Comparison

DBT Distress Tolerance Tools vs DBT Coach

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

Head to head
About

DBT Distress Tolerance Tools

Learn DBT distress tolerance skills to manage intense emotions without worsening situations. This app provides an overview of DBT, details seven key skills, and offers interactive tools like a suicide prevention hotline, temperature adjustment, and personalized distress-relief activities.

Highlights
  • DBT overview
  • 7 Distress Tolerance Skills
  • Interactive Tools
  • Suicide Prevention Hotline access
  • Temperature adjustment tool
  • Personalized distress activities
Features
Read full description

DBT Distress Tolerance Skills are meant to: - Get through moments of intense emotion WITHOUT MAKING THINGS WORSE - Sometimes you can't make things better, but you can brave the storm. DBT Distress Tolerance Skills are NOT for: - Making your life worth living - Long-term changes In DBT, we recognize that not every situation can be made better in the moment. Maybe you're having a fight with someone. Or maybe you're road raging. Whatever the situation, you may not be able to remember your DBT skills and suddenly become saint-like. You're human, and you have emotions. You might not be able to stop being angry when you're in a fight with someone, but you can at least not make things worse by saying every negative thing on your mind until you really hurt the other person. How this app will help you: Like all our 'Tools' apps, we'll start you off with a description of what DBT is. While DBT is a set of skills, there is also a sort of culture around it. And a way of teaching/learning it. Getting an overview of what DBT is, you can more easily see where the skills fit in, and where you can most effectively integrate them into your day-to-day. Then we'll go over the 7 DBT Distress Tolerance skills: • TIP • Pros & Cons • Distract/Soothe/Improve • Radical Acceptance • Willingness • Mindfulness of Current Thoughts • Half-Smiling Finally, we'll start you off using the Interactive Tools: • Suicide Prevention Hotline: While many of us come to DBT with no suicidal thoughts, some of us do. If you aren't already using this hotline as a resource, you may want to consider it. Use this tool to quickly connect to a real person when you are in moments of High Distress. Or even if you have someone else you are worried about, this can be used as well. We'll help dispel some of the stigmas and answer some of the FAQs in this tool as well. • Fix My Temperature: Did you know that your temperature can have a huge impact on your emotions, and thus thoughts and actions? Use this tool to become more aware of what temperature settings can help trigger you, and what you can do to recognize and remedy this when it does happen. • My Exercises: One of the fastest ways to deflate distress is through exercise. Not only does it result in your brain creating feel-good chemicals, but it often just gets you physically out of a bad situation temporarily. Use this tool to help you come up with exercises that you can do when you feel Distressed. What you do is important for your activity level. • My DSI Activities: By going through this set of steps, you can easily go from negative to positive. Use this tool to create a list of activities that work for you in moments of Distress. • Mental Willingness: Every notice that some days, you feel like you don't want to be doing what you're doing? And as a result, you just make a bad situation worse? By on another day, you just don't care? So suddenly a negative situation becomes neutral, or even positive? Use this tool to help you create that sense of willingness and openness created even in negative situations. • A Week of Half Smiling: Do you know how to Half-Smile? Do you already practice it? If not, you can use this tool to give yourself challenges when it comes to Half-Smiling. Learn not only how to Half-Smile, but learn through experience how it affects you and your mood. Many of these tools are powerful while you're first learning DBT. But they are also incredibly powerful as a refresher. Beginners and Advanced DBT practitioners will find value in this app now, and for years to come should they remember to use it. * Note that this app can integrate with the Health App by adding 'Mindful Minutes' by completing 'Mental Willingness' entries.. This is optional and giving permission will not affect your ability to use this app.

About

DBT Coach

Learn and practice Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills to manage emotions, build resilience, and improve relationships. This app offers expert-created lessons, interactive exercises, and progress tracking to support personal growth and emotional well-being.

Highlights
  • Comprehensive DBT skills library
  • Interactive video lessons and animated guides
  • AI-powered personalized skills coach
  • Intuitive diary card for mood tracking
  • Progress visualization and clinician sharing
  • Guided meditations and self-reflection questionnaires
  • Crisis support hotlines
Features
Read full description

