IX Coach

Youper Alternative: What to Use Now That It Has Shut Down

What is a good Youper alternative now that Youper has shut down?

Youper discontinued its services on September 30, 2026, and, as of 2026-10-03, its app is no longer listed in the US App Store or on Google Play. If you're looking for what to use instead, this page compares the live options closest to what Youper did — Wysa, MindLift and Stella — with IX Coach, giving what each costs to start as checked on 2026-10-03. IX Coach is AI coaching, not therapy and not a crisis service, and none of these tools replaces a licensed professional.

If you're searching for a Youper alternative, the first thing to know is what Youper's own site said on 2026-10-03: "Youper discontinued its services on September 30, 2026." That line is the headline of youper.ai and of its notice page as of 2026-10-03, and the app is no longer listed in the US App Store or on Google Play. This page covers what is live today: Wysa, an AI chatbot with exercises built into the conversation and a free way to start; MindLift, a free-to-start thought-reframing app; Stella, a voice-first anxiety companion that needs a paid subscription; and IX Coach, the AI coaching product this page is published by, which works differently from the other three. IX Coach is AI coaching, not therapy and not a crisis service, and none of the options here replaces a licensed professional.

What Youper's own pages say now (as of 2026-10-03)

As of 2026-10-03, Youper has shut down. The headline on youper.ai and on its notice page reads "Youper discontinued its services on September 30, 2026," and the same line sits above its FAQ and emergency pages.

As of 2026-10-03 the app can't be reinstalled from either store that we checked: Apple's catalog lookup for Youper's App Store id returned no results on 2026-10-03, and the Google Play listing for its Android package returned HTTP 404. So anyone who deleted the app or changed phones has no way we could find to download it again.

As of 2026-10-03, Youper's data-export page says user accounts, chat histories and personal information "are being securely and permanently deleted from our servers and backups," and it no longer offers an export itself. Earlier versions of Youper's notice, as captured on 2026-09-08, gave more detail on dates, subscriptions and refunds; that wording is not on the live page, so this page does not rely on it.

The alternatives split into two different kinds of tool

Everything below falls into one of two categories, and which one you actually want matters more than which app has the better reviews. The first is a structured self-guided tool — exercises or prompts you work through largely on your own, which is what Youper itself was. Wysa, Stella and MindLift all sit here, with real differences in cost, format and focus. The second is a continuous AI coach — a conversation that carries what you've told it forward rather than treating each session as a blank slate. IX Coach is built this way: its pricing page lists memory across sessions as part of the one plan, and its homepage says it draws on 20+ evidence-based modalities, each with a concept page anyone can open, such as the thought record, a CBT reframing technique. That is a structural difference in how the product is built, not a claim about which kind works better for you — a person who wanted Youper specifically for its self-contained daily check-ins may find a continuity-first coach is solving a problem they didn't have. Where the other three win: Wysa and MindLift cost nothing to start and neither asks for a card, while IX Coach's trial does.

Explore: the thought record · cognitive behavioral therapy

Youper alternatives side by side

The rows run from the option closest in format to what Youper did — a self-guided chat with exercises — to the one that works differently. Costs are what each company's own page or App Store listing showed on 2026-10-03.

Youper alternatives compared: what each is, what it costs to start, who it suits, and what it is not built for
OptionWhat it isCost to start (checked 2026-10-03)Best forNot built for
WysaAI chatbot with tools inside the conversation and a tool library; a higher paid tier adds a human coach$0 to talk to Wysa AI; paid Premium is optional (the App Store text lists $99.99 per year, but the listing shows other prices too)A free-to-start, self-guided chat with exercises, the format closest to Youper'sCrisis situations, diagnosis, or severe and enduring mental health problems, per Wysa's FAQ
MindLiftCBT reframing app that calls itself a self-reflection tool rather than a clinical one$0 to start, core features need no account; optional premium (App Store lists $4.99 for 1 month, $34.99 for 1 year)Reframing one stuck thought in the moment without making an accountTherapy or crisis support; it says it is not a clinical tool and not a crisis service
StellaVoice-first AI companion for anxietyFree to download, then a subscription is required: $9.99 per month or $59.99 per year (US); no free plan for ongoing useAnxiety in the moment, talked through by voiceTherapy or emergency support, per Stella; a free option for ongoing use
IX CoachAI coaching that carries what you told it across sessions, drawing on 20+ evidence-based modalities7-day free trial with a card up front, then $40 per month; free accounts can previewAn ongoing conversation that picks up from earlier sessions, with the methods it draws on namedTherapy, diagnosis, or crisis care; a free-forever tool, since the trial needs a card

