatbot offers personalized recommendations for CBT exercises, a science-backed therapy technique that can be especially helpful for those with anxiety and depression.
Price: $3.99 weekly, $14.99 monthly, $89.99 yearly
Free Trial: Yes, 7 days
Role: Real-time emotional health tracking
Earkick is a mental health app that helps users track their emotions and learn insights about themselves with the help of an adorable panda companion.
Price: $69.99 yearly
Free Trial: 3 days
Role: Voice-based coach plus grounding exercises
Yuna is a voice-based AI therapy chatbot based on scientific therapeutic techniques. We were impressed by the amount of personalized features, including meditations that mentioned specific points from the chat that our reviewer wanted to work on.
Price: $9.99 weekly, $28.99 monthly, or $98.99 yearly
Free Trial: Free version
Role: AI companion offering mental health insights & opportunities for self-reflection
Elomia is a text-based AI chatbot offering mental health support and companionship. We appreciated the zen-like atmosphere of the app, and the quick lessons and inspirations tailored to our specific needs.
Other Specialty AI Mental Health App Options
The apps in our main list focus specifically on AI chatting for mental health improvement. However, if they’re not exactly what you’re looking for, we’ve rounded up a few other AI apps with slightly different focuses:
- Rosebud: Rosebud is an AI-powered journaling app that was developed out of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Its journaling prompts are open-ended, thoughtful, and intentional.
- Sonia: Sonia is an “AI Therapist” offering a very conversational voice chat space grounded in CBT. While we don’t love that it labels itself as a therapist, it was incredibly easy to talk to and offered helpful advice. Right now it’s only available for Apple products.
- Neurofit: Neurofit is a neuroscience-based app that uses AI alongside biometric tracking (such as the health data from your Apple watch or heart rate variability from your phone’s camera) and somatic exercises to help regulate the nervous system and reduce stress.
- Mindspa: MindSpa is a mental health app filled with self-directed therapeutic courses. The courses vary in price from $20–$85, with topics ranging from parenting to money to self-love. Plus there’s a free journaling space, articles on a variety of mental health concerns, and a space called “psychosutra” with guided steps for learning new coping skills. It technically offers an AI chatbot, but it’s incredibly limited, having users choose from prompts instead of type or speak.
- Replika: Replika is an AI chatbot companion that consumers can personalize to their needs. Consumers can choose for Replika to be male, female, or non-binary, have certain characteristics over others, and have a certain temperament. Replika is touted as “a companion who cares.”
- Coach Marlee: Coach Marlee is an AI coach that provides companies and their teams with daily motivation. Marlee utilizes a series of questions to adapt its daily motivations to the needs of each team member. Marlee can also be utilized by companies for talent acquisition, conflict management, and talent development.
Detailed App Reviews
Price: Free (for now)
Role: Companion/coach
You can think of Ash as a clinically-developed mental health companion or coach. While not a replacement for therapy, it does a decent job of conversing about whatever mental health-related topics you might be facing, remembering previous conversations, and helping you track patterns and insights over time.
Pros & Cons
Pros - The most conversational & nuanced model we’ve tried
- Swap seamlessly between voices or to text
- Weekly insights display any mental health patterns
Cons - Can stall or glitch occasionally
- Unclear when they’ll start charging subscriptions
Cost
Ash is currently free to download and use, however, the developers have said they plan to charge a subscription fee after it goes through more testing. It’s unclear when this will be or how much the monthly subscription will cost.
Overview
Ash’s chat interface is clean and beautiful, making it a joy to use. Start a new conversation at any time, or go to the “Explore” tab for conversation starters, such as quick physical and emotional check-ins and discovering your core values.
I used Ash every day for a week, and had a generally pleasant experience. I like that I could change the voice mid-conversation if, for whatever reason, I wasn’t feeling it at that time. In general, Ash was good at keeping conversations going and asking relevant follow-up questions to whatever was on my mind. However, sometimes I felt like it kept asking questions when it would have been more helpful to recommend an action and/or move on.
