Comparison

PTSD Coach vs UCLA Mindful

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

Head to head
About

PTSD Coach

This app offers educational resources and self-help tools for individuals experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It includes a self-assessment, information on professional care, and customizable tools for managing daily stress, such as relaxation techniques and anger management.

Highlights
  • PTSD education
  • Self-assessment tool
  • Professional care information
  • Stress management tools
  • Customizable features
  • Relaxation skills
Features
Read full description

PTSD Coach was designed for those who have, or may have, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This app provides you with education about PTSD, information about professional care, a self-assessment for PTSD, opportunities to find support, and tools that can help you manage the stresses of daily life with PTSD. Tools range from relaxation skills and positive self-talk to anger management and other common self-help strategies. You can customize tools based on your preferences and can integrate your own contacts, photos, and music. This app can be used by people who are in treatment as well as those who are not. PTSD Coach was created by VA’s National Center for PTSD and DoD’s National Center for Telehealth & Technology.

About

UCLA Mindful

Practice mindfulness meditation with guided sessions and educational content from UCLA Health. Learn to manage stress, reduce anxiety, and cultivate positive emotions through regular practice. Explore various meditation types, informative videos, and weekly recordings to enhance your well-being.

Highlights
  • Guided basic meditations
  • Wellness meditations for health conditions
  • Informative videos on mindfulness
  • Weekly live/virtual meditation recordings
  • Talks on mindfulness topics
  • Customizable meditation timer
Features
Read full description

With this easy-to-use app, you can practice mindfulness meditation anywhere, anytime with the guidance of UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health. Scientific research shows mindfulness can help manage stress-related physical conditions, reduce anxiety and depression, and cultivate positive emotions. Mindfulness is paying attention to our present moment experiences with openness and curiosity and a willingness to be with our experience. Through regular practice, taught through this app, you can develop a meditation practice and learn to bring more mindfulness into your daily life. This app offers: • Basic Meditations for getting started in multiple languages. Languages include Arabic, Armenian, Cantonese, Farsi, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Mixteco, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, American Sign Language • Wellness Meditations for people suffering from challenging health conditions • Informative videos exploring how to get started, supportive meditation postures, and the science of mindfulness • Weekly recordings from our live and virtual drop-in meditations -- a 30-minute meditation on different themes you can search for and bookmark • Talks on mindfulness-related topics • A timer to meditate on your own • A list of our current events and classes that you can add to your calendar UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health, is dedicated to advancing mindfulness education to promote individual and cultural well-being and resilience world-wide. Our mission is to provide innovative, evidence-based mindfulness programs that empower individuals and institutions to manage stress, enhance health, and cultivate inner and outer peace. Through educational programs, we strive to inspire transformative growth and contribute to a culture of compassion and wellness for all. Due to UCLA Mindful’s mission of radical accessibility, this app is entirely free to use. Disclaimer: These meditations are for educational purposes and are not clinical treatments.

Screenshots

PTSD Coach4 screens
UCLA Mindful4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: UCLA Mindful at every 3 months against PTSD Coach's every 11 months. PTSD Coach's advantage is ratings volume (4.3K vs 176) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PTSD Coach holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PTSD Coach has 4.3K ratings behind it against 176, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of PTSD Coach's written reviews are positive against 77% of UCLA Mindful's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PTSD Coach ships an update every 11 months, UCLA Mindful every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PTSD Coach versus UCLA Mindful: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPTSD CoachUCLA Mindful
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4.3K ratings) — better4.5 (176 ratings)
Positive reviews81.1% of reviews — better76.7% of reviews
Number of ratings4.3K — better176
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size83 MB23 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperUS Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)UCLA Health

Customer experience

PTSD Coach

All ratings4,308 ratings
Positive94.5%
Neutral3.2%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews111 reviews
Positive81.1%
Neutral3.6%
Negative15.3%

UCLA Mindful

All ratings172 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral0.6%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive76.7%
Neutral5.0%
Negative18.3%

User reviews

PTSD Coach

From 4.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Useful app for managing PTSD symptoms
  • 🚀 Accessible and easy to use
  • 💡 Provides a variety of coping tools
  • 🌟 Helpful for both veterans and non-veterans
  • 🧠 Aids in self-assessment and progress tracking

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Limited to veteran-focused PTSD content
  • 🔊 Distracting background sounds in some exercises
  • 🐛 Occasional app crashes and freezing issues
  • 📱 Outdated or lacking features for modern devices

UCLA Mindful

From 176 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🙏 Free and accessible resource
  • 🧘‍♀️ High-quality guided meditations
  • 🗣️ Calming and comforting narrator voices (Diana Winston)
  • 👍 Simple, easy to use, and navigate
  • 🌍 Multiple languages offered

Room to improve

  • 🗣️ Presenter talks too much during meditations
  • 🔌 Requires a good internet connection (streaming)
  • 🔄 No offline access
  • 📱 App doesn't rotate on iPad in landscape mode
  • 🔊 Loud ding at the end of some tracks

Bugs and requests

PTSD Coach

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • History data being deleted after updates
  • Symptom assessment reminders not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Multi-language support
  • Ability to customize or add personal content
  • Integration with mental health professionals
  • Expanded resources for non-veteran PTSD
  • Improved symptom tracking and data visualization

UCLA Mindful

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • 🐛 Loop repeat did not replay when screen is locked
  • 🐛 Audio stops when iPhone screen locks/turns off
  • 🐛 Back button disappears on search podcast tab
  • 🐛 Search in previous podcast is slow to respond
  • 🐛 Custom timer doesn't work as intended
Show 1 more
  • 🐛 Meditations won't load (show 0 time)

Requested features

6 requests
  • Offline access/downloadable sessions
  • More voice diversity (ethnicity and gender)
  • Add to Apple Health for tracking mindful minutes
  • Improve pausing points for Vietnamese meditations
  • Remove the ding at the end of tracks
Show 1 more
  • Wider selection of UCLA courses/Diana Winston meditations

In-app purchases

None

PTSD Coach

No in-app purchases

None

UCLA Mindful

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PTSD Coach free?
PTSD Coach is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is UCLA Mindful free?
UCLA Mindful is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PTSD Coach or UCLA Mindful?
PTSD Coach is rated higher. PTSD Coach averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4.3K ratings, while UCLA Mindful averages 4.5 from 176 ratings.
Do PTSD Coach or UCLA Mindful have ads?
Neither PTSD Coach nor UCLA Mindful shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PTSD Coach or UCLA Mindful?
PTSD Coach ships an update every 11 months, and UCLA Mindful every 3 months. Most recently, PTSD Coach was updated on October 21, 2026 and UCLA Mindful on October 20, 2026.

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