Comparison

Talkspace vs ACT iCoach

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

Head to head
About

Talkspace

Access licensed therapists for online mental health support through text, audio, and video messaging. Receive personalized support and custom podcasts to aid your mental wellness journey. Insurance and employer coverage options are available.

Highlights
  • Licensed therapist matching
  • Unlimited messaging (text, audio, video)
  • Daily responses from therapists
  • Personalized Talkcast podcasts
  • Insurance and employer coverage
  • HIPAA compliant security
Features
Read full description

Talkspace is an online therapy app that connects adults and teens (13+) with licensed therapists in their state for text, audio, and video therapy — covered by many U.S. insurance plans and employers. More than 1 million people have used Talkspace for online therapy. Read member reviews at www.talkspace.com/reviews. Talkspace uses clinician-informed, responsible AI tools to support care that always stays human-first: every member is treated by a licensed therapist. HOW DOES TALKSPACE WORK? Tell us your preferences and get matched with a licensed therapist in your state, often the same day. Send unlimited text, audio, picture, or video messages anytime and receive responses at least once a day, 5 days a week — so you can process things as they happen instead of waiting for a weekly appointment. WHAT CAN TALKSPACE HELP WITH? Talkspace therapists treat a wide range of mental health needs, including anxiety, depression, stress and burnout, relationship challenges, trauma and PTSD, substance use, and grief. Whatever brings you to therapy, you'll be matched with a therapist experienced in your area of need. IS TALKSPACE FOR TEENS? Yes. Talkspace offers online therapy for teens ages 13–17 with therapists specialized in adolescent mental health — including school stress, anxiety, and self-esteem. Parental or guardian consent is required to get started. DOES TALKSPACE OFFER PSYCHIATRY OR COUPLES THERAPY? Yes. In addition to individual therapy, Talkspace offers psychiatry (evaluation and medication management with licensed prescribers) and couples therapy — all online, in the same app. IS TALKSPACE COVERED BY INSURANCE? Yes. Talkspace is in-network with leading U.S. health plans and partners with many employers, so most covered members pay a copay similar to an in-person visit. Enter your insurance or employer details at checkout to check eligibility in seconds. HOW MUCH DOES TALKSPACE COST? Many members pay only a copay through insurance. Without insurance, choose a subscription plan that fits your needs and budget. Visit our Help Center for pricing details. IS TALKSPACE EFFECTIVE? Talkspace has been shown to be as effective as face-to-face therapy: in one study, 81% of participants found Talkspace as effective or better than in-person therapy, and users showed significant improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms within 2 months. Talkspace has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Business Insider. Research: research.talkspace.com | Press: talkspace.com/press WHO ARE THE TALKSPACE THERAPISTS? The Talkspace network includes thousands of licensed therapists across all 50 states, all vetted and credentialed according to NCQA standards. If your first match isn't the right fit, you can switch therapists anytime. IS TALKSPACE SECURE? Your safety and security are our #1 priorities. Talkspace is protected with banking-grade encryption and externally audited for HIPAA compliance. Full Privacy Policy: talkspace.com/public/privacy-policy WHAT IS TALKCAST? To help you stay engaged between sessions, your therapist can create Talkcast personalized podcasts: after your therapist reviews a script based on your therapy goals, our AI engine generates a custom recording you can listen to anytime. WHO IS TALKSPACE BEST FOR? Talkspace is ideal for anyone who wants therapy that fits a busy schedule, prefers messaging a therapist over weekly appointments, wants to use insurance for mental health care, or is starting therapy for the first time and wants a low-pressure way to begin. CONNECT WITH US Questions or feedback? Email support@talkspace.com or visit talkspace.com. Follow Talkspace on X, Instagram, and Facebook.

About

ACT iCoach

Learn and practice Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) skills through video lessons, animations, and interactive tools. Track your mood, journal your thoughts, and monitor progress with analytics. Share data with your therapist for real-time engagement and motivation.

Highlights
  • Video lessons and animations
  • Mood and emotion tracking
  • Journaling and ACT measures
  • Progress summaries and analytics
  • Therapist sharing
  • Over 100 exercises
  • 1000+ meditations
Features
Read full description

