Insomnia Coach vs UCLA Mindful
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Insomnia Coach
This app offers a guided training plan and interactive tools based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i). It provides personalized feedback and tips to help users track and improve their sleep patterns. Designed for daily use over five weeks, it aims to help users regain healthy sleep habits.
- Guided weekly training plan
- Personalized sleep coach feedback
- Interactive sleep diary
- 17 sleep improvement tools
- Scientifically-based approach
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Insomnia Coach is designed for Veterans, military Servicemembers, and others who are suffering from insomnia. The app is based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) and provides: * a guided, weekly training plan to help you track and improve your sleep * a sleep coach with personal feedback about your sleep and fun sleep tips * an interactive sleep diary to help you keep track of daily changes in your sleep * 17 tools to help you get your sleep back on track This app is based on scientific research about how people can change their behaviors and thoughts to improve their sleep. This app does NOT replace professional care. Insomnia Coach is designed to be used daily for 5 weeks by following the Training Plan. After that, you can continue using the app to track your sleep and maintain good sleep habits. Insomnia Coach was created by VA’s National Center for PTSD.
UCLA Mindful
Practice mindfulness meditation with guided sessions and educational content from UCLA Health. Learn to manage stress, reduce anxiety, and cultivate positive emotions through regular practice. Explore various meditation types, informative videos, and weekly recordings to enhance your well-being.
- Guided basic meditations
- Wellness meditations for health conditions
- Informative videos on mindfulness
- Weekly live/virtual meditation recordings
- Talks on mindfulness topics
- Customizable meditation timer
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With this easy-to-use app, you can practice mindfulness meditation anywhere, anytime with the guidance of UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health. Scientific research shows mindfulness can help manage stress-related physical conditions, reduce anxiety and depression, and cultivate positive emotions. Mindfulness is paying attention to our present moment experiences with openness and curiosity and a willingness to be with our experience. Through regular practice, taught through this app, you can develop a meditation practice and learn to bring more mindfulness into your daily life. This app offers: • Basic Meditations for getting started in multiple languages. Languages include Arabic, Armenian, Cantonese, Farsi, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Mixteco, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, American Sign Language • Wellness Meditations for people suffering from challenging health conditions • Informative videos exploring how to get started, supportive meditation postures, and the science of mindfulness • Weekly recordings from our live and virtual drop-in meditations -- a 30-minute meditation on different themes you can search for and bookmark • Talks on mindfulness-related topics • A timer to meditate on your own • A list of our current events and classes that you can add to your calendar UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health, is dedicated to advancing mindfulness education to promote individual and cultural well-being and resilience world-wide. Our mission is to provide innovative, evidence-based mindfulness programs that empower individuals and institutions to manage stress, enhance health, and cultivate inner and outer peace. Through educational programs, we strive to inspire transformative growth and contribute to a culture of compassion and wellness for all. Due to UCLA Mindful’s mission of radical accessibility, this app is entirely free to use. Disclaimer: These meditations are for educational purposes and are not clinical treatments.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: UCLA Mindful at 4.5 against Insomnia Coach's 3.7. UCLA Mindful also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 50%) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 9 months). Insomnia Coach's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
UCLA Mindful holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 89 and 176 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Insomnia Coach's written reviews are positive against 77% of UCLA Mindful's.
Insomnia Coach ships an update every 9 months, UCLA Mindful every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.
| Parameter | Insomnia Coach | UCLA Mindful |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (89 ratings) | 4.5 (176 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 76.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 89 | 176 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) | UCLA Health |
Customer experience
Insomnia Coach
UCLA Mindful
User reviews
Insomnia Coach
From 89 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ✅ Effective CBT-i program
- 💰 Free to use
- 💡 Helpful explanations
- 📈 Tracks sleep patterns
- 🧘 Guided relaxation
Room to improve
- ⚠️ Struggles with irregular sleep
- 😵 Makes insomnia worse
- 📱 Bright white background
- 🎧 No wireless headphone support
- 🔄 Inability to edit entries
UCLA Mindful
From 176 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🙏 Free and accessible resource
- 🧘♀️ High-quality guided meditations
- 🗣️ Calming and comforting narrator voices (Diana Winston)
- 👍 Simple, easy to use, and navigate
- 🌍 Multiple languages offered
Room to improve
- 🗣️ Presenter talks too much during meditations
- 🔌 Requires a good internet connection (streaming)
- 🔄 No offline access
- 📱 App doesn't rotate on iPad in landscape mode
- 🔊 Loud ding at the end of some tracks
Bugs and requests
Insomnia Coach
Reported bugs
8 issues- Sleep diary errors (negative hours)
- Progress tab not reflecting data
- App won't download
- Audio not playing through headphones
- Sleep diary calculation errors
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- Error when entering shift work hours
- App doesn't account for sex in diary
- Diary locks entries after prescription update
Requested features
9 requests- Dark mode feature
- Wireless headphone compatibility
- Ability to edit past diary entries
- Sync between devices
- More sleep stories and anxiety resources
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- Option to indicate getting out of bed in the middle of the night
- Better handling of irregular sleep hours
- Clearer overview of weekly exercises
- Support for Bluetooth earbuds
UCLA Mindful
Reported bugs
6 issues- 🐛 Loop repeat did not replay when screen is locked
- 🐛 Audio stops when iPhone screen locks/turns off
- 🐛 Back button disappears on search podcast tab
- 🐛 Search in previous podcast is slow to respond
- 🐛 Custom timer doesn't work as intended
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- 🐛 Meditations won't load (show 0 time)
Requested features
6 requests- Offline access/downloadable sessions
- More voice diversity (ethnicity and gender)
- Add to Apple Health for tracking mindful minutes
- Improve pausing points for Vietnamese meditations
- Remove the ding at the end of tracks
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- Wider selection of UCLA courses/Diana Winston meditations
In-app purchases
Insomnia Coach
No in-app purchases
UCLA Mindful
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Insomnia Coach free?
Is UCLA Mindful free?
Which has better reviews, Insomnia Coach or UCLA Mindful?
Do Insomnia Coach or UCLA Mindful have ads?
Which is updated more often, Insomnia Coach or UCLA Mindful?
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