Comparison

Empathy Set vs Shadow Work

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

Head to head
About

Empathy Set

This app helps you understand and express your emotions and needs, fostering deeper connections with yourself and others. It offers tools for self-reflection, empathic communication, and collaborative problem-solving, based on Nonviolent Communication principles.

Highlights
  • Understand your feelings and needs
  • Develop empathy for others
  • Engage in constructive conversations
  • Craft I-Statements
  • Brainstorm mutually beneficial solutions
  • Utilize structured feedback tools
  • Interactive journaling
Read full description

Explore Emotions, Build Empathy, Connect Deeply The Empathy Set App is your comprehensive toolkit for developing emotional intelligence and empathy across various facets of life. Rooted in the principles of Nonviolent Communication, our app serves as a dynamic guide to help you navigate your emotional world and build meaningful connections. The Empathy Set App focuses on cultivating empathy in three pivotal areas: Self-Empathy (Me): Embark on an introspective journey to better understand your own feelings and needs. Gain valuable insights into your emotional landscape and make sense of your experiences in different life situations. Empathy for Others (Other): Develop the skills to recognize and comprehend the emotional states and needs of those around you. Strengthen your bonds and cultivate more compassionate, empathetic relationships. Empathic Problem-Solving Conversations (Self and Other): Equip yourself with practical tools to engage in positive, constructive dialogues that address situations important to you. Features: --------- Dynamic Situations: Choose from three compelling levels—Starter, Enhancer, and Maximizer—to dive deep into your emotional landscape and identify your true needs. User-Friendly Dashboard: Effortlessly manage your point balance on our intuitive dashboard, where you can track points you've purchased, earned through referrals, or received as milestone rewards. All your point transactions are displayed in one convenient location for easy access and management. Intuitive Selectors & Funnels: Utilize our smart interface to effortlessly identify and prioritize your feelings and needs, bringing you closer to emotional clarity for both yourself and others. Empowered I-Statements: Craft straightforward or advanced I-Statements that enable you to articulate your emotions and desires with positivity and precision. The Brainstorming Tool: Unleash your creative potential to discover mutually beneficial solutions that cater to everyone's needs. SBI-Q Toolkit: Elevate your communication with our Situation, Background, Impact, and Question Tool, designed to offer structured feedback in both personal and professional settings. Interactive Journal: Make meaningful observations and record insightful notes to not only enhance memory but also capture the essence of the moment. Shareable Situation Summaries: Forward a PDF file of your situational analysis directly via email or text. A convenient way to communicate your emotional state to supportive individuals or initiate conflict resolution discussions. Referral Points: Earn points by inviting friends to download our app. Maintain a healthy point balance for free by using referrals, allowing you to open situations at Starter (56 points), Enhancer (78 points), and Maximizer (108 points) levels. Weekly Self-Reflections: Receive thoughtful notifications encouraging you to assess your emotional well-being and the state of your relationships. Community Connection: Participate in webinars and engage with a compassionate community that values and fosters empathy. Terms of use: https://www.empathyset.com/app-terms Privacy Policy: https://www.empathyset.com/app-privacy-policy

About

Shadow Work

Explore your unconscious patterns and hidden archetypes to understand self-sabotage and repeated behaviors. Engage in daily prompts, receive direct answers to your deepest questions, and interpret dreams with psychological depth. Understand the roots of addiction and navigate personal growth cycles.

Highlights
  • Shadow assessment and archetype mapping
  • Daily reflective prompts
  • Direct shadow question answering
  • Jungian dream interpretation
  • Psychology of addiction exploration
  • Growth cycle guidance
Features
Read full description

