Comparison

CBT Trainer vs Practice Room

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

Head to head
About

CBT Trainer

This AI-driven platform offers realistic virtual patient interactions for therapists in training. It provides real-time feedback aligned with CBT competency frameworks, helping users improve assessment and clinical skills in a judgment-free environment. Practice anytime, anywhere with a variety of virtual patient scenarios.

Highlights
  • AI virtual patients for various conditions
  • Supports CBT, DBT, ACT modalities
  • Real-time feedback on competency
  • Voice and text interaction
  • Judgment-free practice environment
  • Develop essential clinical skills
Features
Read full description

The first AI-driven virtual patient platform with real-time feedback aligned to established competency frameworks, validated by research and trusted by 2000+ mental health professionals and leading universities. Developed by clinicians and academics at University College London (UCL) and validated in a peer-reviewed study published in JMIR Medical Education (Zhang et al., 2026), CBT Trainer helps therapists in training build essential clinical skills through realistic virtual patient interactions. Backed by Research In a UCL pilot study of 59 DClinPsy and Low-Intensity CBT trainees: 96% reported improved assessment skills 83% reported improved clinical skills overall Trainees voluntarily engaged for an average of 95+ minutes of role-play Rated "Excellent" on the System Usability Scale (82.2/100) "Knowing that I could practice anytime made me feel so much more calm about my exam." — Study Participant "The competence section helped me recognise areas I missed during my roleplay." — Study Participant Read the published study → https://mededu.jmir.org/2026/1/e84091 Perfect for: Clinical psychology trainees · CBT, DBT, ACT therapists in training · CBT therapists in training · Mental health educators Key Features: - AI virtual patients presenting depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, social anxiety, and more - Supports multiple therapy modalities: CBT, DBT, ACT - Real-time feedback aligned to the CTS-R Competence Scale - Voice and text interaction for natural conversation - Judgment-free environment to practise, make mistakes, and learn - No scheduling required — practise anytime, anywhere - Develop Essential Clinical Skills: Assessment · Information gathering · Therapeutic engagement · Guided discovery · Agenda setting · Risk assessment · Treatment delivery Supported competence scales: - Revised Cognitive Therapy Scale (CTS-R) - Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Scale for Children and Young People (CBTS-CYP) - Assessment of Core CBT Skills (ACCS) - ENhancing Assessment of Common Therapeutic factors (ENACT) - Person-Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy Scale-10 (PCEPS-10) - MBT Adherence and Competence Scale (MBT-RACS) CBT Trainer is intended for educational purposes only and does not provide medical advice or treatment. This app uses Apple's Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Practice Room

Read full description

The Practice Room is counselling and therapy role play with AI clients, built for trainee counsellors, students and qualified therapists who want to rehearse the hardest part of the work: the conversation. Choose a simulated client, pick the approach you are training in (person-centred, CBT, psychodynamic, integrative and more) and practise by voice, text or live video. Try an opening, sit with a silence, navigate a rupture, practise an intervention, with no real person on the other side. After every session you can read the full transcript alongside supervisor-style feedback tied to what you actually said, then write a reflection to bring to supervision. • Realistic AI clients, each with a clear brief and topic • Voice, text and live video sessions • Feedback matched to your own turns in the conversation • Saved reflections, session history and progress over time • Starter clients on Free, and every client, including the advanced ones, on any paid plan Free includes 10 credits each month. Standard includes 36 credits each month, Pro includes 60, and Max includes 120 with voice and text sessions up to 15 minutes. Voice and text practice uses 1 credit a minute; video uses 3 credits a minute. There are no automatic overage charges. The Practice Room is a training tool for professional development and CPD. It is not therapy, and the clients are not real people. Built for counsellors, psychotherapists, trainees, and anyone developing their clinical conversation skills. The Practice Room offers auto-renewable monthly subscriptions. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://thepracticeroom.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://thepracticeroom.app/privacy

Screenshots

CBT Trainer4 screens
Practice Room3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Practice Room at 4 against CBT Trainer's 2. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. CBT Trainer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month and Practice Room sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CBT Trainer ships an update monthly, Practice Room every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
CBT Trainer versus Practice Room: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCBT TrainerPractice Room
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB5 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperSoy Educational Technologies LimitedInnerLight Labs

In-app purchases

4 purchases

CBT Trainer

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Premium Promo$19.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium Promo$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Premium7 Days trial$199.991 Year
3 purchases

Practice Room

Subscriptions3
  • Standard$9.001 Month
  • Pro$29.991 Month
  • Max$39.991 Month

Questions

Is CBT Trainer free?
CBT Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Practice Room free?
Practice Room is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do CBT Trainer or Practice Room have ads?
Neither CBT Trainer nor Practice Room shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CBT Trainer or Practice Room?
CBT Trainer ships an update monthly, and Practice Room every 2 weeks. Most recently, CBT Trainer was updated on November 3, 2026 and Practice Room on October 31, 2026.

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