Comparison

Don’t Panic with AJ vs Rootd

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

Head to head
About

Don’t Panic with AJ

This app offers guided meditations and mindfulness sessions to help users overcome anxiety and panic attacks. It provides tools and techniques to manage stress, improve mindset, and regain control during overwhelming situations.

Highlights
  • Guided meditations for anxiety and panic
  • Mindfulness sessions for stress relief
  • Techniques to regain control of feelings
  • Positive and motivational messages
  • Short meditations for on-the-go use
  • Breathing exercises for calmness
Features
Read full description

Overcome anxiety and break free from panic attacks with this guide, designed to help you in challenging and overwhelming situations. During tough times it’s easy to feel stressed and anxious, which can lead to that panicked feeling where you’re not in control. Don’t Panic is here for you, with a guided meditation you can use at any time of the day to keep feeling positive and mentally strong. Listen when you feel a moment of panic, anxiety, and stress – mindful messages will keep you find calmness, be productive and manage stress. Through relaxation and positive, motivational messages, Don’t Panic will empower you to:
 • Recognise the early signs of anxiety or panic. • Take control of your feelings using simple, effective techniques. • Remain positive and focused. • Deal with situations more confidently. • Release yourself from this constant, underlying threat. • Regain your freedom and feel more relaxed. Destress, improve your mindset, sleep better, grow your confidence and be healthier with guided meditations, mindfulness sessions and positive messages – and much more. Mindfulness expert, coach and therapist Andrew Johnson has been helping people deal with life’s challenges with guided relaxations, meditations, self-care tools and breathing exercises for many years. His best-selling range of mindfulness apps have a variety of content to help you, whether you are looking for ways to reduce stress and anxiety, lose weight, improve your health & confidence, learn relaxation techniques, etc. Key features: • Short meditations you can do anywhere: at work, commuting, at home, walking. • Inspirational sessions to help you tackle life’s challenges, to be calm and find clarity. • Mindfulness stories and talks to help you build better, healthy habits. Meditations to help you feel inspired and find motivated to eat well, workout and stay healthy both in body and mind. Relaxation techniques and tools to help you sleep better every night, to wake feeling energised and refreshed. Breathing exercises and calming meditations for anxiety, panic attacks and stress relief. Meditation sessions to stop anxiety in its tracks and release stress. How do I get more? Start your day mindfully, keep feeling positive and be inspired throughout the day with a range of guided meditations to help during tough or stressful moments. Boost your energy with a Power Nap, stay focussed to Beat Procrastination, and then drift off using a Deep Sleep meditation for a restful night. Think of Andrew as your personal mindfulness coach, always there to help when you need him most. Search for Andrew Johnson to unlock more daily mindfulness and guided meditation sessions.

About

Rootd

This app offers immediate and long-term relief from anxiety and panic attacks. It provides tools like a panic button, guided breathing, journaling, and educational lessons to help users understand and overcome their anxiety. Features also include soothing visualizations, sleep aids, and an emergency contact option.

Highlights
  • Panic attack SOS button
  • Guided deep breathing exercises
  • Anxiety journaling
  • Soothing visualizations
  • Educational lessons on anxiety
  • Sleep aids and relaxing sounds
  • Emergency contact feature
Features
Read full description

** Editor's Choice ** — Apple ** App of the Day ** — Apple ** Approved for privacy, security, clinical assurance, and safety ** — DHAF & ORCHA Rootd is anxiety and panic attack relief in your pocket. Award-winning, scientifically validated, female led and seen in Women's Health, Time Magazine, Healthline and more. With millions of users worldwide, Rootd is the go-to app for anxiety & panic attacks for more and more people each day. “I’ve suffered from panic attacks for almost 10 years. I’ve done CBT, medication, meditation, but nothing helped me in the moment when that panic attack hit, until I downloaded Rootd. Rootd makes it feel like someone is with me, even when I’m alone. I owe my continued stability to this simple genius app. It's a MUST for all who are facing the same type of war.” RainyNally Understand, and overcome anxiety & panic attacks with Rootd’s therapist-approved panic button, guided deep breathing, anxiety journal, soothing visualizations, stats page, emergency contact, and lessons. We set out to build Rootd after suffering from panic attacks and anxiety for several years. The only help we could find was either too expensive, ineffective, or poorly designed. Our mission is to help others find accessible relief from their panic and anxiety, and to end the stigma against those affected. Finally, an app for conquering panic attacks and anxiety that blends a guided process for both immediate and long term relief, with clean and engaging design. Rootd’s core features and content include: THE ROOTR, PANIC ATTACK SOS BUTTON A panic button to bring a swift end to panic attacks based on the latest techniques in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). LESSONS Find some peace of mind by learning about where anxiety comes from, how our bodies and minds experience panic attacks, and why this all might be happening to you. BREATHE The perfect tool to practice deep breathing daily and find calm during times of stress. JOURNAL Track and identify moods, habits, and subconscious triggers of anxiety and panic attacks. VISUALIZE Guided body scans, visualizations, ASMR, and nature sounds to get rooted when feeling anxious. SLEEP White noise, ASMR, sleep stories, relaxing sounds, and music for you to gain calm and sleep deeply. EMERGENCY CONTACT For when you need to hear a friendly voice, you can immediately call a friend, family member, or nearby help center directly from the app. PERSONAL STATS Take pride in your healing progress and gain appreciation for how far you’ve come. To continue your journey, you can upgrade to unlock Full Access to Rootd, including: MORE LESSONS Learn changes you can make and exercises you can perform to guide you through the remainder of the journey to lifelong relief and to living panic attack free. Rootd saves your Breathe, Visualize, and Sleep sessions to your Apple Health app. Subscription Pricing and Terms Get full access to all Rootd's content and features by purchasing a monthly or yearly auto-renewing Full Access subscription. Or get lifetime full access for a one-time payment. Pricing may vary by country. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Your Rootd subscription will automatically renew at the end of each term and your credit card will be charged through your iTunes account unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed and auto-renewal turned off any time from your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. “I appreciate the simple, factual, and yet caring approach of Rootd that makes it an inviting, interesting, and easy to use tool. I endorse this for individuals looking for support and tools for managing anxiety and panic attacks.” Wendy Marion-Orienti - Licensed PRH counsellor Terms: https://www.rootd.io/terms-conditions Privacy Policy: https://www.rootd.io/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Don’t Panic with AJ3 screens
Rootd4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Rootd at Free against Don’t Panic with AJ's $2.99. Rootd also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 7 months) and rating (4.8 vs 4.4). Don’t Panic with AJ's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment, monetization model 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

