# 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 10 days vs every 3 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Shadow Work's advantage is ratings volume (342 vs 4). 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 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 23, 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/id6755508668/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 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 100 MB | 18 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mindberg doo](https://appshunter.io/developer/1679173062) | [Emily Wu](https://appshunter.io/developer/1762322870) |

## 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/id6755508668)

This app offers a comprehensive personality analysis by combining MBTI, enneagram, birth chart, and attachment styles. It provides a visual aura profile, detailed trait breakdowns, and personalized recommendations for growth. Users can update their types to explore different personality combinations.

**Highlights:** Combined personality system readings, Visual aura profile, Detailed trait breakdown, Personalized recommendations, Updateable personality types, Curated content picks

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Support with Matcha | $4.99 | one-time |


## 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 10 days. Most recently, Shadow Work was updated on October 1, 2026 and ~empath~ on September 23, 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.*