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Best Counseling Apps for iPhone (2026)
Quick answer
BetterHelp - Therapy is the top-ranked of the 7 tiered counseling apps on iPhone, at S tier with 4.8/5 from 178,342 ratings.
Tier list
Top 5
Key takeaways
- BetterHelp ranks #1 of the 7 tiered counseling apps, S tier with a score of 97 out of 100.
- BetterHelp is free, with no in-app purchases.
- BetterHelp has the most App Store ratings here: 178,342, averaging 4.8/5.
- 4 of the 7 tiered apps reach S or A tier.
What belongs in this list
A person wants to talk through emotional or personal problems with a counselor or guided counseling support.
Not here: A tutoring or coaching app alone; A mood journal alone; A general chatbot alone; A relaxation sounds app alone; A directory of articles alone
How we pick
For this list we ask the App Store the same searches a person would, in several countries, and keep every app it returns. A model reads each app's listing and rejects the ones that only mention the use case. Every app that stays is scored out of 100 from four parts, each 0 to 100 and averaged: its App Store rating, how many people rated it, where the App Store itself ranks it for this list's searches, and how recently its current version shipped. An app showing Apple's Editors' Choice badge gets a fifth part of 100, which can only lift its score. Apps whose maker has verified ownership get a small score component, because an active maker is a sign the app is kept up to date. It never decides a tier on its own. Updated daily. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. Read the full method →
Compare every app
| # | App | Tier | Score | Rating | Ratings | Price | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S | 97.0 | 4.8 | 178,342 | Free download | ||
| 2 | S | 95.3 | 4.8 | 47,675 | Free download | ||
| 3 | S | 90.5 | 4.7 | 950 | Free download | ||
| 4 | A | 89.5 | 4.6 | 4,958 | Free download | ||
| 5 | B | 74.8 | 4.8 | 487 | Free + IAP | ||
| 6 | B | 74.5 | 3.7 | 22 | Free download | ||
| 7 | B | 71.5 | 4.4 | 9,175 | Free + IAP |
Questions people ask
What is the best counseling app for iPhone?
BetterHelp - Therapy, S tier, ranked #1 of 7, rated 4.8 by 178,342 people.
Which counseling apps are free?
7 of 7 are free to download: BetterHelp - Therapy (S), Talkspace: Virtual Therapy App (S), LiftTalk:Coaching & Counseling (S), Teen Counseling (A) and more. 2 of them sell in-app purchases. 5 report no in-app purchases.
Which counseling app has the best App Store rating?
Talkspace: Virtual Therapy App at 4.8 from 47,675 ratings.
How many counseling apps reach S or A tier?
4 of 7.