We compared the shadow work apps people ask about most: Mindberg, Mastering Change, WorkWithShadow, Prompted Journal and InnerOS. Each one is best for something different, so this list says who each one is for.
We make InnerOS. We have tried to be fair; where another app is better for you, we say so.
Last updated: September 28, 2026
Every app, in detail
InnerOS
Best for: Shadow work with your parts writing back (IFS and Jung)
InnerOS is the app we make, so treat this entry as ours and the rest of the page as our honest read of the field. Most shadow work apps hand you a static prompt list. InnerOS writes the opening line as the hidden part itself, drawn from Internal Family Systems and Jungian shadow work, and you write back in your own words. The part you meet in a shadow session is not left behind when the session ends; it keeps showing up in your regular check-ins, so the same hidden part is recognizable weeks later. It is built for shadow work and parts work specifically, not general daily journaling, so pick something else on this list if that is not your problem.
- Platforms
- iOS, Android
- Price
- $19.99/month or $79.99/year
- Free tier / trial
- 14-day free trial, card required, no permanent free tier
- Privacy
- AES-256 encrypted at rest, no human reads your journal
Every feature sits behind the subscription with no permanent free tier, and it is a smaller, newer app than some names here, with no desktop app and no live facilitator community.
Visit InnerOS →Mindberg
Best for: Depth-psychology shadow work built by a Jungian psychotherapist, with dream analysis
Mindberg was built by a Jungian psychotherapist accredited by the C.G. Jung Institute Zurich, and its App Store listing states it is trusted by over 150,000 people. It pairs guided shadow work sessions with a dream journal for recurring symbols and weekly shadow tasks, seven guided steps that give you somewhere to go each week rather than a blank prompt. Of everything on this list, it leans hardest into dream analysis as the way into the unconscious.
- Platforms
- iOS
- Price
- Free to download; in-app subscription pricing is not published on the App Store listing
- Free tier / trial
- Free to download and start; a paid tier unlocks the fuller program
- Privacy
- States entries stay private and your journal is yours alone; no encryption standard is published
iOS only, with no Android listing found; in-app subscription pricing is not published anywhere in the App Store listing.
Visit Mindberg →Mastering Change
Best for: A structured depth-work methodology with live group facilitation
Mastering Change is built on 25 years of depth-work methodology by Steven Twohig, founder of Mastering Change and Executive Director of the Evolving Mind Project. Instead of prompts, it gives you The Construct, a seven-facet map of how your mind builds your experience, plus guided depth sessions drawn from live group facilitation and solo Turning Within practices between them. Their own site claims over 10,000 downloads and more than 65 integration groups running inside the app every month. It reads as the most clinically serious option here, and also the least transparent about price.
- Platforms
- iOS, Android
- Price
- Free to download; their site describes one, three or six month plans with a cancel-anytime guarantee, but does not publish exact prices
- Free tier / trial
- Free to download; their site describes a Risk-Free Guarantee to cancel before paying the full program price
- Privacy
- No encryption standard or data-handling policy is published on their site or App Store listing
No published price for any of its one, three or six month plans, and the smallest App Store rating count on this list (29 ratings) even though its own site claims over 10,000 downloads.
Visit Mastering Change →Prompted Journal
Best for: A simple daily journaling habit with a shadow work prompt pack inside it
Prompted Journal is, by its own App Store description, a general daily journal and diary app: 190+ prompts, a "Dive Deeper" follow-up question on each one, PDF export, and no account required since entries stay on your device. Its listing is titled for shadow work, but the description itself describes a broad self-care journaling habit rather than a shadow-specific practice, and it has one of the largest rating counts on this list (6,904) for that broader use.
- Platforms
- iOS
- Price
- Free to download; premium pricing is not published in the App Store listing
- Free tier / trial
- Free to download, no account required, entries stored on your device
- Privacy
- Entries stored on your device, no account required; no encryption standard is published
Its own App Store description reads as a general daily-journaling app; shadow work is one prompt pack inside it, not the app's core design.
Visit Prompted Journal →WorkWithShadow
Best for: A one-time purchased shadow work program, not an ongoing app you try first
WorkWithShadow sells shadow work as a program rather than an app you install and explore first: after you buy a one, three or six month plan, they email you a download link. What that unlocks is a web app with mobile access to guided meditations, journaling prompts, affirmations and a support community, all built around Jungian shadow work. Their own FAQ names three plan lengths and a Risk-Free Guarantee to cancel before paying in full, without ever publishing the price of any plan.
- Platforms
- Web (with mobile access); no native app store listing found
- Price
- One, three or six month plans; exact prices are not published on their site
- Free tier / trial
- No free tier; their site describes a Risk-Free Guarantee to cancel before paying the full program price
- Privacy
- No encryption standard or data-handling policy is published on their site
It is a purchased program delivered by email after checkout, not an app you download and try first, and the price of any plan is never stated, only that plans run one, three or six months.
Visit WorkWithShadow →Common questions
What is the best shadow work app?
It depends on what you want from one. Mindberg goes deepest on dream analysis and was built by a Jungian psychotherapist. Mastering Change offers a structured methodology with live group facilitation. WorkWithShadow sells a one-time program rather than an app you try first. Prompted Journal is a general daily journal with a shadow work prompt pack inside it. InnerOS is different from all four: the hidden part answers you back in its own voice, drawn from IFS and Jungian shadow work, and keeps showing up in your regular check-ins afterward.
Is there a free shadow work app?
Yes. Mindberg, Prompted Journal and Mastering Change are all free to download, with a paid tier for the fuller program (none of the three publish their in-app subscription price). WorkWithShadow has no free tier at all; it is a purchased program. InnerOS is not free either: it is a 14-day free trial, card required, then a subscription.
Can AI help with shadow work?
AI can hold the structure around shadow work: it can write the opening prompt as the hidden part, stay with you while you respond, and reflect back what surfaced. It cannot do the deeper trauma work a trained therapist does, and none of the apps on this page, InnerOS included, claim to. Of the five compared here, InnerOS is the one built specifically to answer back as the hidden part, rather than only prompting you to write about it.
Is shadow work safe to do alone?
For most people, yes, especially in short structured sessions like the ones on this page. But shadow material can surface grief, anger or old pain that feels bigger than expected. If a session brings up more than you can sit with, or you are in crisis, please reach out to a licensed therapist or a crisis line rather than working through it alone.