Comparison

CBT vs mySleepButton

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

Head to head
About

CBT

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
Read full description

CBT-i Coach is for people who are engaged in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia with a health provider, or who have experienced symptoms of insomnia and would like to improve their sleep habits. The app will guide you through the process of learning about sleep, developing positive sleep routines, and improving your sleep environment. It provides a structured program that teaches strategies proven to improve sleep and help alleviate symptoms of insomnia. CBT-i Coach is intended to augment face-to-face care with a healthcare professional. It can be used on its own, but it is not intended to replace therapy for those who need it. CBT-i Coach is based on the therapy manual, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Veterans, by Rachel Manber, Ph.D., Leah Friedman, Ph.D., Colleen Carney, Ph.D., Jack Edinger, Ph.D., Dana Epstein, Ph.D., Patricia Haynes, Ph.D., Wilfred Pigeon, Ph.D. and Allison Siebern, Ph.D. CBT-i has been shown to be efficacious for insomnia for both Veterans and civilians. CBT-i Coach was a collaborative effort between VA’s National Center for PTSD, Stanford School of Medicine, and DoD’s National Center for Telehealth and Technology. CBT-i Coach works with the Apple Health app and Fitbit.

About

mySleepButton

This app uses a "cognitive shuffle" technique to help users fall asleep by distracting their minds with imagery. It offers guided meditations and can be used with audio devices for a screen-free experience.

Highlights
  • Cognitive shuffle technique
  • Guided imagery for sleep
  • Affective body scan meditation
  • Configurable meditation pack
  • Audio playback on external devices
  • Siri shortcuts
Features
Read full description

mySleepButton® is a CogSci Apps® invention. Its purpose is to help you fall asleep with the "cognitive shuffle", as featured in the The New York Times, The Guardian, Forbes Magazine, Canadian Government’s Institute of Health Research, The BC Medical Journal online, Popular Science Magazine, Forbes Magazine ("disrupt all patterns and rest in blissful chaos"), LifeHacker ("surprisingly effective"), etc. It’s so easy: Just lie in bed, touch the “Put Me to Sleep” button, imagine the various descriptions it reads to you, and let yourself fall asleep… pleasantly. That is the Cognitive Shuffle! O, The Oprah magazine, calls mySleepButton “An easy little game to trick yourself to sleep.” The Guardian wrote: "My top recommendation remains the visualisation method known as the “cognitive shuffle”: download the MySleepButton app". Quartz says mySleepButton is “a drug-free sleep trick for your restless mind”. International Business Times of London says “mySleepButton App Hijacks Thoughts to Help Sleep”. Into mindfulness meditation? mySleepButton also contains a configurable "affective body scan" meditation pack. It taps into the brain's body maps. Still awake after the meditation? Instantly proceed to guided shuffled imagery. You can try mySleepButton for FREE! There's no subscription fee. Buy the pack(s) that you like, and shuffle your thoughts to sleep. The goal of mySleepButton is to keep your mind off your concerns while putting it in an imagery rich state conducive to sleep. mySleepButton can also be triggered with Air Pods and played on Apple's Home Pod (or other devices) if you don't want an iPhone or iPad in your bed room. It even has Siri shortcuts. So, why not enjoy a dreamy transition to sleep? “Shuffle Your Thoughts to Sleep” with mySleepButton.

Screenshots

CBT4 screens
mySleepButton2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: CBT at none against mySleepButton's 14. CBT also leads on ratings volume (13K vs 212). mySleepButton's advantage is review sentiment (73% vs 47%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. mySleepButton sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. CBT asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for CBT against 4.5 for mySleepButton. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CBT has 13K ratings behind it against 212, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 47% of CBT's written reviews are positive against 73% of mySleepButton's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CBT ships an update every 7 months, mySleepButton every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
CBT versus mySleepButton: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCBTmySleepButton
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (13K ratings) — better4.5 (212 ratings)
Positive reviews46.9% of reviews72.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better212
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size217 MB45 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperUS Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)CogSci Apps Corp.

Customer experience

CBT

All ratings7,438 ratings
Positive91.1%
Neutral5.2%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews226 reviews
Positive46.9%
Neutral14.2%
Negative38.9%

mySleepButton

All ratings210 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral5.2%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews129 reviews
Positive72.9%
Neutral6.2%
Negative20.9%

User reviews

CBT

From 13K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

mySleepButton

From 212 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 No fuss, just works
  • 👍 Effective for insomnia
  • 👍 Puts me to sleep quickly
  • 👍 Helps shut down racing thoughts
  • 👍 Better than sleeping pills

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Audio quality issues (crackling, clicking)
  • 🔧 Requires in-app purchases to unlock full functionality
  • 🔧 Repetitive content in free version

Bugs and requests

CBT

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Sleep data import broken
  • Date malfunction in sleep diary
  • Cannot set date past 7/23/2024
  • Functionality
  • Export doesn't work
Show 4 more
  • Cannot access sleep prescription
  • Alarms don't work
  • Save button does not work anymore
  • App stopped working after 1/1/19

Requested features

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

mySleepButton

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes after iOS updates
  • Purchased content not restoring properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • More diverse content and voices
  • Randomized word/scene order
  • Support for additional languages
  • Apple Watch app

In-app purchases

None

CBT

No in-app purchases

13 purchases

mySleepButton

One-time13
  • Disable iAd$0.99
  • Album d'items simples$3.99
  • 単語パック$3.99
Show 10 more
  • 简单事物专辑$4.99
  • Simple-Things Pack$5.99
  • Drawing Pack2 variants$5.99
  • Scenes Pack$5.99
  • Album d'items à dessiner$5.99
  • Simple-Things Pack$6.99
  • Album d'items simples$6.99
  • Scenes Pack$8.99
  • Body Scan Pack$8.99
  • Kids Pack (4+)$8.99

Questions

Is CBT free?
CBT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is mySleepButton free?
mySleepButton is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CBT or mySleepButton?
CBT is rated higher. CBT averages 4.6 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while mySleepButton averages 4.5 from 212 ratings.
Do CBT or mySleepButton have ads?
Neither CBT nor mySleepButton shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CBT or mySleepButton?
CBT ships an update every 7 months, and mySleepButton every 5 months. Most recently, CBT was updated on October 24, 2026 and mySleepButton on October 23, 2026.

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