Subtext vs The Grey Mirror
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Subtext
Analyze your conversations to understand communication patterns and identify messages needing attention. This private, encrypted tool helps you explore relationships and draft replies without sending messages for you. It offers insights into how you connect, not a measure of feelings.
- Analyze message conversations
- Identify messages needing attention
- Explore communication patterns
- Draft replies with AI coach
- Private and encrypted analysis
- Local data processing on Mac
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Understand your relationships and find the words that matter most. Subtext pairs with the Subtext Mac app to analyze your Messages locally, then brings a private, encrypted relationship brief to your iPhone. YOUR CONVERSATIONS, WRAPPED • See the people and patterns that shaped your month • Notice conversations that may deserve your attention • Explore communication rhythms across people and groups ASK WITH CONTEXT Coach can help you understand a moment, think through what to do next, or draft a reply that still sounds like you. It separates observed evidence from interpretation. Subtext never sends a message for you. TURN CONVERSATIONS INTO STORIES Create an Us film grounded in real conversations, then preview and share it when you choose. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Messages analysis happens on your Mac • Synced data is encrypted before it enters your private iCloud database • Pairing codes stay under your control • Subtext does not sell data, run ads, or track you • AI requests are initiated by you; the relay does not store prompts or answers TRY IT BEFORE PAIRING Tap “Explore a private preview” to browse clearly labeled fictional sample data. To use your real conversation history, install Subtext on your Mac and pair it with this iPhone. The iPhone cannot read your Messages database directly. New analysis requires your paired Mac; once synced, your latest brief remains available on iPhone. Today, Wrapped, relationship statistics, Close Circle, People, Groups, encrypted Mac sync, and offline access are free. Subtext Plus unlocks hosted AI Coach answers, editable drafts, and Us films after the first complimentary hosted AI experience. Subtext offers relationship intelligence, not therapy, diagnosis, or a measure of how someone feels. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
The Grey Mirror
Analyze your relationship communication through text messages. Understand patterns of effort, warmth, conflict, and repair over time. Offers insights into conversation dynamics and provides a projection plan.
- Analyze conversation effort, warmth, and conflict
- Compare communication patterns of both sides
- Upload message exports or screenshots
- Choose relationship type (romantic, friendship, family)
- View turning points and projections
- Ask questions about chat history
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Understand your relationship from your own messages. Grey Mirror reads a whole conversation and shows how effort, warmth, conflict and repair change over time. Compare both sides, inspect the evidence and find the moments that changed the thread. BRING THE WHOLE CONVERSATION • Upload a CSV export for the most complete read, with no size cap • Message exports from iMessage, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and more work too • Add screenshots or a screen recording when an export is unavailable • Choose a romantic, friendship or family read and tell Grey Mirror what you want to understand SEE THE PATTERNS • Who reaches out, who waits and how reply times shift • Warmth, conflict and whether repair follows an argument • Effort and reciprocity, measured separately for each person • Turning points across the conversation • A projection and action plan drawn from the report • Ask questions about your chat history, answered from the read's measurements EXPLORE YOUR READ Watch the cinematic reveal or open the report at your own pace. Compare signals in the chart builder, change the date range and inspect the evidence behind the findings. Available measurements depend on what your conversation contains. START WITH A PREVIEW Your first four findings are free. Confirm who is who, explore the preview and choose whether to open the complete report. CHOOSE HOW TO UNLOCK • Single report: one complete read with a one-time purchase • Report packs: 3, 5 or 10 report credits, with no subscription • Plus: 1 report credit each paid month, or 12 each paid year • Pro: 3 each paid month, or 36 each paid year • Studio: 8 each paid month, or 96 each paid year Yearly plans grant their included credits for the year. Unused report credits carry forward. Every report you unlock stays on your account after cancellation, until you delete it. Current localized prices are shown before purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically for the selected monthly or yearly period. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at purchase confirmation. Cancel at least 24 hours before renewal in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. One-time reports and packs do not renew. YOUR DATA, YOUR CONTROLS Analysis runs on Grey Mirror's servers. Uploads and reports stay in your account until you delete them. Conversations are not used to train models. Export or delete your data from Account. Sign in with Apple, Google or email. Grey Mirror helps you reflect on communication. It is not therapy, a diagnosis or proof of someone's motives. Explore: https://thegreymirror.com Support: https://thegreymirror.com/contact Terms of Use: https://thegreymirror.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://thegreymirror.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Subtext at 5.0 against The Grey Mirror's 4.1. Subtext also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10). The Grey Mirror's advantage is ratings volume (7 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. The Grey Mirror sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Subtext asks for nothing beyond the download.
Subtext holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Grey Mirror has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Subtext ships an update weekly, The Grey Mirror every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Subtext | The Grey Mirror |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.1 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 60.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Tanmaye Bhatia | Terri Weant |
Customer experience
Subtext
The Grey Mirror
In-app purchases
Subtext
No in-app purchases
The Grey Mirror
- Grey Mirror Plus$19.991 Month
- Grey Mirror Pro$34.991 Month
- Grey Mirror Studio$69.991 Month
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- Grey Mirror Plus (Yearly)$199.001 Year
- Grey Mirror Pro (Yearly)$349.001 Year
- Grey Mirror Studio (Yearly)$699.001 Year
- Complete Report$19.99
- 3 Report Pack$49.99
- 5 Report Pack$74.99
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- 10 Report Pack$129.99