Transform Your Life with Evidence-Based Skills. Feel more in control. Build resilience. Transform overwhelming emotions into actionable skills. DBT Coach is the most comprehensive DBT app available - trusted by over 3 million users. WHY DBT COACH WORKS Real Results: Most users show measurable improvement within 90 days. Our evidence-based approach combines DBT expertise with engaging, memorable content. Learn Skills That Stick 100+ expert video lessons 60+ animated skill guides Interactive exercises that reinforce learning Effortless Progress Tracking: Your intuitive diary card makes daily tracking simple. Visualize patterns, celebrate wins, and share seamlessly with your therapist - no more weekly emails. WHAT'S INSIDE - Comprehensive, beautifully designed DBT Diary tracking which lets you control what you want to track, how much detail (context) you want to provide. Additional context lets you to see advanced analytics - your patterns, progress, risk and provides recommendations. - Ability to share in graphical format as well as the traditional (tabular) diary card format - Complete DBT Skills Library Master Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. - Each skill includes videos, exercises, and real-world guides. 1,000+ Guided Meditations World-class teachers across mindfulness, crisis management, sleep, and self-compassion themes. - Smart Analytics and Insights Discover connections between skills practice and emotional well-being with data-driven insights. - Motivation System Earn achievements, track streaks, and celebrate milestones as you build your practice. 100+ Interactive Worksheets Practice exercises linked to lessons. - Review history to see your progress. - Crisis Survival Toolkit Quick access to distress tolerance skills when you need them most. - Therapist Integration Share diary cards, exercises, and progress with your clinician in real-time through our companion platform. - Beautiful Design Dark mode, customizable tracking, and intuitive interface. WHO IT'S FOR - Dealing with stress or emotional overwhelm - In DBT therapy and need a companion tool - Committed to personal growth and wellness WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT - Comprehensive: Complete DBT curriculum coverage - Clinically rigorous: Expert-reviewed, cited in journals - Visual and engaging: Video, animation, and interaction - Therapist-connected: Seamless clinical care integration - Proven effective: Real outcomes, real data SUBSCRIPTION Free trial available $11.99/month or $59.99/6 months (save 17%) Cancel anytime in settings Auto-renews unless turned off 24 hours before period ends Payment charged to account at confirmation IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER DBT Coach is an educational and self-help wellness app. It is NOT a medical device and does NOT provide medical diagnoses, treatment plans, or prescriptions. All content is psychoeducational in nature, designed to teach general Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) coping skills. The AI coach feature is a skills coaching tool, not a licensed therapist or medical professional. This app complements - not replaces - professional therapy. For best results, use alongside a qualified mental health provider. If you are in crisis, please contact emergency services or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You deserve support that meets you where you are. Download DBT Coach and take the next step toward a life worth living. Privacy: https://www.resiliens.com/privacy Terms: https://www.resiliens.com/terms

Screenshots

DBT Distress Tolerance Tools4 screens
DBT Coach1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: DBT Coach at Free against DBT Distress Tolerance Tools's $5.99. DBT Coach also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (1.7K vs 6). DBT Distress Tolerance Tools's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.1). On 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

DBT Coach is free to download; DBT Distress Tolerance Tools costs $5.99 up front. DBT Coach sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month. DBT Distress Tolerance Tools asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

DBT Coach holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DBT Coach has 1.7K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of DBT Distress Tolerance Tools's written reviews are positive against 69% of DBT Coach's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DBT Distress Tolerance Tools ships an update every 6 weeks, DBT Coach fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
DBT Distress Tolerance Tools versus DBT Coach: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDBT Distress Tolerance ToolsDBT Coach
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating3.0 (6 ratings)4.6 (1.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews57.1% of reviews68.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings61.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB139 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPOP POP LLCResiliens Inc.

Customer experience

DBT Distress Tolerance Tools

All ratings6 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive57.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative42.9%

DBT Coach

All ratings1,746 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral2.6%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews325 reviews
Positive68.6%
Neutral9.8%
Negative21.5%

Bugs and requests

DBT Distress Tolerance Tools

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

DBT Coach

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Diary card entries not saving properly
  • Inability to log food or physical activity
  • Apple Health integration not working
  • Certain meditations and lessons not functioning
  • Inconsistent performance and unexpected crashes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow more customization of diary card and tracked items
  • Improve stability and reduce bugs
  • Offer more affordable subscription options
  • Add ability to share diary entries with multiple providers
  • Improve navigation and make the app more user-friendly

In-app purchases

None

DBT Distress Tolerance Tools

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

DBT Coach

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$11.991 Month
  • Family Monthly Subscription$19.991 Month
  • Six Month Subscription3 Days trial$59.996 Months

Questions

Is DBT Distress Tolerance Tools free?
DBT Distress Tolerance Tools costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DBT Coach free?
DBT Coach is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, DBT Distress Tolerance Tools or DBT Coach?
DBT Coach is rated higher. DBT Distress Tolerance Tools averages 3.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while DBT Coach averages 4.6 from 1.7K ratings.
Do DBT Distress Tolerance Tools or DBT Coach have ads?
Neither DBT Distress Tolerance Tools nor DBT Coach shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DBT Distress Tolerance Tools or DBT Coach?
DBT Distress Tolerance Tools ships an update every 6 weeks, and DBT Coach fortnightly. Most recently, DBT Distress Tolerance Tools was updated on November 3, 2026 and DBT Coach on November 11, 2026.

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