# Shadow Work vs Empath

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Empath at 100% against Shadow Work's 59%. Empath also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Shadow Work's advantage is ratings volume (342 vs 4) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Shadow Work sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per month and Empath sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Empath holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shadow Work has 342 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of Shadow Work's written reviews are positive against 100% of Empath's.

Shadow Work ships an update every 3 months, Empath every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shadow Work | Empath |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (342 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadow-work-mindberg/id6446803413/reviews) | **[5.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/empath-private-journal/id6472873287/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **342** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 59.4% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 100 MB | 78 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 18 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mindberg doo](https://appshunter.io/developer/1679173062) | [Div Khare](https://appshunter.io/developer/1718006882) |

## What reviewers say

### Shadow Work

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadow-work-mindberg/id6446803413)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $24.99 | per month |
| Mindberg- Monthly Subscription | $24.99 | per month |
| Mindberg - 6 Months | $59.99 | per 6 months |
| Annual Subscription | $99.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription Special | $99.99 | per year |
| Mindberg – Annual with Trial | $99.99 | per year |
| Annual Subscription Offer | $249.99 | per year |
| 1 Token | $0.99 | one-time |
| 5 Tokens | $3.99 | one-time |
| Shadow Work Integration | $99.00 | one-time |
| Shadow Work Integration | $199.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💡 Deep root cause analysis
- 👍 Excellent listening and chat feature
- 🚀 Tremendous personal growth
- 🌟 Clarity, confidence, and growth
- 💎 Game-changing for inner work

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🤖 Generic and AI-like content
- 😵 Incongruent and nonsensical metaphors
- 💸 No free trial offered
- 🎨 Depressing and scary UI/logo
- 🐛 App quits/backs out unexpectedly

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- App available in French
- Better UI/UX design
- More comforting app experience
- Clearer explanation of app usage
- Option to export dream logs


### Empath

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/empath-private-journal/id6472873287)

This app helps you untangle your thoughts and gain clarity by providing a secure space for journaling. It offers AI-driven insights, integrates with health data, and maps emotions using feeling and intensity dimensions. It can also serve as a companion for therapy sessions.

**Highlights:** Secure AI-powered insights, Health data integration, Mood mapping (feeling & intensity), Therapist companion feature, Private and secure journaling, Thought untangling and clarity

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Empath Plus Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Premium Monthly | $6.99 | per month |
| Empath Plus Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Premium Annual | $49.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shadow Work free?

Shadow Work is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Empath free?

Empath is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Shadow Work or Empath?

Empath is rated higher. Shadow Work averages 4.7 out of 5 from 342 ratings, while Empath averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.

### Do Shadow Work or Empath have ads?

Neither Shadow Work nor Empath shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Shadow Work or Empath?

Shadow Work ships an update every 3 months, and Empath every 4 days. Most recently, Shadow Work was updated on October 17, 2026 and Empath on October 6, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*