Quick answer: Bifocal is the best DBT app for iPhone overall, the only app here that combines a full diary card with in-depth Chain Analysis and a facsimile export that reproduces the official DBT diary card sheets, all of it working offline with no account and no advertising. DBT Coach is the better choice for a structured animated course, Radically DBT is the strongest free clinician-built toolkit, and DBT Diary Card & Skills Coach is the veteran one-off purchase.
Disclosure: Bifocal is the app this site is about, so it gets the most detail and the top spot. The comparison is still honest: each competitor’s genuine strengths are listed, prices, ratings and update dates were checked on the App Store in October 2026, and every app’s weaknesses sit next to its strengths.
How was this comparison put together?
Every app below was checked against the same criteria:
| Criterion | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| DBT specificity | Does it use DBT skills, diary cards and DBT language, or is it a general mood tracker? |
| Diary card | Can you record emotions, urges, target behaviours and skills in one place? |
| Chain analysis | Can you reconstruct the behaviour chain from vulnerability to consequence, or only log the outcome? |
| Session-ready export | Can you hand your clinician the sheet they already use, or must you retype entries into another format? |
| Skills content | Is there learning material, or only tracking? |
| Privacy | Is an account required? Is data on the device, in your iCloud, or on a server? |
| Offline access | Does it work without a connection, when you most need it? |
| Cost | Free, one-off purchase, or subscription, and what is locked behind it? |
| Maintenance | When was the app last updated? An abandoned app is a data risk. |
What are the best DBT apps for iPhone at a glance?
| App | Best for | Diary card | Skills library | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bifocal | Diary cards, Chain Analysis, official-sheet exports | Yes, with Chain Analysis | Yes, all four modules | Free download, £3.99 lifetime upgrade |
| DBT Coach | Structured skills course | Yes | Yes, 60+ guides | Subscription, free trial |
| DBT Pal | A quick daily card | Yes | Yes | Free tier, subscription for extras |
| Radically DBT | Free clinician-built skills | Yes | Yes | Free, optional cosmetic subscription |
| DBT Diary Card & Skills Log | Weekly session reports | Yes | Limited | Free tier, Pro subscription |
| DBT Diary Card & Skills Coach | One-off purchase | Yes | Yes | $4.99 one-off (US) |
| DBT Travel Guide | Skills reference in a programme | Yes | Yes | Free |
Bifocal is the only app in this list that exports your card as a facsimile of the official DBT diary card sheet. If you take nothing else from this comparison, that plus Chain Analysis is the practical difference between tracking your week and being able to work through it with a therapist.
Why does Bifocal come first?
Five things separate it from everything else here:
- In-depth Chain Analysis. Rather than only recording that a target behaviour happened, Bifocal walks the chain step by step: the vulnerability factors that set the day up, the prompting event, each link where you had a choice, and the consequences that followed. That is the exercise a DBT therapist actually does with you, and doing it in the app means the detail is still there when the session starts.
- Exact facsimile diary card exports. Bifocal exports your entries as the official DBT diary card sheet, laid out the way a DBT therapist expects to read it. No transcribing numbers into a different grid, no photographing a screen, no reformatting the night before an appointment.
- All four modules, taught and tracked. Diary cards plus mindfulness, distress tolerance including TIPP and radical acceptance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness including DEAR MAN, each paired with learning content that runs offline.
- Private by architecture. No account, no email address, no profile. Entries live on the iPhone and in your own private iCloud, and usage analytics are opt-in and off by default.
- A journal and progress reports. Entries are timestamped and grouped by week, so you can review a stretch of time, notice patterns, and bring a summary to a session.
The other apps have their niches. DBT Coach teaches more formally, Radically DBT has the fairest free tier, and DBT Pal is quicker to fill in. None of them does the chain-and-export work above.
What does each DBT app do in detail?
Prices and ratings below come from the App Store in October 2026 unless stated. For background on the skills these apps track, see the guides to TIPP, the diary card, radical acceptance and DEAR MAN.
1. What is Bifocal best for?
Bifocal is an iOS DBT companion built around one card per day. You record emotions, urges and the skills you used, and entries are timestamped and grouped by week. What sets it apart is what happens after the card: an in-depth Chain Analysis takes a target behaviour apart link by link, and an exact facsimile export turns your entries into the official DBT diary card sheet, ready to hand to a therapist. It covers all four DBT modules, pairs each one with learning content including TIPP for high-distress moments, and adds a journal and progress reports for session prep.
Strengths
- In-depth Chain Analysis, not just a tick box for the target behaviour.
- Facsimile diary card exports that match the official DBT diary card sheets, so nothing has to be transcribed before a session.
- No account, no email address and no profile. The app opens straight into today’s card.
- Entries live in a local database on the iPhone and in your own private iCloud account, not on a developer’s server.
