Comparison

mySleepButton vs Insomnia Coach

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

Head to head
About

mySleepButton

This app uses a "cognitive shuffle" technique to help users fall asleep by distracting their minds with imagery. It offers guided meditations and can be used with audio devices for a screen-free experience.

Highlights
  • Cognitive shuffle technique
  • Guided imagery for sleep
  • Affective body scan meditation
  • Configurable meditation pack
  • Audio playback on external devices
  • Siri shortcuts
Read full description

mySleepButton® is a CogSci Apps® invention. Its purpose is to help you fall asleep with the "cognitive shuffle", as featured in the The New York Times, The Guardian, Forbes Magazine, Canadian Government’s Institute of Health Research, The BC Medical Journal online, Popular Science Magazine, Forbes Magazine ("disrupt all patterns and rest in blissful chaos"), LifeHacker ("surprisingly effective"), etc. It’s so easy: Just lie in bed, touch the “Put Me to Sleep” button, imagine the various descriptions it reads to you, and let yourself fall asleep… pleasantly. That is the Cognitive Shuffle! O, The Oprah magazine, calls mySleepButton “An easy little game to trick yourself to sleep.” The Guardian wrote: "My top recommendation remains the visualisation method known as the “cognitive shuffle”: download the MySleepButton app". Quartz says mySleepButton is “a drug-free sleep trick for your restless mind”. International Business Times of London says “mySleepButton App Hijacks Thoughts to Help Sleep”. Into mindfulness meditation? mySleepButton also contains a configurable "affective body scan" meditation pack. It taps into the brain's body maps. Still awake after the meditation? Instantly proceed to guided shuffled imagery. You can try mySleepButton for FREE! There's no subscription fee. Buy the pack(s) that you like, and shuffle your thoughts to sleep. The goal of mySleepButton is to keep your mind off your concerns while putting it in an imagery rich state conducive to sleep. mySleepButton can also be triggered with Air Pods and played on Apple's Home Pod (or other devices) if you don't want an iPhone or iPad in your bed room. It even has Siri shortcuts. So, why not enjoy a dreamy transition to sleep? “Shuffle Your Thoughts to Sleep” with mySleepButton.

About

Insomnia Coach

This app offers a guided training plan and interactive tools based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i). It provides personalized feedback and tips to help users track and improve their sleep patterns. Designed for daily use over five weeks, it aims to help users regain healthy sleep habits.

Highlights
  • Guided weekly training plan
  • Personalized sleep coach feedback
  • Interactive sleep diary
  • 17 sleep improvement tools
  • Scientifically-based approach
Features
Read full description

Insomnia Coach is designed for Veterans, military Servicemembers, and others who are suffering from insomnia. The app is based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) and provides: * a guided, weekly training plan to help you track and improve your sleep * a sleep coach with personal feedback about your sleep and fun sleep tips * an interactive sleep diary to help you keep track of daily changes in your sleep * 17 tools to help you get your sleep back on track This app is based on scientific research about how people can change their behaviors and thoughts to improve their sleep. This app does NOT replace professional care. Insomnia Coach is designed to be used daily for 5 weeks by following the Training Plan. After that, you can continue using the app to track your sleep and maintain good sleep habits. Insomnia Coach was created by VA’s National Center for PTSD.

Screenshots

mySleepButton2 screens
Insomnia Coach4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: mySleepButton at 4.5 against Insomnia Coach's 3.8. mySleepButton also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 51%) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 9 months). Insomnia Coach's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 14). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. mySleepButton sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Insomnia Coach asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

mySleepButton holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 209 and 73 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of mySleepButton's written reviews are positive against 51% of Insomnia Coach's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

mySleepButton ships an update every 4 months, Insomnia Coach every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on August 5, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
mySleepButton versus Insomnia Coach: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermySleepButtonInsomnia Coach
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (209 ratings) — better3.8 (73 ratings)
Positive reviews72.9% of reviews — better50.9% of reviews
Number of ratings209 — better73
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size161 MB35 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCogSci Apps Corp.US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Customer experience

mySleepButton

All ratings206 ratings
Positive87.9%
Neutral5.3%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews129 reviews
Positive72.9%
Neutral6.2%
Negative20.9%

Insomnia Coach

All ratings73 ratings
Positive65.8%
Neutral13.7%
Negative20.5%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive50.9%
Neutral15.1%
Negative34.0%

User reviews

mySleepButton

From 209 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 No fuss, just works
  • 👍 Effective for insomnia
  • 👍 Puts me to sleep quickly
  • 👍 Helps shut down racing thoughts
  • 👍 Better than sleeping pills

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Audio quality issues (crackling, clicking)
  • 🔧 Requires in-app purchases to unlock full functionality
  • 🔧 Repetitive content in free version

Insomnia Coach

From 73 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Effective CBT-i program
  • 💰 Free to use
  • 💡 Helpful explanations
  • 📈 Tracks sleep patterns
  • 🧘 Guided relaxation

Room to improve

  • ⚠️ Struggles with irregular sleep
  • 😵 Makes insomnia worse
  • 📱 Bright white background
  • 🎧 No wireless headphone support
  • 🔄 Inability to edit entries

Bugs and requests

mySleepButton

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes after iOS updates
  • Purchased content not restoring properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • More diverse content and voices
  • Randomized word/scene order
  • Support for additional languages
  • Apple Watch app

Insomnia Coach

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Sleep diary errors (negative hours)
  • Progress tab not reflecting data
  • App won't download
  • Audio not playing through headphones
  • Sleep diary calculation errors
Show 3 more
  • Error when entering shift work hours
  • App doesn't account for sex in diary
  • Diary locks entries after prescription update

Requested features

9 requests
  • Dark mode feature
  • Wireless headphone compatibility
  • Ability to edit past diary entries
  • Sync between devices
  • More sleep stories and anxiety resources
Show 4 more
  • Option to indicate getting out of bed in the middle of the night
  • Better handling of irregular sleep hours
  • Clearer overview of weekly exercises
  • Support for Bluetooth earbuds

In-app purchases

13 purchases

mySleepButton

One-time13
  • Disable iAd$0.99
  • Album d'items simples$3.99
  • 単語パック$3.99
Show 10 more
  • 简单事物专辑$4.99
  • Simple-Things Pack$5.99
  • Drawing Pack2 variants$5.99
  • Scenes Pack$5.99
  • Album d'items à dessiner$5.99
  • Simple-Things Pack$6.99
  • Album d'items simples$6.99
  • Scenes Pack$8.99
  • Body Scan Pack$8.99
  • Kids Pack (4+)$8.99
None

Insomnia Coach

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is mySleepButton free?
mySleepButton is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Insomnia Coach free?
Insomnia Coach is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, mySleepButton or Insomnia Coach?
mySleepButton is rated higher. mySleepButton averages 4.5 out of 5 from 209 ratings, while Insomnia Coach averages 3.8 from 73 ratings.
Do mySleepButton or Insomnia Coach have ads?
Neither mySleepButton nor Insomnia Coach shows ads.
Which is updated more often, mySleepButton or Insomnia Coach?
mySleepButton ships an update every 4 months, and Insomnia Coach every 9 months. Most recently, mySleepButton was updated on August 5, 2026 and Insomnia Coach on September 24, 2026.

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