I did really appreciate the weekly insights that dropped on Sundays, showing anything that stood out from what I had said in our conversations, as well as patterns regarding mental health concerns, such as how often I talked about not sleeping well or ongoing insecurities I was dealing with.
Learn more in our review of Ash AI Therapy.
Cost: $12.99 monthly or $69.99 yearly
Free Trial: Yes, 7–14 days
Role: Best for recommending mindfulness exercises
Ebb, Headspace’s proprietary AI companion, is a great resource if you just need someone to talk to, especially if you already have the Headspace app. It’s built right in as a separate tab in the app, and you can start a discussion any time. It will listen, ask thoughtful follow-up questions, and recommend some of Headspace’s meditations or activities that are relevant to your situation.
One other benefit to Headspace is that therapy is also offered directly through the app, meaning it could become your one-stop-shop for many of your mental health needs.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Built in to the Headspace app for easy access
- Access a chat bot, meditations, and therapy sessions in one place
- Personalized meditation suggestions
Cons - Not available as a standalone feature
- Less appealing if you don't have/want Headspace
Cost
A Headspace subscription costs $12.99 monthly or $69.99 annually, which gives you access to all of its meditation, sleep scape, and exercise content, as well as its AI Companion, Ebb.
Get a 7-day free trial when you sign up for a monthly subscription, or try it free for 14 days with a yearly membership.
Additionally, users can see a therapist directly within the app for $149 per session out-of-pocket, though it accepts a wide range of insurance plans, so that price could be significantly lower (as low as $0) if you have an in-network provider.
Overview
Ebb is one feature available within the Headspace app, which is known for its meditation and sleep scapes. Along with 500+ meditations and mindfulness activities, Ebb acts as an available-any-time companion for those wanting to vent or get basic advice, along with suggestions for which meditations and other mindfulness activities would be helpful based on your current challenges.
While some of Ebb’s answers were on the simpler side, I think it could be a great space for people wanting to talk through some basic ups and downs of their day and get personalized mindfulness activities recommended as well. One feature I liked about Ebb was that it remembered what we had talked about the last time we had chatted, and it offered to either jump back into what I might need there or start a new topic.
One of our favorite things about Headspace, though, is how integrated its care model is: In its one, well-designed app, you can receive meditation and mindfulness content, talk to an AI Companion, and receive real-time coaching and therapy sessions. Additionally, users seeking therapy can use their insurance benefits and pay as little as $0.
Learn more in our Headspace Care Review.
Cost: $9.99 monthly, $74.99 yearly, $149.99 lifetime
Free Trial: Yes, 7 days
Role: Best for mental health check-ins
Wysa is an artificial intelligence chatbot that uses CBT techniques, meditations, and yoga to help users with mental wellness. It’s got extensive features, personalized recommendations, and ease of use.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Premium plan offers access to experienced mental health professionals
- Free basic plan includes meditations and coping skills
- Personalized recommendations for meditation
- Crisis support resources available to all users
Cons - Not well adapted to understanding the difference between feelings and thoughts
- Journaling features are limited
Cost
Wysa offers a variety of plans at $9.99 monthly, $74.99 annually, or $149.99 for a lifetime membership. There is a 7-day free trial to get the most out of the app library, however, the free version still includes access to the AI therapist chatbot, meditations, and CBT-based coping skills.
Wysa Premium Includes:
- Full access to their library of meditations and cognitive exercises
- Improved customization based on what you share with the AI therapist bot
- Access to Wysa’s Emotional Wellbeing Professionals, some of whom are experienced mental health providers
Overview
Wysa is an AI mental health app that offers chatbot support, journaling, meditations, and coping skills, plus access to mental health coaching for an extra cost. Wysa users will benefit from its linkage to crisis lines if needed, as well as a built-in safety planning feature for users in need. Wysa is clear about its limitations and prompts users in immediate crisis to engage with a crisis line or other professional support in their area.
