Which Mental Health App Actually Fits You

Six questions, then three options scored against your answers — with the reason each one matched you, and the reason it might not. We are on the list and we built this, so the reasoning is shown rather than just the ranking.

What this actually asks

Feature lists rank the wrong things. What decides whether an app helps is whether you open it on a bad day — so this asks what happens in your body first, how much capacity you have, whether you have already bounced off something, and how long it has been going on.

How the scoring works, and where we lose

Every option carries attributes — what it is good for, what it asks of you, whether a person is involved, what it costs — and your answers score against them. Nothing is hardcoded to come first. Change one answer and the ranking changes: say your body leads and you can pay, and we come out top; say the same but free-only, and we drop to fourth behind the NHS pages, because our app is free but the plush is the part that does the work. Say you want to build a practice and we rank last of eight, because we are a first step and not a library.

What we will not tell you

We do not quote prices for the other apps. They change often, they differ by region and platform, and a number we checked once and left to rot would be unfair to them and misleading to you. What you get instead is the shape — free, free tier, or paid subscription — which is the part that actually changes the decision. Check the current figure on their own site.

The number worth knowing

Real-world completion for digital self-help runs between 1% and 28%, against 44–99% in clinical trials. Trial participants are reminded, supported and expected. You are not. Abandoning an app is the norm, not a discipline failure, and any list that does not tell you this is selling something.

Questions

Which mental health app is best?

There is no single best one, which is why this asks four questions first. The honest split: structured guided courses (Headspace, Calm) suit a looping mind; something physical suits body-led distress; anything lasting months needs a person rather than an app. The tool above will route you, including away from us.

Is Headspace or Calm better?

Headspace has the better-structured courses and the stronger research base for guided meditation. Calm asks less of you and its sleep content genuinely works for a lot of people. If evenings and sleep are when it bites, pick Calm; if you want the loop taught apart, pick Headspace.

Are free mental health apps any good?

Some are genuinely good. Wysa has a substantial free tier, Insight Timer has an enormous free library, and the NHS self-help pages are free with no account at all and written by a national health body. Free is not the same as thin.

What if I have tried apps before and stopped?

That is the normal outcome. Real-world completion runs 1–28%. It is worth picking the smallest possible thing next time and letting it be boring, rather than picking the most featured one and bouncing off it again.

Other things here

Right nowRide out a panic wavePanic has a shape: it rises, peaks, and falls. This shows you where you are on it.NightAwake at 3 a.m.Why you woke, one line at a time, and the one instruction worth following.Do it nowThe physiological sighTwo inhales, one long exhale, five times. About forty seconds, and the fastest thing here.Do it now5-4-3-2-1 groundingFive senses in order, at your pace. It holds the count so you do not have to.Do it nowUnclenchTense then release, five places, ninety seconds. Works when "just relax" does not.UnderstandWhat your nervous system is doingWired, shut down, or both. The answer changes what actually helps — most advice assumes wired.NightWind down before bedFour stages for the last hour, each with the reason. No timer, no rules about screens.DecideWhat comfort works for youFour questions about what your body actually responds to. Most answers are not things we sell.Do it nowBox breathingA one-minute timer that walks the box so you are not counting. 4-4-4-4, or 4/6 with no hold.UnderstandWhere stress sits in your bodyTap the spot. Jaw, throat, shoulders, chest, stomach or hands — and what it means.DecideA gift for someone stressedThree questions, and it will tell you when the right answer is not a gift.

All of it, in one place: the resource hub.