Prices change; these were checked on 2026-10-03, and none of these tools is a substitute for a licensed professional.

Wysa — the nearest in format to what Youper did, and free to talk to

Wysa is an AI chatbot whose own FAQ says that talking to it is free, including the tools offered within conversations, with a premium version "at cost" that adds a wider selection of tools. Of the options here it is the nearest in format to Youper: a chat with exercises inside it rather than an open-ended conversation. Its US App Store listing shows a 4.8-star rating across roughly 24,500 ratings as of 2026-10-03.

Prices are where Wysa's own pages disagree with each other. The App Store description states, for US customers, Premium Plus at $99.99 per month (coach plus tools) and Premium at $99.99 per year (tools), while the in-app-purchase list on the same listing shows many other price points between $4.99 and $144.99, and wysa.com/pricing returned a 404 when checked. Treat the description's figures as Wysa's stated US prices and the list as an unresolved conflict. If you reach Wysa through an employer or school, its FAQ says premium comes at no cost, with human coaching extra.

Wysa sets the same limit a scripted CBT tool like Youper worked under: its FAQ says it "is not a substitute for professional medical advice," gives no diagnoses, and is not recommended for use in crisis situations or for people with severe and enduring mental health problems.

Explore: cognitive behavioral therapy · habit tracking

Stella — voice-first, built specifically for anxiety

Stella's App Store description calls it a voice-first anxiety companion designed to help you feel calmer in difficult moments. Its pricing page on 2026-10-03 says it is $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year in the US, that the app is free to download, and that a subscription is required to keep using it: "There is no free plan for ongoing use." The page does not state a free trial; it says any introductory offer is shown in the App Store before you purchase. An earlier version of this page, checked 2026-09-08, reported a free open beta and a $99.99 annual price; neither appears on Stella's pricing page now.

That is the narrowest focus of the three self-guided tools here — if what you used Youper for was general mood tracking across several concerns, Stella's anxiety-specific framing is worth weighing against that; if anxiety was the specific thing you went to Youper for, the focus may be the point. Stella states it is an AI emotional wellness companion, not a replacement for therapy, professional mental health care or emergency support. Its US App Store listing has a 5-star rating from only 18 ratings, too few to read much into.

MindLift — free-to-start, no account for the core tool

MindLift's own site says it is free to start, that its core features are available without creating an account, and that an optional premium subscription unlocks more; the site does not detail what premium adds, so treat the free core as the known quantity. Its US App Store listing shows premium prices of $4.99 for one month, $19.99 for six months, $34.99 for a year and $89.99 for a lifetime purchase, and a 4.75 rating from only 8 ratings.

MindLift describes itself as a CBT reframing app for working on a single negative or overthinking thought, and states: "It is not a clinical tool or therapy replacement." It also says it is not a crisis service. It is built for a moment of reframing rather than a daily conversation.

What none of these apps — IX Coach included — are built to do

Every product on this page, including IX Coach, is a coaching or self-guided wellness tool, not a clinician. IX Coach is AI coaching, not therapy. If what brought you to Youper was more than a mood-tracking habit or a productivity check-in — if it's closer to something that needs a diagnosis or a treatment plan — none of the products here are built to replace that, and none of them claim to. If it's closer to a crisis, the numbers to call are a few sections below.