Wysa provides its services to adolescents and adults aged 13 and older, discouraging anyone younger due to its limitations and level of appropriateness. The app keeps logs of your data for you to easily review your progress and the app will periodically provide a mental health assessment, based on empirically supported questions, to also assess your progress.
Using the Wysa app was a hands-on and interactive experience. It offered us an AI chatbot, a journal, and personalized meditation recommendations. While the chatbot was supportive, it sometimes struggled with nuanced responses. Our team found that the meditations were effective, and the inclusion of crisis lines and safety planning features was an important addition.
To learn more, read our full Wysa review.
Cost: $69.99 annually
Free Trial: Yes, 7 days.
Role: CBT-based coach
Youper is a mental health app that utilizes AI to teach CBT skills. The app offers personalized recommendations for CBT exercises, a science-backed therapy technique that can be especially helpful for those with anxiety and depression.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Chatbot provides easy-to-follow CBT instructions
- Collects data to tailor experience
- Provides various mental health assessments
- Healthcare integration lets your providers access data
Cons - No free version of the app
- No monthly subscription plan
- No audio/visuals for important CBT skills
Cost
Youper costs $69.99 annually with a 7-day free trial. There currently is no free version of the app.
Overview
Youper is an AI-integrated mental health app crafted by therapists through a CBT lens. Youper’s premium users benefit from lifelong tracking of their mood and self-directed mental health assessments, as well as unlimited access to Youper’s AI therapist chatbot and CBT techniques.
Users have the ability to show their mood shifts, negative thoughts, and other health data to their therapist through a secure sharing platform if they’d like to.
We really enjoyed how accessible Youper was for learning CBT techniques. The app offered a variety of coping skills, making it quick and easy to manage emotions and mood. While there is little in the way of audio/visual options, Youper is at the forefront of AI’s further integration into healthcare spaces.
To learn more, read our full Youper review.
Cost: $3.99 weekly, $14.99 monthly, $89.99 yearly
Free Trial: Yes, 7 days
Role: Real-time emotional health tracking
Earkick is a mental health app that helps users track their emotions and learn insights about themselves. Its array of features make the experience not just adaptable but user-friendly for anyone.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Free text, audio, and video options for self-expression
- Quick, user-friendly meditations to fit any schedule
- Personalized check-in prompts and daily quotes based on reflections
- Wide range of modifiable soundscapes
Cons - Does not offer longer meditations
Cost
Earkick costs $3.99 weekly, $14.99 monthly, or $89.99 yearly. There is a 7-day free trial. You can also use a free version of the app that lacks certain features of Earkick Premium.
Earkick Premium Includes:
- Increased AI therapist chatbot support
- Unlimited routine planning
- Unlimited number of notification reminders with your personalized routines
- Full multimedia access to your AI therapist chatbot
Overview
Earkick is a multimedia AI therapist chatbot that offers personalized recommendations for various mindfulness activities and soundscapes, as well as a free chat space with its AI panda companion. Earkick will even personalize uplifting quotes based on your check-in each day. You can personalize your Earkick Panda Companion based on what feedback you are looking for, from the Wise Panda to the Empathetic Panda, making the app not only useful but fun.
Earkick is available for people aged 13 and older. Users can track moods and daily habits to see trends and patterns. Users can integrate their Apple Health data into the app for physical health tracking on top of mental health, gaining a more robust picture of how the two could be intertwined, from sleep to activity to breathwork.
We found the Earkick app to be very impressive. The content was helpful for us to detect and track moods and emotions, and the personalized meditations and soundscapes helped us manage those moods better. Its habit-forming features paired with the AI therapist chatbot and health insights are unique when compared to other AI-inspired apps.