Rootd is free to download; Don’t Panic with AJ costs $2.99 up front. Rootd sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Don’t Panic with AJ asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Rootd holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rootd has 11K ratings behind it against 18, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 82% and 82% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Don’t Panic with AJ ships an update every 7 months, Rootd weekly. Both last shipped on October 22, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Don’t Panic with AJ versus Rootd: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDon’t Panic with AJRootd
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (18 ratings)4.8 (11K ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.7% of reviews82.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1811K — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS12.4 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB150 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUniversal Relaxation LtdSimply Rooted Media Inc.

Customer experience

Don’t Panic with AJ

All ratings18 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive81.7%
Neutral2.2%
Negative16.1%

Rootd

All ratings10,535 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral2.1%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews555 reviews
Positive82.3%
Neutral4.3%
Negative13.3%

User reviews

Don’t Panic with AJ

From 18 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 😌 Calming voice of Andrew Johnson
  • 😌 Helps with anxiety and panic attacks
  • 😴 Aids in falling asleep
  • 🧘‍♀️ Effective for relaxation and stress relief
  • 👍 Life-changing for many users

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Some recordings have bad quality
  • 🤔 Counting can be difficult during hypnosis
  • 🤔 Some users find it too much to concentrate on
  • 🔊 Harsh 'awaken' feature re-triggers anxiety

Rootd

From 11K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💗 Helps with anxiety and panic attacks
  • 🧘‍♀️ Useful breathing and relaxation exercises
  • 📚 Informative lessons on understanding anxiety
  • 🆓 Provides helpful free features
  • 🔒 No ads or distractions

Room to improve

  • 💰 Paid features can be expensive
  • 🐛 Some technical issues like app crashes
  • 🚫 Limited free content, need to pay for full access
  • 🤖 Voice/audio quality could be improved
  • 🤔 Certain features not always reliable during panic attacks

Bugs and requests

Don’t Panic with AJ

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • App crashes on opening
  • App freezes after update
  • App closes immediately after starting
  • Recording quality is bad
  • Update makes the application crash faster
Show 2 more
  • Pause between induction and program
  • No choice for long or short induction

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add a start time for sessions
  • Make a carsick app
  • More gentle 'awaken' option
  • Adjustable session length
  • More technique-focused apps

Rootd

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes on launch
  • Certain features not functioning as expected
  • Syncing/login issues with paid subscriptions

Requested features

5 requests
  • More free content and exercises
  • Ability to customize/personalize the app
  • Integration with wearables or smart home devices
  • Expanded journaling and mood tracking capabilities
  • Games or interactive elements to distract during anxiety

In-app purchases

None

Don’t Panic with AJ

No in-app purchases

11 purchases

Rootd

Subscriptions10
  • Chat With Ron$2.991 Month
  • Rootd Full Access Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Unlimited Annual Access7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Show 7 more
  • Rootd Full Access 6 Months$34.996 Months
  • Rootd Full Access Yearly3 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • Rootd Full Access Yearly$59.991 Year
  • 7 Day Trial Yearly Plan7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Rootd Full Access Yearly3 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Rootd Full Access Yearly$79.991 Year
  • Rootd Full Access Yearly7 Days trial$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • Rootd Lifetime Full Access$179.99

Questions

Is Don’t Panic with AJ free?
Don’t Panic with AJ costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rootd free?
Rootd is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Don’t Panic with AJ or Rootd?
Rootd is rated higher. Don’t Panic with AJ averages 4.4 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while Rootd averages 4.8 from 11K ratings.
Do Don’t Panic with AJ or Rootd have ads?
Rootd shows ads; Don’t Panic with AJ does not.
Which is updated more often, Don’t Panic with AJ or Rootd?
Don’t Panic with AJ ships an update every 7 months, and Rootd weekly. Most recently, Don’t Panic with AJ was updated on October 22, 2026 and Rootd on October 22, 2026.

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