Comparison

Shadow Work vs WishLock

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

Head to head
About

Shadow Work

This app offers a structured journaling experience based on Jungian psychology to explore hidden aspects of yourself. It guides you through stages of self-discovery, integration, and self-actualization with written prompts and body awareness exercises. All your entries are stored privately on your device.

Highlights
  • 25 structured sessions across 3 stages
  • Shadow Archetype and Exile reveal
  • Trigger & Glimmer tracker
  • The Mirror reflection tool
  • Grounding breathwork and body check-ins
  • Private, device-only journaling
  • Progress tracking and daily streaks
Features
Read full description

Shadow Forge is a structured shadow work journal built on Jungian psychology. A guided descent into the parts of yourself you've been ignoring, judging, or hiding from the world. HOW IT WORKS Shadow Forge divides your inner work into 3 stages and 25 sessions: Stage 1 - Shadow: 7 sessions Meet the parts you cast away. Explore your projections, your triggers, and the qualities you deny in yourself. Ends with your Shadow Archetype reveal - and the Exile it has been protecting. Stage 2 - Integration: 10 sessions Stop fighting what you found. Learn to own the shadow instead of being owned by it. Stage 3 - Self: 8 sessions The work becomes who you are. Live from a more complete version of yourself. WHAT EACH SESSION INCLUDES - A grounding ritual to prepare the container - 3 written prompts designed to surface what hides beneath the surface - A body check-in to locate emotion as sensation - Everything stored privately on your device THE FIRST STAGE IS FREE Complete all 7 sessions of Stage 1 at no cost. Unlock Stage 2 and Stage 3 with a monthly or annual subscription. YOUR JOURNAL. NO ONE READS IT BUT YOU. Every response is stored locally on your device. No account. No cloud. No server ever receives your entries. FEATURES - 25 structured sessions across 3 stages - Shadow Archetype reveal, plus an Exile card - the wound your Archetype has been protecting - Trigger & Glimmer tracker - log what drains you and what lifts you, see the pattern over 14 days - The Mirror - a 5-question reflection that reveals your relationship pattern, synthesized with your Shadow Archetype - Grounding breathwork before each session - Body awareness check-in - Private journal - device only, no cloud - Shadow dialogue and Both are true: two longer writing practices (subscribers) - A crystal that grows with your progress, one facet per session - A daily symbol, and Then and now to read your own words side by side - Carry-forward: one small thing from a session comes back the next day - App lock, discreet reminders, and delete all data any time - Home screen widget, backup and restore - Progress tracking across all sessions - Daily streak - Grounding exercise available anytime - 11 languages supported Shadow Forge is a self-guided journaling tool. It is not therapy or medical advice. If you are in crisis, please contact a mental health professional or a crisis line. Privacy Policy: https://enginaytekin.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

WishLock

This app guides users through a structured manifestation process, focusing on a single wish. It provides prompts for writing, visualization, and daily practice, with features to track progress and log synchronicities. The app emphasizes privacy and a data-driven approach to manifestation.

Highlights
  • Single wish focus
  • Guided scripting and scene visualization
  • Scheduled daily practice with counters
  • Synchronicity and proof logging
  • Progress tracking and assumption score
  • Lock screen and widget integration
  • Private and device-only data storage
Features
Read full description

The 369 manifestation journal that locks one wish. Most manifestation apps give you quotes. WishLock gives you a lock. Pick one desire. Write it in the present tense. Picture a short scene of the wish already fulfilled. Then practice it on a schedule, the same way you would protect a sleep window or a streak. HELP WITH THE WORDS No blank page. Type the wish in your own words and WishLock offers present-tense versions of your sentence and a short scene to fall asleep in, written on your iPhone with Apple Intelligence (guided prompts on every other iPhone). You pick and edit every word. THE LOCKED WISH One primary desire at a time. Not forty pictures on a board. A single end-state sentence, a scene, and a 21, 33 or 45-day cycle. 3-6-9 WRITING YOU CANNOT FAKE Morning × 3. Afternoon × 6. Night in the scene. A live counter, a haptic tick per line, no paste, and a sealed day only when the protocol is actually done. SATS: FALL ASLEEP IN THE END SATS means a state akin to sleep. Lie down, close your eyes, and your scene comes one line per breath over a calm soundscape. One minute seals the night; a longer timer dims the screen so you fall asleep inside it. Hear your scene read to you, slowly, by a calm voice on your iPhone: your first night is free. Rate how real it felt. That rating feeds your score. PROOF, NOT VIBES Log synchronicities, money movement, invitations, inner shifts and inspired actions. Each one lands on the day it happened, and your proof adds up on the days you doubt. When doubt hits, one tap shows your loudest proof. THE WHOLE CYCLE AT A GLANCE A cycle map lights up every sealed day. A day dial shows when each lock opens. See exactly where your day leaks. IT'S HERE When it happens, mark it real. The lock opens for the first time, and the wish moves to a shelf of kept locks. You decide what happened; WishLock only keeps the record. ASSUMPTION SCORE A clear 0–100 built from protocol, streak, evidence, action and how real the scene felt. Transparent math. No mysticism. YOUR RUN, COUNTED A Stats page that reads like a poster: every line you have written, ranks from Key Cut to Fort Knox, the chain of sealed days, a wall of every day you practiced, your writing hour and your strongest weekday. Share a story card of your run. It shows the numbers, never the wish. EVERY SESSION ENDS WITH A SEAL Finish the lines and the lock snaps shut. Today's three locks fill one by one, and the cycle map is a wall of padlocks that close as the days are sealed. ALWAYS ON THE LOCK SCREEN Make a Lock Screen wallpaper of your sentence and save it to Photos. Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets keep the end-state in front of you without opening the app. A Live Activity shows today's three locks, and the night timer counts down in the Dynamic Island. PRIVATE WHERE IT MATTERS No account. No cloud. No ads. Your wish, scene, lines and proof never leave the device, and shared cards carry numbers only. WishLock Pro adds your scene read aloud every night, your own voice at night, every Stats card, your proof as a PDF with charts, a vault for parked wishes, two streak freezes a month and a weekly recap. WishLock is a practice tool for visualization, journaling and consistency. It does not promise external outcomes. Privacy: https://gwlabs.app/wishlock/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Shadow Work4 screens
WishLock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: WishLock at every 3 days against Shadow Work's every 2 weeks. On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Shadow Work sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and WishLock sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Shadow Work against 5.0 for WishLock. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shadow Work ships an update every 2 weeks, WishLock every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Shadow Work versus WishLock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShadow WorkWishLock
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB36 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperEngin AytekinGW Capital Partners LLC

Customer experience

Shadow Work

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

WishLock

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Shadow Work

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Annual7 Days trial$59.991 Year
4 purchases

WishLock

Subscriptions3
  • WishLock Pro Weekly$6.997 Days
  • WishLock Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • WishLock Pro Yearly3 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • WishLock Pro Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Shadow Work free?
Shadow Work is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is WishLock free?
WishLock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shadow Work or WishLock?
Shadow Work and WishLock are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Shadow Work or WishLock have ads?
Neither Shadow Work nor WishLock shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shadow Work or WishLock?
Shadow Work ships an update every 2 weeks, and WishLock every 3 days. Most recently, Shadow Work was updated on October 24, 2026 and WishLock on October 29, 2026.

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