Comparison

UCLA Mindful vs Coping Coach by VA

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Guided basic meditations
  • Wellness meditations for health conditions
  • Informative videos on mindfulness
  • Weekly live/virtual meditation recordings
  • Talks on mindfulness topics
  • Customizable meditation timer
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Coping Coach by VA

This app offers tools and resources to help users build resilience, manage stress, and improve well-being during challenging times. It provides customized support for coping, staying healthy, and navigating life changes like parenting or working from home. Users can track their mood and access additional help.

Highlights
  • Build resilience
  • Manage stress
  • Increase well-being
  • Coping resources
  • Mood tracking
  • Progress visualization
Features
Read full description

Life can be overwhelming, and we all face moments of stress, uncertainty, and change. Coping Coach is designed to help you build resilience, manage stress, and increase your well-being whenever you need it most. The app is free, secure, and connects you to important resources for coping and adapting through life's challenges. Customized tools are available to help you cope with stress, stay well, and stay connected whether you're navigating daily pressures, caregiving responsibilities, or major life transitions. You can track your mood, visualize your progress, and find resources to seek additional help and support. No account or password is required and user data is not collected. Coping Coach was made by the mobile mental health team of the National Center for PTSD, Dissemination & Training Division.

Screenshots

UCLA Mindful4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Coping Coach by VA at 4.8 against UCLA Mindful's 4.5. Coping Coach by VA also leads on ratings volume (1.5K vs 172) and review sentiment (88% vs 78%). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Coping Coach by VA holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Coping Coach by VA has 1.5K ratings behind it against 172, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of UCLA Mindful's written reviews are positive against 88% of Coping Coach by VA's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

UCLA Mindful ships an update every 3 months, Coping Coach by VA every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
UCLA Mindful versus Coping Coach by VA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUCLA MindfulCoping Coach by VA
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (172 ratings)4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.0% of reviews87.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1721.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB197 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperUCLA HealthUS Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Customer experience

UCLA Mindful

All ratings172 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral0.6%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive78.0%
Neutral5.1%
Negative16.9%

Coping Coach by VA

All ratings1,438 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral2.7%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral8.3%
Negative4.2%

User reviews

UCLA Mindful

From 172 App Store ratings

What 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

Coping Coach by VA

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🛟 Helpful for mental health
  • 💯 Effective coping strategies
  • 🆓 Free and ad-free
  • 🎯 Tracks progress well

Room to improve

  • 🤖 Not compatible with iPhone
  • 🌐 Limited offline functionality

Bugs and requests

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
Show 1 more
  • 🐛 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
Show 1 more
  • Wider selection of UCLA courses/Diana Winston meditations

Coping Coach by VA

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Login issues on some devices

Requested features

2 requests
  • COVID-19 screening feature
  • More customization options

In-app purchases

None

UCLA Mindful

No in-app purchases

None

Coping Coach by VA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is UCLA Mindful free?
UCLA Mindful is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Coping Coach by VA free?
Coping Coach by VA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, UCLA Mindful or Coping Coach by VA?
Coping Coach by VA is rated higher. UCLA Mindful averages 4.5 out of 5 from 172 ratings, while Coping Coach by VA averages 4.8 from 1.5K ratings.
Do UCLA Mindful or Coping Coach by VA have ads?
Neither UCLA Mindful nor Coping Coach by VA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, UCLA Mindful or Coping Coach by VA?
UCLA Mindful ships an update every 3 months, and Coping Coach by VA every 2 months. Most recently, UCLA Mindful was updated on September 19, 2026 and Coping Coach by VA on September 24, 2026.

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