FreeCBT vs assclapp Challenge the routine
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FreeCBT
This app provides a digital thought diary to practice Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). It helps users identify and challenge negative automatic thoughts, retrain their brains, and ultimately improve mood and behavior. It's an open-source tool for self-help and as a companion to traditional therapy.
- Thought diary
- Challenge automatic thoughts
- Identify cognitive distortions
- Train alternative thoughts
- Open source
- CBT self-help tool
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FreeCBT is an open source thought diary for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the "gold standard" of psychotherapy and is widely considered to be one of the most effective, evidence backed treatments for depression, anxiety, and panic. If you go into just about any therapist or psychiatrist, CBT will likely be one of the first treatments they try. FreeCBT is a companion and self-help app for one of the most common formats of CBT. You may have heard it called "the three column technique" or "catch it, check it, change it." Your brain is really good at making you feel exactly what you're thinking. Often, we find ourselves thinking "automatic negative thoughts" that lead us to fume on something that may not be true. That can cause us to feel depressed or anxious. CBT helps you record "automatic thoughts," challenge them with cognitive distortions and then train your brain with an alternative thought. If you do it enough, you can change your thoughts, your moods and your behavior. FreeCBT, a fork of Quirk, is open source under the GPL. You can find the code on Github at: https://github.com/erosson/freecbt
assclapp Challenge the routine
This app helps you build healthier habits and achieve personal goals through small, consistent daily changes. It offers over 100 challenges in various categories and allows you to participate alone or with friends.
- Develop new habits
- Self-care reminders
- Motivate with friends
- Daily check-in
- Access to all challenges
- Repeat challenges
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Want to exercise more regularly, eat healthier, get up earlier, be more productive, and become even more of the great person you already are? Then you've come to the right place, you little rebel! Let's face it, we're all lazy little piggies. We take on big things and then lose motivation after just a few days. And why? Because we want 100% right away. But much better is 1% and that continuously every day. With assclapp we help you to reach your goals with small steps and changes - with over 100 challenges in different categories like nutrition, sports, or self-care. You can do them alone or together with friends, partners, and family. Features of the assclapp app: DEVELOP NEW HABITS Want to be more productive in the morning? Eat healthier? Or get more exercise? Our various challenges will test your physical and mental strength. Ideally, you'll try something you've never done before - and develop new habits for a healthier daily routine. WORK ON YOUR GOALS WITH SELF-CARE REMINDERS Use our pre-made Self-Care Reminders for exercise, nutrition, and more, or create your own to be continually reminded of your goals. MOTIVATE YOURSELF TOGETHER WITH FRIENDS It's easier to motivate yourself when you're in good company. Develop and track habits with friends as you participate in challenges together. You'll see each other's progress in percentages. Want more? Go Premium: DAILY CHECK-IN FEATURE Check off your challenge tasks for that great feeling of accomplishment, and see your progress as a percentage. Missed a day? No problem. You have the flexibility to check off your tasks whenever you want. GET ACCESS TO ALL CHALLENGES With Premium, you can browse all the challenges on assclapp and get even more inspiration. REPEAT CHALLENGES: Did you particularly like one of the challenges? Then do it again. And again. As often as you like. Do you have questions, ideas, or a challenge for us? Write to us at nice@asscl.app If you want to know more, look at our Terms of Use (https://asscl.app/terms-and-conditions.html) and our Privacy Policy (https://asscl.app/privacy-policy.html).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: FreeCBT at 4.7 against assclapp Challenge the routine's 4.0. FreeCBT also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 5) and review sentiment (96% vs 75%). assclapp Challenge the routine's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 9 months) and iOS requirement (13.4 vs 15.1). On price, ads and device support 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. assclapp Challenge the routine sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. FreeCBT asks for nothing beyond the download.
FreeCBT holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FreeCBT has 170 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 96% of FreeCBT's written reviews are positive against 75% of assclapp Challenge the routine's.
FreeCBT ships an update every 9 months, assclapp Challenge the routine every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | FreeCBT | assclapp Challenge the routine |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (170 ratings) — better | 4.0 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 96.2% of reviews — better | 75.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 170 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 13.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 49 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Evan Rosson | GRITNESS UG (haftungsbeschraenkt) |
Customer experience
FreeCBT
assclapp Challenge the routine
Bugs and requests
FreeCBT
Reported bugs
5 issues- Swiping from distortion page selects/deselects distortions unintentionally
- App update deleted all past user entries
- Keyboard covers answer input area on some screens
- Swipe navigation doesn't work properly on certain screens
- Inconsistent touch response during navigation
Requested features
12 requests- Dark mode option
- Analytics to track thoughts and patterns over time
- Export feature to share entries with therapist or notes app
- Cross-device synchronization
- Bottom navigation bar
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- Ability to tag or categorize thoughts by topic
- Filter and view thoughts by category
- Evidence section with for/against columns
- Worst case scenario section with probability assessment
- More detailed examples for alternative thought step
- Additional cognitive distortion options (jumping to conclusions)
- Better help documentation and explanations
assclapp Challenge the routine
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
FreeCBT
No in-app purchases
assclapp Challenge the routine
- Unlimited Access$0.997 Days
- Unlimited Access1 Month trial$3.991 Month
- Unlimited Access$8.993 Months
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- Unlimited Access1 Year trial$29.491 Year
- Unlimited Access$39.99
Questions
Is FreeCBT free?
Is assclapp Challenge the routine free?
Which has better reviews, FreeCBT or assclapp Challenge the routine?
Do FreeCBT or assclapp Challenge the routine have ads?
Which is updated more often, FreeCBT or assclapp Challenge the routine?
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