Comparison

MindSampler vs Sona by Pelago

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

Head to head
About

MindSampler

Participate in scientific research by answering short questions and experiments throughout your day. Contribute to understanding human thought, feelings, and behavior.

Highlights
  • Contribute to scientific understanding
  • Receive daily experiment notifications
  • Answer short questions
  • Enter study codes
  • Track daily life insights
Features
Read full description

Help scientists understand how people think, feel, and behave as they go about their daily lives. Enter your study code and start receiving notifications throughout the day with short experiments or questions to answer.

About

Sona by Pelago

This AI-powered coach offers a voice-first approach to mental well-being, providing a non-judgmental space to process thoughts and feelings anytime. It learns your patterns to offer personalized support for managing anxiety, building habits, and improving sleep.

Highlights
  • Voice-first conversations
  • Personalized AI learning
  • Non-judgmental listening
  • Habit building support
  • Anxiety management
  • Sleep improvement
  • Always available check-ins
Read full description

Sona is your personal AI coach — available anytime you need to talk. Life gets overwhelming. Racing thoughts at 2am. Stress before a big meeting. That nagging feeling you're not doing enough. Sona is here for all of it. Talk, don't type. Sona is voice-first. Have a real conversation — like calling a friend who always picks up. No typing, no forms, no waiting. She actually remembers you. Sona learns who you are over time. Your goals, your patterns, what's been on your mind. Every conversation builds on the last. No judgment. Ever. Sona isn't here to fix you or tell you what to do. She's here to listen, help you think things through, and support you in becoming who you want to be. Built around your life. Whether it's managing anxiety, building better habits, improving sleep, or just processing your day — Sona adapts to what matters to you. Check in anytime. 5 minutes or 15 minutes. Morning or midnight. Sona is always ready when you are. Sona uses ElevenLabs to power your voice conversations. Your voice audio and conversation text are sent to ElevenLabs for speech processing and AI responses. Your data is processed solely to deliver the conversation experience and is not used for advertising, data mining, or model training. You will be asked for explicit consent before any data is shared. For details, see our Privacy Policy. --- Sona is not a replacement for therapy or medical treatment. If you're in crisis, please contact a mental health professional or call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).

Screenshots

MindSampler4 screens
Sona by Pelago4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Sona by Pelago at 4.7 against MindSampler's 2.0. Sona by Pelago also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (27 vs 4). MindSampler's advantage is monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

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

Sona by Pelago holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sona by Pelago has 27 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MindSampler ships an update every 2 months, Sona by Pelago weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
MindSampler versus Sona by Pelago: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMindSamplerSona by Pelago
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.0 (4 ratings)4.7 (27 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—83.3% of reviews
Number of ratings427 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB86 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperMindSampler Inc.Digital Therapeutics Ltd

Customer experience

MindSampler

All ratings4 ratings
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%

Sona by Pelago

All ratings27 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

None

MindSampler

No in-app purchases

None

Sona by Pelago

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MindSampler free?
MindSampler is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sona by Pelago free?
Sona by Pelago is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MindSampler or Sona by Pelago?
Sona by Pelago is rated higher. MindSampler averages 2.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Sona by Pelago averages 4.7 from 27 ratings.
Do MindSampler or Sona by Pelago have ads?
Neither MindSampler nor Sona by Pelago shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MindSampler or Sona by Pelago?
MindSampler ships an update every 2 months, and Sona by Pelago weekly. Most recently, MindSampler was updated on October 7, 2026 and Sona by Pelago on October 16, 2026.

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