Finally understand the hidden patterns running your life, and break them for good. Trusted by 150,000+ people on their healing journey. Mindberg isn't another personality test, mood tracker, or feel-good habit app. It's a shadow work experience grounded in real depth psychology, designed to help you understand why you do what you do and finally break the patterns that keep repeating. If you've ever asked yourself: - Why do I keep finding myself in the same situations? - Why do I react the way I do in relationships? - Why do I feel stuck, numb, or disconnected? Mindberg helps you uncover the real answers hiding in your unconscious mind. WHY THOUSANDS CHOOSE MINDBERG - Break repeating patterns - Understand your shadow - Interpret your dreams to reveal what your unconscious is trying to tell you - Track patterns through guided reflection to build real self-awareness - Integrate insights into daily life, not just intellectual understanding - Make better choices rooted in deep self-knowledge Mindberg is about transformation from the inside out. MINDBERG GOES DEEPER Have you used any of these? - Enneagram - MBTI / Myers-Briggs - Personality tests - Astrology quizzes - Journaling apps - Habit trackers Those tools describe what you do. Mindberg helps you understand why you do it. Rooted in Jungian shadow work and psychology, Mindberg goes beyond surface-level labels. Your responses and patterns reveal the parts of you that are hidden, denied, or misunderstood. BUILT FOR YOUR HEALING JOURNEY Mindberg supports you through: - Trauma and emotional wounds - CPTSD and early conditioning - Grief and loss - Breakups and relational wounds - Identity crises and loss of direction - Recovery from numbing habits and addictive patterns - Inner child healing - Spiritual exploration and meaning-making Mindberg is a safe place to face what you've been avoiding and finally move through it. Everything you write stays private. Your journal is yours alone. YOUR UNCONSCIOUS SPEAKS. START LISTENING. Dreams, emotional triggers, repeating patterns. None of these are random. They're signs from your unconscious mind. Mindberg includes: - Guided shadow work sessions - Prompts for Shadow exploration - Relationship patterns - Dream analysis and dream journal tools to uncover recurring symbols - Reflection tools that connect behavior to deeper patterns When you understand the unconscious forces shaping your life, you stop fighting yourself and start making real progress. WHY IT WORKS Most apps try to change your behavior. Mindberg works with the source of your behavior. By identifying the unconscious beliefs and patterns behind your decisions, you gain clarity and control. This is how you stop reacting and start choosing differently. People don't invest in Mindberg for quick fixes. They come for insight, transformation, and the chance to finally understand themselves. WHAT MAKES MINDBERG DIFFERENT Mindberg was created by a Jungian psychotherapist accredited by the C.G. Jung Institute Zürich. This isn't a faceless app. It's built by people who care deeply about your journey. The Mindberg team is emotionally invested and committed to supporting you as you explore your inner world. We listen, we iterate, and we evolve based on your feedback. If you have suggestions, reflections, or ideas, we'd love to hear from you. Leave a review or reach out directly. Your voice shapes the future of Mindberg. Start your journey inward. Understand your shadow. Reclaim your power.

Screenshots

Empathy Set4 screens
Shadow Work4 screens

Verdict

The call

Empathy Set and Shadow Work both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 86% of Empathy Set's written reviews are positive against 59% of Shadow Work's. Shadow Work's advantage is ratings volume (342 vs 9) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Empathy Set sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Shadow Work sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Empathy Set against 4.7 for Shadow Work. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shadow Work has 342 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Empathy Set's written reviews are positive against 59% of Shadow Work's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Empathy Set ships an update every 2 months, Shadow Work every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Empathy Set versus Shadow Work: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmpathy SetShadow Work
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (9 ratings)4.7 (342 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews — better59.4% of reviews
Number of ratings9342 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.113.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB100 MB
Age rating17+9+
DeveloperJohn FordMindberg doo

Customer experience

Empathy Set

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

Shadow Work

All ratings342 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews64 reviews
Positive59.4%
Neutral7.8%
Negative32.8%

Bugs and requests

Empathy Set

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Shadow Work

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App quits/backs out unexpectedly
  • App doesn't work some days
  • Dreams stuck on interpretation
  • Lost all tokens
  • Tokens taken but no response

Requested features

7 requests
  • App available in French
  • Better UI/UX design
  • More comforting app experience
  • Clearer explanation of app usage
  • Option to export dream logs
Show 2 more
  • Tokens replenish monthly
  • Dark mode option

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Empathy Set

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly subscription$0.991 Month
One-time6
  • 500 Points$4.99
  • 1500 Points$9.99
  • Lifetime usage$18.99
Show 3 more
  • 4000 Points$19.99
  • 7500 points$29.99
  • 30000 points$79.99
11 purchases

Shadow Work

Subscriptions7
  • Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$24.991 Month
  • Mindberg- Monthly Subscription$24.991 Month
  • Mindberg - 6 Months$59.996 Months
Show 4 more
  • Annual Subscription$99.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription Special$99.991 Year
  • Mindberg – Annual with Trial3 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription Offer$249.991 Year
One-time4
  • 1 Token$0.99
  • 5 Tokens$3.99
  • Shadow Work Integration$99.00
Show 1 more
  • Shadow Work Integration$199.99

Questions

Is Empathy Set free?
Empathy Set is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shadow Work free?
Shadow Work is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Empathy Set or Shadow Work?
Shadow Work is rated higher. Empathy Set averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Shadow Work averages 4.7 from 342 ratings.
Do Empathy Set or Shadow Work have ads?
Neither Empathy Set nor Shadow Work shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Empathy Set or Shadow Work?
Empathy Set ships an update every 2 months, and Shadow Work every 3 months. Most recently, Empathy Set was updated on October 20, 2026 and Shadow Work on October 17, 2026.

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