Cost: $69.99 yearly
Free Trial: 3 days
Role: Voice-based coach plus grounding exercises
Yuna feels like a whole-life mental health reset tool. The chatbot is easy to talk to and you can change the settings depending on what you’re looking for, whether that’s a mindfulness focus or more of a coach. I was impressed by how personalized everything is after even just one session with my chatbot.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Practical, science-backed solutions
- Has tons of features, like meditations and gratitude space
- Several voices to choose from
Cons - Quite a long pause before talking
- Can’t change voice mid-conversation
- Long load time for meditations
Cost
Yuna costs $69.99 yearly after a 3-day free trial.
Overview
Yuna offers a relatively seamless AI chat experience, where you can talk through emotional challenges, habits you’d like to shift, and anything else that’s on your mind. It also offers help with goal-setting, personalized meditations, and recommends therapy-based skills to learn with quick guides. There’s also a gratitude list space, affirmations, book quotes, and more sprinkled throughout the homepage. These get more personalized the more you chat with Yuna.
When our reviewer told Yuna she wanted to make changes to improve her physical health, it first applauded her efforts and then helped her set a small, achievable goal to work toward that end. Then, when she went from there to one of the personalized guided meditations, it worked some of the details from her chat into the meditation, encouraging her to stick with her goal and reminding her that it’s ok to take her time and work slowly, especially after she just moved to a new city (something she had told the chat bot).
Cost: $9.99 weekly, $28.99 monthly, or $98.99 yearly
Free Trial: Free version
Role: AI companion offering mental health insights & opportunities for self-reflection
Elomia is an AI companion app, designed to support your mental well-being. By asking thoughtful questions, it learns about you and tailors conversations to meet your unique needs. During sign-up, you’ll identify your main concerns and goals, ensuring a personalized experience from the start. Even in its free version, Elomia offers quick and easy mindfulness exercises to help you feel grounded and supported.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Free basic version
- Chat is quick to respond
- Lots of quick lessons and inspirations
Cons - No voice option
Cost
Elomia costs $9.99 weekly, $28.99 monthly, or $98.99 yearly. If you find you benefit from the free version, we recommend trying the paid version for a week, then signing up for the yearly subscription if you plan to use the app regularly, as that’s a pretty major savings compared to the monthly subscription.
Overview
Elomia’s chat function is super easy to use and relatively friendly. However, unlike some of our other choices on this list, it doesn’t have a voice chat option, only text. The responses are quick and encouraging, asking good questions and offering advice when asked. It’s clear that the app is based on principles of CBT, which is a science-backed method for improving mental health. However, it can get a little bit “obvious” that it’s using these principles, without telling you that’s what it’s doing.
One tricky thing about the app, at least on our reviewer’s iPhone, is that there was no way to exit the chat and utilize the rest of the app’s features without closing it out and reopening. However, we did like that it had an “SOS” heart-shaped button at the top of the screen in case of emergencies, which opened a browser window in my phone to FindAHelpline.com, where users could connect with human help.
The “Tools” feature in the app currently requires signing up for the research program to get early access to these features, so we’ll check back in once those are available for public use. However, the “For You” tab offered several different features, including quotes, advice, daily questions, book recommendations, relevant articles, and quick lessons related to common cognitive distortions and cognitive biases (concepts based on CBT).