Explore: the trust triangle

How to actually pick one without re-doing this search in a month

Three of the four options can be tried before you pay: Wysa is free to talk to, MindLift's core tool is free without an account, and IX Coach offers a 7-day trial that asks for a card up front, with cancelling before day 7 costing nothing, per its pricing page. Stella needs a subscription from the start, though it says any introductory offer appears in the App Store before you purchase. The honest way to choose is to spend a week with one of the free ones before paying for anything — the habit Youper served may not transfer cleanly to any of these, and you won't know which one it does transfer to until you try. The mistake to avoid is picking on star ratings alone: they tell you how existing users feel about the tool they chose, not whether it matches what you specifically used Youper for.

Explore: tiny experiments · pain of paying · satisficing vs maximizing

Is Youper still available to download?

No. On 2026-10-03, Apple's catalog lookup for Youper's App Store id returned no results, the Google Play listing for its Android package returned HTTP 404, and youper.ai says it discontinued its services on September 30, 2026.

What happens to my Youper data?

As of 2026-10-03, Youper's data-export page says all user accounts, chat histories and personal information "are being securely and permanently deleted from our servers and backups." That page no longer offers an export, and it does not give a completion date for the deletion.

Is there a free alternative to Youper?

Wysa is free to talk to, tools included, and MindLift's core thought-reframing tool is free and needs no account. Stella requires a subscription for ongoing use ($9.99 per month or $59.99 per year in the US). IX Coach has a 7-day trial that asks for a card up front, then $40 per month; free accounts can preview it, but there is no free plan for ongoing use.

Is an AI coach the same thing as a mood-tracking chatbot like Youper?

No. A mood-tracking chatbot runs a structured, largely self-guided exercise library. A coaching product like IX Coach is built to carry a conversation forward across sessions rather than reset each time — a different structure, not a strictly better or worse one. IX Coach is AI coaching, not therapy.

If What You Need Right Now Is Crisis Support

Nothing on this page — including IX Coach — is a substitute for care from a licensed professional, and IX Coach is not a crisis service. Youper said the same about itself: its notice page, still live on 2026-10-03, states that it "is not an emergency service and cannot provide crisis intervention," and the service has since been discontinued. If you're in a mental health emergency, or having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, the numbers to call are the same ones Youper's own pages still listed as of 2026-10-03: call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (available 24/7), text HOME to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line, or call 911. None of that costs anything, and none of it requires picking an app first.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good Youper alternative now that Youper has shut down?

Youper discontinued its services on September 30, 2026, and, as of 2026-10-03, its app is no longer listed in the US App Store or on Google Play. If you're looking for what to use instead, this page compares the live options closest to what Youper did — Wysa, MindLift and Stella — with IX Coach, giving what each costs to start as checked on 2026-10-03. IX Coach is AI coaching, not therapy and not a crisis service, and none of these tools replaces a licensed professional.

Is Youper still available to download?

No. On 2026-10-03, Apple's catalog lookup for Youper's App Store id returned no results, the Google Play listing for its Android package returned HTTP 404, and youper.ai says it discontinued its services on September 30, 2026.

What happens to my Youper data?

As of 2026-10-03, Youper's data-export page says all user accounts, chat histories and personal information "are being securely and permanently deleted from our servers and backups." That page no longer offers an export, and it does not give a completion date for the deletion.

Is there a free alternative to Youper?

Wysa is free to talk to, tools included, and MindLift's core thought-reframing tool is free and needs no account. Stella requires a subscription for ongoing use ($9.99 per month or $59.99 per year in the US). IX Coach has a 7-day trial that asks for a card up front, then $40 per month; free accounts can preview it, but there is no free plan for ongoing use.

Is an AI coach the same thing as a mood-tracking chatbot like Youper?

No. A mood-tracking chatbot runs a structured, largely self-guided exercise library. A coaching product like IX Coach is built to carry a conversation forward across sessions rather than reset each time — a different structure, not a strictly better or worse one. IX Coach is AI coaching, not therapy.

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