Comparison

Shadow Work Journal vs Shadow Work

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

Head to head
About

Shadow Work Journal

Explore hidden aspects of yourself through guided prompts and tools. Understand triggers, heal past wounds, and foster self-awareness. This private journal helps you gently uncover and integrate the parts of yourself you've kept in the dark.

Highlights
  • Guided journeys with 200+ prompts
  • Tools for processing charged moments
  • Core belief exploration
  • Parts work exercises
  • Daily mood and trigger tracking
  • Private insights and emotional timeline
  • Voice note recording
Features
Read full description

Meet the parts of yourself you've kept in the dark. Penumbra is a private, beautifully simple shadow work journal that helps you understand your triggers, heal old wounds, and come home to who you really are — one honest prompt at a time. Shadow work is the practice of exploring the hidden parts of yourself: the fears, patterns, and emotions you learned to push away. Bringing them into the light is how real, lasting change begins. Penumbra makes that work approachable, gentle, and yours alone. — GUIDED JOURNEYS — 19 themed paths with 200+ deep, therapist-style prompts: Meet Your Shadow, Inner Child, Self-Sabotage, Fear & Anxiety, Anger, Relationships, Self-Worth, Forgiveness, Boundaries, Grief, Shame, Mother & Father Wounds, Money Stories, Work & Purpose, Perfectionism, Jealousy, Attachment, Identity, and more. — GUIDED TOOLS — • Guided Session — process a charged moment, step by step • Core Belief Explorer — trace a limiting belief to its root • Parts Work — meet a part of yourself with curiosity (IFS-inspired) • Multi-day Courses — Meet Your Inner Critic, Reparenting, Self-Compassion — TRACK & SEE PATTERNS — • Daily check-in: mood, energy and anxiety in 10 seconds • Trigger tracker: capture what set you off and why • Shadow archetypes: notice the Inner Critic, People-Pleaser and more • Private insights, weekly review, emotional timeline & trends — all on-device, no AI — REFLECT YOUR WAY — • A fresh daily prompt and a streak to keep you coming back • Write or record a voice note; tag mood, emotions and archetypes • Dream journal and daily grounding affirmations — YOURS ALONE — Everything stays on your device. Lock your journal behind Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. No accounts, no cloud, no one watching. — GENTLE & SAFE — Grounding exercises and crisis resources are one tap away. A soft, modern interface for dark and light mode, with a reminder you can set to any time. Meet your shadow. Reclaim your light. — PENUMBRA PRO — Unlock every guided journey and course, full insights, Face ID app lock, daily reminders, voice notes and export. Try Pro free for 3 days. • Yearly subscription with a 3-day free trial • Weekly subscription Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/allegrodigital/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://sites.google.com/view/allegrodigital/terms-of-use Penumbra is a self-reflection tool and is not a substitute for professional therapy or medical care. If you are in crisis, please reach out to a qualified professional or a local helpline.

About

Shadow Work

Features
Read full description

You already know the thing you are avoiding. You just have not said it out loud yet. Shadow Work is a journal you talk to. Tap once, say the messy version, and stop when you are done. No typing, no blank page, no trying to sound reasonable. WHAT YOU GET BACK One line. The sentence you actually said that carried the weight, quoted back in your own words rather than summarized in ours. Most people do not notice they said it. That is the point. WHAT SHOWS UP LATER One entry is a night. Four entries is a pattern. Keep going and Shadow Work reads back across everything and finds what you keep circling. The argument you have with different people. The thing you swore you were over. The want you talk around instead of naming. It shows you the repetition. It does not tell you what it means about you. FIFTY PROMPTS, IF YOU WANT ONE Built on Jung's insight that the trait you cannot stand in someone else is usually the one you will not claim. Who irritated you this week more than they deserved. What you criticized someone for today. Who you envy, and exactly what they have. What you swore you would not do again, and did again. The prompt is a suggestion. The microphone works without it and skipping takes one tap. THIS IS SELF-COMPASSION, NOT INTERROGATION You are not hunting for something wrong with you. You are listening to a part of yourself you usually talk over. Nothing here diagnoses you, scores you, or tells you who you are. Not therapy. If something opens up further than you expected, talk to a person. PRIVACY, STATED PLAINLY No account. No sign up. No feed. No ads. Nothing is shared with anyone. Your entries are stored on this phone. To turn your speech into text and find themes across entries, recordings and transcripts are processed by secure third party services, then deleted by them. They are not used to train anything. WHAT COSTS MONEY Recording, transcription and per entry themes are free and unlimited. A subscription adds the view across entries: patterns that keep updating as you keep going, and monthly reports on what recurs. Monthly and annual plans, with a 7 day free trial on annual. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your Apple ID account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://universoleappstudios.com/privacy

Screenshots

Shadow Work Journal4 screens
Shadow Work4 screens

Verdict

The call

Shadow Work Journal and Shadow Work are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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 Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Shadow Work sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Shadow Work Journal versus Shadow Work: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShadow Work JournalShadow Work
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequency—Monthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAllegro DigitalUniversole, LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Shadow Work Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Penumbra Pro$4.997 Days
  • Penumbra Pro3 Days trial$29.991 Year
2 purchases

Shadow Work

Subscriptions2
  • Shadow Work Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Shadow Work Annual7 Days trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is Shadow Work Journal free?
Shadow Work Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shadow Work free?
Shadow Work is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Shadow Work Journal or Shadow Work have ads?
Neither Shadow Work Journal nor Shadow Work shows ads.

Other comparisons