Comparison

mySleepButton vs Stellar Sleep

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
Features
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

Stellar Sleep

This app offers a science-backed approach to permanently improve sleep using psychology. It provides personalized programs and tools to help users understand their minds and build better sleep habits, leading to more restful mornings. Over 80% of users see significant improvement in under 4 weeks.

Highlights
  • Personalized sleep improvement program
  • Cognitive restructuring
  • Sleep restriction therapy
  • Stimulus control techniques
  • Relaxation exercises and nature sounds
  • Sleep diary and progress tracking
  • Gratitude and worry journaling
Features
Read full description

Learn how to sleep again with the award-winning mobile app for insomnia started as a venture at Harvard Innovation Labs, and developed in collaboration with sleep psychologists, therapists, and researchers. Looking to improve your sleep permanently? Any program can tell you to cut coffee, use blue-light filters or meditate. But the truth is much of the generic advice on the internet doesn’t work for people with insomnia. Stellar Sleep is different. Stellar Sleep uses the #1 science-backed approach for improving sleep that is personalized to your needs and simply works. We empower you to live a healthier and happier life by better understanding yourself and your brain, so you can wake up every morning feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the challenges of the day. Our results speak for itself. We have helped over a thousand patients fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer using psychology. Over 80% of our users see a dramatic improvement in their sleep in less than 4 weeks. Our evidence-based program takes only 5 to 10 minutes a day, and includes topics around: * Stimulus control * Cognitive restructuring * Undergoing sleep restriction therapy * Building strong sleep habits * Calming down a racing mind * Relaxation techniques * And much, much more In addition to our core sleep curriculum, you’ll have access to the following features: * A comprehensive library of nature sounds, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation exercises, bedtime stories, sleep music and guided meditations to help you relax and unwind. * Track your progress, better understand your sleep and stay on top of trends with our sleep diary. * Connect with wearables through the Health App. * Gratitude and worry journaling. * 30 night challenge for those who have reached their sleep goal and want to maintain it. * A deeper dive into other mental health challenges. * Strategies for creating lasting behavioral changes in other aspects of your life.

Screenshots

mySleepButton2 screens
Stellar Sleep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Stellar Sleep at none against mySleepButton's 1. Stellar Sleep also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 5 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). mySleepButton's advantage is review sentiment (73% vs 53%). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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 1 one-off in-app purchase. Stellar Sleep asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Stellar Sleep holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stellar Sleep has 2.8K ratings behind it against 214, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 73% of mySleepButton's written reviews are positive against 53% of Stellar Sleep's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

mySleepButton ships an update every 5 months, Stellar Sleep monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
mySleepButton versus Stellar Sleep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermySleepButtonStellar Sleep
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (214 ratings)4.7 (2.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.9% of reviews — better52.8% of reviews
Number of ratings2142.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB133 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperCogSci Apps Corp.Merlin Collective, LLC

Customer experience

mySleepButton

All ratings210 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral5.2%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews129 reviews
Positive72.9%
Neutral6.2%
Negative20.9%

Stellar Sleep

All ratings2,723 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral1.5%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews159 reviews
Positive52.8%
Neutral5.7%
Negative41.5%

User reviews

mySleepButton

From 214 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

Stellar Sleep

From 2.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Brilliant!
  • 🚀 Great app, Definitely well-researched Stuff in here.
  • 🚀 Helped with Perimenopausal Insomnia
  • 🚀 Outstanding AI
  • 🚀 Best solution for beating insomnia

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Complete scam
  • 🐛 Won't stop charging your CC after you cancel
  • 💰 Cancel your subscription for a massive discount
  • 💰 Canceling is hard, $183 a MONTH charge
  • 🐛 It'll cause a fraud alert with your credit card company

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

Stellar Sleep

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • The program will not download despite multiple attempts
  • The app freezes when trying to access the sleep log

Requested features

3 requests
  • More CBT-I or whatever the newer Type of Sleep therapy that they offer, which is the more Mindfulness-based Insomnia help
  • A search feature to easily find previously viewed videos
  • Sync across devices

In-app purchases

1 purchases

mySleepButton

One-time1
  • Give thanks & support our R&D$9.99
None

Stellar Sleep

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is mySleepButton free?
mySleepButton is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stellar Sleep free?
Stellar Sleep is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, mySleepButton or Stellar Sleep?
Stellar Sleep is rated higher. mySleepButton averages 4.5 out of 5 from 214 ratings, while Stellar Sleep averages 4.7 from 2.8K ratings.
Do mySleepButton or Stellar Sleep have ads?
Neither mySleepButton nor Stellar Sleep shows ads.
Which is updated more often, mySleepButton or Stellar Sleep?
mySleepButton ships an update every 5 months, and Stellar Sleep monthly. Most recently, mySleepButton was updated on November 6, 2026 and Stellar Sleep on November 7, 2026.

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