# ACT Coach vs FreeCBT

ACT Coach and FreeCBT both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 96% of FreeCBT's written reviews are positive against 67% of ACT Coach's. FreeCBT also leads on ratings volume (170 vs 16). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for ACT Coach against 4.7 for FreeCBT. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FreeCBT has 170 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of ACT Coach's written reviews are positive against 96% of FreeCBT's.

ACT Coach ships an update every 14 months, FreeCBT every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ACT Coach | FreeCBT |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/act-coach/id804247934/reviews) | **[4.7 (170 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/freecbt/id1516063390/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 16 | **170** |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | **96.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 14 months | **Every 9 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 28 MB | 35 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)](https://appshunter.io/developer/430646305) | [Evan Rosson](https://appshunter.io/developer/1516063389) |

## What reviewers say

### ACT Coach

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/act-coach/id804247934)

This app helps users practice Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to manage difficult thoughts and feelings. It provides exercises, tools, and tracking logs to support living a value-driven life. Developed in consultation with therapists, it's designed for individuals undergoing ACT.

**Highlights:** ACT exercises, Tools for managing thoughts, Commitment to values, Tracking logs, Information on ACT

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### FreeCBT

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/freecbt/id1516063390)

This app provides a digital thought diary to practice Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). It helps users identify and challenge negative automatic thoughts, retrain their brains, and ultimately improve mood and behavior. It's an open-source tool for self-help and as a companion to traditional therapy.

**Highlights:** Thought diary, Challenge automatic thoughts, Identify cognitive distortions, Train alternative thoughts, Open source, CBT self-help tool

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and intuitive user interface
- 💰 Completely free with no ads or subscriptions
- 🎯 Effective CBT methodology in 3-column format
- ⚡ Quick and easy to use in the moment
- 🔒 Private and secure thought tracking

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Swipe navigation causes accidental distortion selection
- 💾 Data loss issue after app updates
- ⌨️ Keyboard covers input area while typing
- 📱 Limited cross-device synchronization
- 🎨 Missing dark mode option

**Reported bugs**

- Swiping from distortion page selects/deselects distortions unintentionally
- App update deleted all past user entries
- Keyboard covers answer input area on some screens
- Swipe navigation doesn't work properly on certain screens
- Inconsistent touch response during navigation

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Analytics to track thoughts and patterns over time
- Export feature to share entries with therapist or notes app
- Cross-device synchronization
- Bottom navigation bar


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ACT Coach free?

ACT Coach is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is FreeCBT free?

FreeCBT is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, ACT Coach or FreeCBT?

FreeCBT is rated higher. ACT Coach averages 4.6 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while FreeCBT averages 4.7 from 170 ratings.

### Do ACT Coach or FreeCBT have ads?

Neither ACT Coach nor FreeCBT shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ACT Coach or FreeCBT?

ACT Coach ships an update every 14 months, and FreeCBT every 9 months. Most recently, ACT Coach was updated on October 25, 2026 and FreeCBT on October 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*