Comparison

Shadow Work App vs Lumis

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

Head to head
About

Shadow Work App

This app helps you transform your mindset to ease stress, unlock creativity, and cultivate deeper awareness. Become the author of your life story by shifting your experience of the world.

Highlights
  • Ease stressful thoughts
  • Unlock creativity
  • Shift world experience
  • Become author of your story
  • Cultivate deeper awareness
  • Progress tracking
  • Offline sync
Features
Read full description

Most people don't need more journaling prompts. They need someone who actually knows what they're looking at. Shadow Work App is built on 25 years of depth-work methodology by Steven Twohig — an international speaker, founder of Mastering Change, Executive Director of the Evolving Mind Project (EMP), and author and teacher of Turning Within. This is not a wellness app. It is a practice. WHAT SHADOW WORK ACTUALLY IS The part of you running the show isn't the part you're watching. Shadow is meaning in exile — the thoughts, impulses, and patterns you've disowned. They don't disappear. They drive. This app gives you a structured way to see them, name them, and reclaim what they're carrying. WHAT YOU WORK WITH - The Construct — a seven-facet map of how your mind builds your experience right now - Guided depth sessions drawn from live group facilitation - Turning Within practices for solo work between sessions - Prompts that move below the surface, not across it WHO THIS IS FOR You've done (or doing) the therapy. You've read (reading) the books. Something is still calling you to dig deeper into the root. This is for the person ready to stop managing circumstances and start understanding the architecture of their own mind. BUILT DIFFERENTLY Most apps give you prompts. This gives you a methodology. The difference is knowing why a pattern exists — not just that it does. Download free. Go deeper than you have before. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Lumis

This app offers guided Stoic journaling and reflection sessions with ancient philosophers as mentors. It helps users make clearer decisions and track their personal growth through thoughtful prompts and a unique decision-making framework.

Highlights
  • Guided Stoic journaling sessions
  • Daily wisdom cards from mentors
  • Decision-making framework
  • Personal journey timeline
  • Reflection prompts
  • Ancient philosophy integration
Features
Read full description

Description Lumis pairs you with Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus -- as mentors, not mascots -- for daily Stoic journaling, guided reflection, and decisions made with a clearer head. Philosophy was never self-help. It was preparation for life -- a discipline practiced by emperors, prisoners, exiles, and anyone who dared to think clearly about what it means to exist. Somewhere along the way, we reduced it to motivational posters and morning affirmations. Lumis is an attempt to restore what was lost. Lumis pairs you with three of history's most formidable minds -- Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus -- not as characters in a game, but as mentors in an ongoing conversation about how to live. Each brings a distinct voice. Marcus writes as a man governing an empire while wrestling with his own mortality. Seneca speaks with the urgency of someone who knows how quickly fortune turns. Epictetus teaches with the directness of a formerly enslaved man who discovered the only real freedom is internal. MORNING WISDOM Each day begins with a single card -- a passage drawn from your chosen mentor, contextualized for your life. Not a generic quote. A thought selected because of where you are in your journey, what you wrote yesterday, what you are facing today. Read it. Sit with it. Let it work on you before the noise of the day begins. GUIDED JOURNALING Writing is how philosophy becomes personal. Lumis offers structured journaling sessions guided by your mentor's voice. They ask the questions the Stoics actually asked: What is within my control? Where am I confusing comfort with purpose? What would I do if this were my last year? The prompts adapt. The conversation deepens over time. THE DECISION FRAMEWORK When you face a difficult choice, the Decision Framework walks you through it the way a Stoic would -- separating emotion from judgment, clarifying values, examining what you can and cannot control, and arriving at action. This is not a pros-and-cons list. It is a structured practice in practical wisdom. YOUR JOURNEY Lumis tracks your path over weeks and months. Not with streaks or gamification, but with a quiet timeline of your evolving thought -- the themes that recur, the shifts in perspective, the moments where something changed. Philosophy is cumulative. The timeline lets you see the arc. What makes Lumis different is what it refuses to do. There are no achievement badges. No social feeds. No cheerful notifications telling you to be grateful. The interface is dark, deliberate, and still -- designed to feel like opening a book at night, not scrolling through an app. The writing is literate. The interactions are meaningful. The philosophy is real. This is a space for thinking. Nothing more. Nothing less. Terms of Use: https://www.lumis.quest/terms · Privacy: https://www.lumis.quest/privacy

Screenshots

Shadow Work App4 screens
Lumis4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Lumis at 5.0 against Shadow Work App's 4.4. Lumis also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks). Shadow Work App's advantage is ratings volume (29 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Shadow Work App sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and Lumis sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lumis holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shadow Work App has 29 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shadow Work App ships an update every 3 weeks, Lumis every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Shadow Work App versus Lumis: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShadow Work AppLumis
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (29 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings29 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMastering ChangeMax Harar

Customer experience

Shadow Work App

All ratings29 ratings
Positive86.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative13.8%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%

Lumis

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Shadow Work App

One-time9
  • Introduction to Shadow Work$4.99
  • Shadow Work Intro$9.95
  • One Time Subscription$19.99
Show 6 more
  • Mental Cleanse App$48.99
  • One Time Subscription$48.99
  • Constructive Thought Process$49.00
  • Living Mythically$49.00
  • Mastermind Group$59.99
  • Digital Guide Education$79.00
3 purchases

Lumis

Subscriptions2
  • Lumis Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Lumis Annual Plan7 Days trial$99.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime / One-time purchase$199.99

Questions

Is Shadow Work App free?
Shadow Work App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lumis free?
Lumis is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shadow Work App or Lumis?
Lumis is rated higher. Shadow Work App averages 4.4 out of 5 from 29 ratings, while Lumis averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Shadow Work App or Lumis have ads?
Neither Shadow Work App nor Lumis shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shadow Work App or Lumis?
Shadow Work App ships an update every 3 weeks, and Lumis every 6 days. Most recently, Shadow Work App was updated on November 3, 2026 and Lumis on November 10, 2026.

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