Wysa is the only one of these two chatbots you can still download. Woebot Health retired its consumer Woebot app on June 30, 2025 and now offers its tools only through health plans, providers and employers, so for most readers the comparison has a clear answer: if you want a CBT-style chatbot today, Wysa is the one available, and Woebot is only an option if your insurer or employer happens to offer it. Both were built on similar ideas, and both have published research behind them, but neither is therapy.
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US, or call 911 for immediate danger. An app is not for an emergency, and a chatbot cannot assess risk the way a person can.
We compared the two from published research, company statements, app store listings and news coverage of Woebot's shutdown. We did not use either app with anyone in distress and we report no mood or symptom changes. We are reviewers, not clinicians.
Woebot is no longer a consumer app, and that settles most of it
Trade outlets including MobiHealthNews reported in April 2025 that Woebot Health would close its public app on June 30, 2025, giving users until then to download their conversation history. The company moved to a business model where access comes through partner organizations. Its investigational postpartum depression program, WB001, received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in 2021, but as far as we could find no Woebot product has FDA clearance. Our Woebot review covers what the app did and why the closure matters.
So unless your health plan, hospital system or employer lists Woebot as a benefit, you cannot sign up. If one does, ask the program how your data is handled and whether a human clinician is involved, because enterprise versions can differ from the old consumer app.
How the two chatbots compare on paper
| Factor | Wysa | Woebot |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer availability | Yes, iOS and Android | No, retired June 30, 2025 |
| How you get it now | Download, or through an employer or health system | Only through partner organizations |
| Approach | Guided chat with CBT, mindfulness, breathing and sleep tools | Short, structured CBT conversations |
| Human support | Optional paid coaching | Depends on the partner program |
| FDA status | Breakthrough Device Designation (2022) for a specific pain-related use, not clearance | Breakthrough Device Designation (2021) for an investigational postpartum program, not clearance |
| Price (verify current pricing) | Free core; Premium listed around $75 a year | Not sold to consumers |
What the research behind each one shows
Woebot's best-known study is a 2017 randomized trial in JMIR Mental Health (Fitzpatrick and colleagues). Seventy college students used either Woebot or a National Institute of Mental Health ebook for two weeks, and the Woebot group reported a larger drop in depression symptom scores. It was a small, short trial in a narrow population, run by people connected to the company, which is a useful early signal rather than proof.
Wysa's early evidence includes a 2018 study in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (Inkster and colleagues) that compared more engaged users with less engaged ones. It was not a randomized trial, so it cannot show the app caused improvement. In 2022 Wysa announced FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for a conversational agent aimed at adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain plus depression and anxiety. That is a development pathway status, not approval, and it does not make the consumer app a treatment. Our Wysa review goes deeper.
What using Wysa involves today
Wysa opens with a chat that asks how you are feeling and then suggests an exercise, such as reframing an unhelpful thought, a grounding technique, a breathing routine or a sleep story. The structure is guided rather than fully open-ended, which keeps conversations predictable. The free version covers the chat and a set of tools. Third-party listings in 2026 put Wysa Premium at roughly $75 a year or about $20 a month, with separate paid coaching options, but prices vary by store and country, so verify current pricing in the app before subscribing.
Reviewers commonly describe Wysa as gentle and low pressure, and also as repetitive after a few weeks. That fits what a scripted CBT tool can and cannot do. It can prompt a skill at 11 p.m. when no one else is awake, but it cannot notice patterns across your life the way a therapist does.
Alternatives if you were a Woebot user
Former Woebot users who liked short, structured CBT check-ins have a few directions. Wysa is the closest in format. Apps such as Sanvello offer CBT-based lessons, mood tracking and, on some plans, access to therapy through insurance, with less emphasis on chat. Meditation apps like Headspace lean toward mindfulness rather than CBT exercises, which suits some people better and others not at all.
If what you valued was the feeling of talking something through, a human may be the better next step. Online therapy services and in-network telehealth visits are covered in our guide to choosing online therapy. Many health plans also include behavioral health benefits that members never use, so it is worth calling the number on your insurance card to ask what is covered before paying for an app.
Where a chatbot fits, and where it does not
A chatbot like Wysa can be a reasonable way to practice CBT-style skills for everyday stress or low mood, or to keep using skills you learned in therapy. It is a poor fit if you have thoughts of self-harm, symptoms that are getting worse, a diagnosed condition you are managing, or a medication question. Those need a licensed professional. Our app vs therapist comparison lays out the line.
Privacy deserves a look too. Read how the app stores and uses your conversations, whether data is shared with an employer that provides it, and how to delete your account. If you want a wider set of options, including meditation apps and therapy services, start with our best mental wellness apps guide.
The bottom line: Wysa is the CBT chatbot you can actually download in 2026, Woebot is only reachable through a partner plan, and neither one replaces a clinician or belongs anywhere near an emergency, where 988 is the call to make.