ACT iCoach is a comprehensive app that covers all aspects of Acceptance Commitment Therapy Learn and practice ACT skills using video lessons and fun animations which helps you to remember skills longer. Features over video lessons and easy to read content from some of the leading ACT Practitioners and researchers in the world. You can also take notes on these lessons for future use. User friendly tools to track your mood, emotions, journal and ACT measures. Summary screens to check your progress. Analytics to get insight into your own behavior as you learn new skills. Ability to share with therapists and care team. Track your progress on how you are doing and get motivated to obtain new skills. Get awards for tasks done towards obtaining new skills or keeping up with one you already know. Complete exercises and practice ideas that are similar to worksheets in actual ACT Therapy. There are over 100 exercises. Each of the exercise link directly to lessons. Over 1000 meditations ranging across multiple themes from some of the best teachers in the world. Favorites list to save skills and meditations you use frequently. Weekly and Daily ACT Measure tracking. Finally, the app integrates with a clinician app. If your therapist is signed up and you are set up to share your diary card and exercises then you don’t have to share via email every week. Your therapist can engage with you in real time. The app also integrates with Apple's HealthKit to record your meditation minutes to Health Kit mindfulness. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase *You have a choice of being billed monthly for $9.99/month or a discounted price of $49.99 every six months. • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Privacy Policy:https://www.resiliens.com/privacy Terms of use: https://www.resiliens.com/terms DISCLAIMER: This is not a substitute for a Therapist or a Medical Professional. It works best when you use as a companion app along with your ACT Therapist / Counselor.

Screenshots

Talkspace4 screens
ACT iCoach4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ACT iCoach at 86% against Talkspace's 27%. Talkspace's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (47K vs 185). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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. ACT iCoach sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Talkspace asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Talkspace holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Talkspace has 47K ratings behind it against 185, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 27% of Talkspace's written reviews are positive against 86% of ACT iCoach's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Talkspace ships an update every 6 weeks, ACT iCoach every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Talkspace versus ACT iCoach: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTalkspaceACT iCoach
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (47K ratings) — better4.6 (185 ratings)
Positive reviews26.9% of reviews85.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings47K — better185
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationSubscriptionSubscription
Best chart rank#206 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better14.1
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB66 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperGroop Internet Platform inc.Resiliens Inc.

Customer experience

Talkspace

All ratings46,721 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral0.8%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews476 reviews
Positive26.9%
Neutral4.4%
Negative68.7%

ACT iCoach

All ratings185 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral1.1%
Negative8.6%
Written reviews90 reviews
Positive85.6%
Neutral1.1%
Negative13.3%

User reviews

Talkspace

From 47K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Convenient online therapy
  • 👍 Helpful therapists
  • 💡 Innovative concept
  • 🔒 Secure platform

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unresponsive customer service
  • 💰 Expensive pricing
  • 🕰️ Slow therapist response times
  • 🔀 Difficulty switching therapists
  • 🚫 Lack of in-network insurance coverage

ACT iCoach

From 185 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly and intuitive interface
  • 📊 Excellent tracking and analytics tools
  • 🎓 Comprehensive ACT lessons and educational content
  • 🧘 Helpful guided meditations and exercises
  • 👥 Ability to share data with therapists

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription model ($10/month or $50/6 months)
  • 🔒 Limited free functionality without premium
  • 🐛 App freezes after entries or assessments
  • 🐛 Crashes and connection failures
  • ❌ Poor onboarding and unclear instructions

Bugs and requests

Talkspace

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Technical issues with app and website
  • Glitches in booking and rescheduling appointments
  • Inconsistent therapist availability and communication

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to schedule live sessions
  • Option to extend session credits beyond monthly cycle
  • Improved user interface and navigation
  • More transparency around billing and cancellation policies

ACT iCoach

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App freezes after every entry or assessment
  • Failed to connect to store error
  • Login page resets during account creation
  • Account existence conflicts (user exists/does not exist)
  • Intermittent crashes and connection issues
Show 4 more
  • Premium membership status not persisting after reinstall
  • UI elements not aligned properly on older iPhones
  • Scroll functionality issues preventing access to all answer options
  • Data loss when signed out of Apple ID

Requested features

7 requests
  • Offline functionality
  • Goals section in addition to journal
  • Better onboarding tutorial ("ACT & This App 101")
  • Clearer password requirements during signup
  • Clinician subscription bundling options
Show 2 more
  • Free trial period before requiring payment
  • One-time purchase option instead of recurring subscription

In-app purchases

None

Talkspace

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

ACT iCoach

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly subscription3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Six Month Subscription$49.996 Months

Questions

Is Talkspace free?
Talkspace is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ACT iCoach free?
ACT iCoach is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Talkspace or ACT iCoach?
Talkspace is rated higher. Talkspace averages 4.8 out of 5 from 47K ratings, while ACT iCoach averages 4.6 from 185 ratings.
Do Talkspace or ACT iCoach have ads?
Neither Talkspace nor ACT iCoach shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Talkspace or ACT iCoach?
Talkspace ships an update every 6 weeks, and ACT iCoach every 4 weeks. Most recently, Talkspace was updated on September 24, 2026 and ACT iCoach on September 22, 2026.

Other comparisons