Compare the Best AI Therapy Apps
| Cost | Free | $12.99 monthly or $69.99 yearly | $9.99 monthly, $74.99 yearly, $149.99 lifetime | $69.99 yearly | $3.99 weekly, $14.99 monthly, $89.99 yearly | $69.99 yearly | $9.99 weekly, $28.99 monthly, or $98.99 monthly |
| Free Trial? | N/A | Yes, 7–14 days | Yes, 7 days | Yes, 7 days | Yes, 7 days | Yes, 3 days | Free version |
| Apple devices? |  | | | | | | |
| Android devices? | | | | | | | |
| Chatbot Feature? | | | | | | | |
| Journaling? | | | | | | | |
| Live Coaching/Therapy? | | | | | | | |
| Cost | ||||||
| Free | $12.99 monthly or $69.99 yearly | $9.99 monthly, $74.99 yearly, $149.99 lifetime | $69.99 yearly | $3.99 weekly, $14.99 monthly, $89.99 yearly | $69.99 yearly | $9.99 weekly, $28.99 monthly, or $98.99 monthly |
| Free Trial? | ||||||
| N/A | Yes, 7–14 days | Yes, 7 days | Yes, 7 days | Yes, 7 days | Yes, 3 days | Free version |
| Apple devices? | ||||||
| | | | | | | |
| Android devices? | ||||||
| | | | | | | |
| Chatbot Feature? | ||||||
| | | | | | | |
| Journaling? | ||||||
| | | | | | | |
| Live Coaching/Therapy? | ||||||
| | | | | | | |
Final Verdict
“If you’re looking for a safe place to chat, Ash is likely your best bet for an encouraging companion. However, if you want a library of helpful exercises, meditations, and reflective spaces, apps like Headspace, Wysa, Yuna, and Elomia will likely be better fits. For structured mood tracking, Youper and Earkick could be great options.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What is AI therapy?
Are there any AI apps for therapy?
There are a multitude of AI therapy apps for consumers to utilize. These apps range in their scope and many provide an interactive experience with an AI chatbot.
Is there an AI for mental health monitoring?
Yes, one of the most comprehensive AI mental health monitoring apps is Earkick. This app provides a multimedia platform for users to monitor their daily moods, emotions, thoughts, and concerns.
What is the best free AI therapy app?
We think Ash offers the best free AI therapy app. Its nuanced chat bot is easy to talk to, it asks decent questions, and we really appreciate the weekly insights that track patterns and themes in your mental health.
What are the risks of AI therapy?
AI therapy is not real-life therapy and consumers should manage their expectations due to the lack of human connection. Additional AI therapy risks may include the potential for misunderstanding, difficulties with clarification, biases, and privacy concerns.1
ChoosingTherapy.com strives to provide our readers with mental health content that is accurate and actionable. We have high standards for what can be cited within our articles. Acceptable sources include government agencies, universities and colleges, scholarly journals, industry and professional associations, and other high-integrity sources of mental health journalism. Learn more by reviewing our full editorial policy.
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Bell, C. (2024, April 30). Wysa app review 2024: pros & cons, cost, & who it’s right for. ChoosingTherapy.com. Retrieved from https://www.choosingtherapy.com/wysa-app-review/
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Thakkar, A., Gupta, A., & De Sousa, A. (2024). Artificial intelligence in positive mental health: A narrative review. Frontiers in Digital Health, 6, Article 1280235. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2024.1280235
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Sprintis, R. (2024, April 15). Youper app review 2024: pros & cons, cost, & who it’s right for. ChoosingTherapy.com. Retrieved from https://www.choosingtherapy.com/youper-app-review/
We regularly update the articles on ChoosingTherapy.com to ensure we continue to reflect scientific consensus on the topics we cover, to incorporate new research into our articles, and to better answer our audience’s questions. When our content undergoes a significant revision, we summarize the changes that were made and the date on which they occurred. We also record the authors and medical reviewers who contributed to previous versions of the article. Read more about our editorial policies here.
Author: Melissa Boudin, PsyD (New Author)
Medical Reviewer: Kristen Fuller, MD (no change)
Primary Changes: Removed Mindspa, MindDoc, and Rosebud from the main list, added Yuna and Elomia. Added sections, “A Note on Using AI Chatbots for Mental Health” and “Other Specialty Options”.
Author: Alexis Cate, LCSW (no change)
Medical Reviewer: Kristen Fuller, MD (no change)
Primary Changes: Added Headspace as “Best for Hybrid Care.”
Author: Alexis Cate, LCSW
Medical Reviewer: Kristen Fuller, MD
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