# CBT vs Bearable

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: CBT at none against Bearable's 13. Bearable's advantage is review sentiment (81% vs 47%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 7 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bearable sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $4.49 per month. CBT asks for nothing beyond the download.

Bearable holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13K and 6.6K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of CBT's written reviews are positive against 81% of Bearable's.

CBT ships an update every 7 months, Bearable weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | CBT | Bearable |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cbt-i-coach/id655918660/reviews) | **[4.8 (6.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bearable-symptom-tracker/id1482581097/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **13K** | 6.6K |
| Positive reviews | 47.0% of reviews | **81.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#189** |
| Size | 217 MB | 116 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)](https://appshunter.io/developer/430646305) | [Bearable Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1516477550) |

## What reviewers say

### CBT

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cbt-i-coach/id655918660)

This app guides users through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) to improve sleep habits and alleviate insomnia symptoms. It teaches strategies for better sleep routines and environments, complementing professional therapy.

**Highlights:** Sleep education, Positive sleep routines, Sleep environment improvement, Structured CBT-i program, Integration with Apple Health and Fitbit

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🙏 Thank you
- 👍 Helpful
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Excellent resource
- 👍 Valuable for treating insomnia

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Zero direction
- 🐛 Worthless
- 🐛 Compatibility issues
- 🐛 Not a sleep journal
- 🐛 Completely dysfunctional

**Reported bugs**

- Sleep data import broken
- Date malfunction in sleep diary
- Cannot set date past 7/23/2024
- Functionality
- Export doesn't work

**Requested features**

- Add cycle tracking
- Separate napping & dozing
- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- 5 minute increments for time tracking


### Bearable

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bearable-symptom-tracker/id1482581097)

**Currently charting:** #189 Top Grossing · Health & Fitness (US App Store)

This app helps you understand and manage your health by tracking symptoms, triggers, and treatments. It allows you to identify patterns and correlations to gain better control over chronic illnesses, pain, mood, and more. Securely store and analyze your health data to share with your doctor.

**Highlights:** Symptom tracking, Trigger identification, Medication and treatment logging, Habit and activity tracking, Health data correlation analysis, Medical appointment preparation, Data export and sync

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

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bearable premium | $4.49 | per month |
| Bearable premium | $6.99 | per month |
| Premium subscription | $15.99 | per year |
| Bearable premium | $18.99 | per year |
| Bearable premium | $22.99 | per year |
| Bearable Premium | $23.99 | per year |
| Bearable premium | $27.99 | per year |
| Bearable premium | $27.99 | per year |
| Bearable premium | $27.99 | per year |
| Bearable premium | $27.99 | per year |
| Bearable premium | $34.99 | per year |
| Bearable premium | $39.99 | per year |
| Bearable premium | $49.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Highly customizable
- 🚀 Comprehensive health tracking
- 💡 Helpful for chronic illness management
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 👍 Integrates with Apple Health

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Privacy concerns around data sharing
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Requires account creation
- 💰 Premium features behind paywall

**Reported bugs**

- Logging out and switching devices causes data loss
- Customization options can be buggy

**Requested features**

- Improved sleep tracking
- Integration with more health data sources
- Menstrual cycle tracking
- iPad app version
- Easier food/nutrition tracking


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CBT free?

CBT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Bearable free?

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

### Which has better reviews, CBT or Bearable?

Bearable is rated higher. CBT averages 4.6 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Bearable averages 4.8 from 6.6K ratings.

### Do CBT or Bearable have ads?

Neither CBT nor Bearable shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CBT or Bearable?

CBT ships an update every 7 months, and Bearable weekly. Most recently, CBT was updated on October 31, 2026 and Bearable on October 31, 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.*