Comparison

Surfacing vs DBT Tracker

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

Head to head
About

Surfacing

This app allows users to privately track mental health symptoms, log episodes, and identify patterns. It generates encrypted reports for sharing with healthcare providers, all while keeping data securely on the device.

Highlights
  • Track 40+ conditions
  • Log intensity and feelings
  • Identify triggers and patterns
  • Track coping skill effectiveness
  • Generate encrypted reports
  • Local-first data storage
Features
Read full description

The easiest mental health journal on the market. Try it, log one moment, and see for yourself how frictionless it is. Surfacing is a private, local-first symptom tracker built for people managing mental health conditions. Log episodes, track patterns, and generate encrypted reports to share with your therapist, without ever creating an account or sending your data anywhere. https://surfacingapp.com/index.html WHAT YOU CAN TRACK • 40+ conditions across 10 diagnostic groups, PTSD, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, BPD, mood disorders, BFRBs, eating disorders, and more • Intensity levels, feelings, physical symptoms, and coping skills • Condition-specific fields tailored to your diagnosis • Custom conditions if yours isn't listed UNDERSTAND YOUR PATTERNS • Charts showing intensity over time, when episodes occur, and what triggers them • Skill effectiveness tracking, see which coping tools actually help • Filter by date, intensity, time of day, and more • Build custom charts from your own data SHARE WITH YOUR PROVIDER • Generate an encrypted, password-protected HTML report • Decrypted locally in any browser, nothing touches a server • Includes sortable tables, charts, and full entry history • Send to your therapist to support, not replace, your sessions YOUR PRIVACY IS THE POINT • No account required • No internet connection needed • All data stored on-device with AES-256 encryption • Nothing leaves your device unless you choose to share it • Device loss means data loss, store your exports somewhere safe Surfacing is a personal tracking tool. It does not replace clinical care, diagnosis, or treatment.

About

DBT Tracker

This app helps users manage their emotional wellness by logging moods, urges, and physical distress. It offers guided practices for coping skills, personalized safety plans, and custom tracking of emotions and urges. Users can visualize trends and gain insights into their progress.

Highlights
  • Guided check-ins for emotions and urges
  • Somatic Tapper for physical distress
  • Active skill practice tracking
  • Guided safety plan creation
  • Customizable emotions and urges
  • Visual timeline and trends
  • Privacy-first local data storage
Features
Read full description

DBT Tracker is your private, highly accessible companion for daily emotional wellness. Built on DBT principles, it helps you log moods and urges, track physical distress, practice coping skills, and build personalized safety plans—all in one beautifully designed app. 1. Guided Check-Ins Choose exactly which sections you want to log, from emotions to urges, making daily tracking frictionless and tailored to the moment. 2. Somatic Tapper Rate your physical distress separately from your overall wellness to gain much more accurate insights into your mind-body connection. 3. Active Skill Practice Keep track of the specific DBT skills you use each day and easily log whether they were actually helpful for you in the moment. 4. Guided Safety Plan Create your personal lifeline quickly and easily by using pre-filled lists of common warning signs and coping strategies, rather than starting from scratch. 5. Custom Targets Add and fully edit your own custom emotions and urges so you are always tracking exactly what matters most to your unique journey. 6. Tailored Interface Make your diary cards feel like your own by uploading custom photo banners and easily toggle your default check-in template on the fly. 7. Visual Timeline Review your past entries at a single glance with our clean, completely redesigned vertical timeline. 8. Trends & Insights Watch your progress grow, spot emotional shifts over time, and find your baseline to understand what truly supports your wellness. 9. Privacy-First by Design Your most personal information belongs to you. Your data stays securely on your local device, is never shared to the cloud, and requires no sign-up to start using. Start finding your baseline today. Disclaimer: DBT Tracker is for personal tracking and is not a medical device. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a mental health professional for medical concerns.

Screenshots

Surfacing4 screens
DBT Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Surfacing at every 4 days against DBT Tracker's every 8 days. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Surfacing against 5.0 for DBT Tracker. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 6 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Surfacing ships an update every 4 days, DBT Tracker every 8 days. Both last shipped on September 14, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Surfacing versus DBT Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurfacingDBT Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings46 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB45 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperCorrick KnightCoriyon Arrington

Customer experience

Surfacing

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

DBT Tracker

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Surfacing

No in-app purchases

None

DBT Tracker

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Surfacing free?
Surfacing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DBT Tracker free?
DBT Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Surfacing or DBT Tracker?
Surfacing and DBT Tracker are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 6 ratings respectively.
Do Surfacing or DBT Tracker have ads?
Neither Surfacing nor DBT Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Surfacing or DBT Tracker?
Surfacing ships an update every 4 days, and DBT Tracker every 8 days. Most recently, Surfacing was updated on September 14, 2026 and DBT Tracker on September 14, 2026.

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