# Shadow Work vs Liven

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Shadow Work at 59% against Liven's 20%. Shadow Work also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). Liven's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Shadow Work sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per month and Liven sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Shadow Work holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 342 and 200 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of Shadow Work's written reviews are positive against 20% of Liven's.

Shadow Work ships an update every 3 months, Liven every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shadow Work | Liven |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (342 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadow-work-mindberg/id6446803413/reviews)** | [4.5 (200 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/liven/id6737596528/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **342** | 200 |
| Positive reviews | **59.4% of reviews** | 20.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Subscription |
| Size | 100 MB | 144 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 14.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mindberg doo](https://appshunter.io/developer/1679173062) | [7Logic LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896725818) |

## 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


### Liven

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/liven/id6737596528)

Cultivate a healthier lifestyle and prioritize mental well-being by creating meaningful routines, tracking daily habits, and reflecting on your growth through guided journaling. Engage in self-improvement challenges to stay motivated on your journey to a better self.

**Highlights:** Track daily habits, Personalized or custom routines, Guided journaling, Self-improvement challenges, Unlimited habit tracking (Premium), Full access to guided journals (Premium)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Quarterly | $29.99 | per 3 months |
| Yearly + 7-day Trial | $59.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shadow Work free?

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

### Is Liven free?

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

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

Shadow Work is rated higher. Shadow Work averages 4.7 out of 5 from 342 ratings, while Liven averages 4.5 from 200 ratings.

### Do Shadow Work or Liven have ads?

Neither Shadow Work nor Liven shows ads.

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

Shadow Work ships an update every 3 months, and Liven every 9 days. Most recently, Shadow Work was updated on October 1, 2026 and Liven on September 30, 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.*