Comparison

BrainDrain vs CBT Journal & DTR

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

Head to head
About

BrainDrain

This app offers a quick, structured journaling experience designed to help individuals with ADHD and anxiety clear their minds in just one minute. It transforms mental clutter into peace through quick journaling, mindfulness, and task management, promoting focus and calm.

Highlights
  • 1-minute journaling sessions
  • Thought dumping and sorting
  • Task creation and reminders
  • Mindfulness exercises
  • ADHD-friendly structure
  • Anxiety relief tools
  • iCloud syncing
Features
Read full description

Too many thoughts at once? Give them sixty seconds. BrainDrain is a 60-second brain dump for busy, anxious, or ADHD-wired minds. Type or speak what's on your mind, then sort it by what you can control. Make a plan when it helps, or let a thought go. No blank page, no pressure to turn every thought into a task. Your thoughts stay on your device or in your own iCloud. HOW IT WORKS • Drain: start the timer and pour it all out for 60 seconds. Type it or speak it. No prompts, no blank page staring back. Just a deadline. Let it all out. • Sort: swipe each thought where it belongs. Within my control, need someone's help, outside my control, or just a happy thought. • Act: turn a thought into a reminder or a calendar event, send it to someone who can help, or let it go for good. BUILT FOR BUSY, ANXIOUS, or ADHD-WIRED MINDS • One minute is the feature. Short enough to actually do, bounded enough to feel safe. • Every thought gets a decision. BrainDrain doesn't file your worries away. Each one lands somewhere: an action, a person, or a deliberate letting go. • Sorting by control is the calm. What you can act on becomes action. What you can't, you release. BRAINDRAIN PLUS Sixty seconds a day is always included. Plus is for the days that need more: unlimited drains, sixty more seconds when a thought needs the runway, your patterns read back to you by on-device intelligence, recurrence that spots what keeps coming back, progress by month and year, and your streak on your Watch and widgets. Everything stays on your device or in your own iCloud. Plus is an auto-renewing subscription billed to your Apple Account. It renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel any time in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. YOUR THOUGHTS STAY YOURS Everything, including the intelligence behind Insights, runs on your device. AI journals send your thoughts to a server to be understood. BrainDrain never does. Private iCloud sync, no account, no ads. Give it sixty seconds. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://braindrain.app/privacy Support: https://braindrain.app/support

About

CBT Journal & DTR

Features
Read full description

Your therapy doesn't have to stop when the session ends. Calmia is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) journal for recording what happens between sessions, so you arrive at your next appointment with everything organized. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Guided Dysfunctional Thought Record (DTR), step by step: automatic thought, situation, emotions, evidence and alternative thought • Mood diary with emotions, sleep hours and physical activity • Gratitude diary with daily reflections • Notes to bring to your next session • Insights and charts of your progress • A PDF of any record to share whenever you want IF YOU'RE IN THERAPY With Calmia Premium, you link to your therapist using their code and choose which record types to share: thoughts, mood or gratitude. You can turn sharing off or unlink at any time. FOR THERAPISTS Get a code to link your patients, see only the records they choose to share, and get notified when there is a new one. YOUR DATA IS YOURS • Records are encrypted on your device and, with backup on, on servers in Brazil • Your therapist only sees what you choose to share • Lock with Face ID, Touch ID or your device passcode • Export all your data or delete your account right from the app • No ads and no selling of data In English, Portuguese and Spanish: the app opens in your phone's language, and you can change it in Settings → Language. CALMIA PREMIUM Monthly auto-renewing subscription, charged to your App Store account. The price is shown in the app before purchase. Cancel anytime in the app (Settings → Manage subscription) or in your App Store subscriptions, at least 24 hours before renewal. IMPORTANT Calmia is a self-care and therapy support tool. It does not replace psychotherapy, diagnosis or professional care. If you are in crisis or an emergency, call your local emergency number (in Brazil, CVV 188 or SAMU 192). Terms of Use: https://renanbrognoli01.github.io/terms.html#english Privacy Policy: https://renanbrognoli01.github.io/privacy.html#english

Screenshots

BrainDrain4 screens
CBT Journal & DTR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: BrainDrain at every 4 days against CBT Journal & DTR's every 2 months. CBT Journal & DTR's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. BrainDrain sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and CBT Journal & DTR sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BrainDrain ships an update every 4 days, CBT Journal & DTR every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
BrainDrain versus CBT Journal & DTR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrainDrainCBT Journal & DTR
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB27 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperRDub Studios, LLC55.235.579 Renan de Freitas Brognoli

In-app purchases

8 purchases

BrainDrain

Subscriptions6
  • Plus Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Plus Weekly7 Days trial$3.997 Days
  • BrainDrain Plus Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Plus Yearly$29.991 Year
  • Plus Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Plus Annual Special Offer1 Year trial$49.991 Year
One-time2
  • Pro Lifetime$79.99
  • Pro Lifetime$99.99
1 purchases

CBT Journal & DTR

Subscriptions1
  • Calmia Premium Monthly$9.991 Month

Questions

Is BrainDrain free?
BrainDrain is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CBT Journal & DTR free?
CBT Journal & DTR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BrainDrain or CBT Journal & DTR have ads?
Neither BrainDrain nor CBT Journal & DTR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BrainDrain or CBT Journal & DTR?
BrainDrain ships an update every 4 days, and CBT Journal & DTR every 2 months. Most recently, BrainDrain was updated on October 25, 2026 and CBT Journal & DTR on October 24, 2026.

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