- Works fully offline, which matters on the days you cannot reach a network.
- All four modules with learning content, plus a journal and progress reports.
- No advertising, a free download, and a one-off £3.99 lifetime upgrade rather than a subscription.
Watch out for
- It is iOS only and English only.
- It is a young app with few App Store ratings so far. The feature set is deep, the review history is short.
- It is a companion rather than a taught course. If you want animated lessons in sequence, DBT Coach leads there; Bifocal’s learning content is attached to the skills you are already using.
2. What is DBT Coach best for?
DBT Coach is the most polished teaching app in the category. The App Store listing describes more than 60 animated skill guides, interactive exercises, a diary card and progress tracking you can share with a therapist. It is aimed at people who want to learn DBT systematically rather than only track it, and it is the most reviewed app in this comparison, with a 4.6 average from around 1,700 US ratings. As a teacher it is the strongest app here. As a record you take into a session, Bifocal’s Chain Analysis and facsimile export go further.
Strengths
- The largest library of taught skills among the apps here.
- A diary card integrated with the lessons, so practice follows learning.
- Built for sharing progress with a clinician.
Watch out for
- It is subscription-based. At the time of writing the US listing showed a free trial then $11.99 a month or $59.99 for six months.
- The cost is significant if you only want a diary card.
- Lesson-led apps suit people who like structure; they are less useful in high distress than a single, fast card.
- Tracking is lesson-led rather than chain-led, and the listing describes no facsimile export of the official diary card sheet. If either matters to you, Bifocal covers it.
3. What is DBT Pal best for?
DBT Pal: Diary Card & Skills takes the opposite approach to DBT Coach. It is built around filling in a diary card in under a minute: rate urges and emotions from 0 to 5, tick the skills you used, add a note. The free tier covers the daily card, iCloud backup and the full guided meditation library; the subscription adds unlimited custom urges and emotions, custom breathing patterns, and PDF export that includes your notes for therapy.
Strengths
- Fast enough to use during a difficult day rather than only at night.
- No account is required and entries are stored on the device, with optional backup to your own iCloud.
- Clear, DBT-shaped structure rather than a generic mood tracker.
Watch out for
- The subscription, shown at $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US at the time of writing, is needed for the fuller feature set.
- It is a tracking tool first. The skills content is lighter than DBT Coach’s.
- There is no Chain Analysis and no facsimile diary card export, the two places Bifocal goes furthest.
4. What is Radically DBT best for?
Radically DBT: Skills & Diary is made by a clinician and keeps its skills library, diary card features and insights free. It offers an optional supporter subscription for cosmetic extras such as themes and companion outfits, which is an unusually fair model: the therapeutic tools are not paywalled.
Strengths
- All core DBT tools free, with an explicit commitment to keep them free.
- Zero account setup, entries stay on the device, and no ads.
- Apple Watch support, which helps when your phone is out of reach.
Watch out for
- The optional extras are gamified, which will appeal to some people and irritate others.
- It is a newer, smaller app, so the community and the polish are still developing.
- No chain analysis tool and no official-sheet export. Its free tier and Watch app are still the strongest argument for choosing it alongside Bifocal.
5. What is DBT Diary Card & Skills Log best for?
This app pairs a structured daily card with step-by-step behaviour chains and session-prep reports. It is designed to produce something you can take to a therapist rather than a log you keep to yourself.
Strengths
- Behaviour chain analysis and session-prep reports, the closest competitor on this front. Its chain tool is lighter than Bifocal’s Chain Analysis, and it does not export the official diary card sheet.
- No account or sign-in, an optional PIN and biometric lock, and backups only when you choose. Its listing states that analytics and crash reports exclude diary content.
- A free tier covers the daily card, the last 14 days of history and the current week’s report.
Watch out for
- Unlimited history and customisation sit behind a Pro subscription.
- It is a new app with very few ratings, so it is worth checking recent reviews before relying on it.
6. What is DBT Diary Card & Skills Coach best for?
This is the veteran of the category: a paid app created by a licensed, intensively trained DBT psychologist, with graphing and a full diary card. It has been used by far more people than most apps here, with over a thousand ratings in the US store.
Strengths
- A single $4.99 purchase rather than a subscription.
- DBT-specific design from a clinician, with data graphing for patterns.
- Long track record and a large base of user reviews.
Watch out for
- It has not been updated since October 2019. That is a genuine risk: older apps can break on newer iOS versions, and an unmaintained app holding sensitive entries is a poor place to keep years of data.
- Its US rating sits around 3.8, which suggests mixed experiences. Read recent reviews before buying.
- No recent privacy work. Check the App Store privacy label before you enter anything.
7. What is DBT Travel Guide best for?
DBT Travel Guide was built for people with borderline personality disorder who are following a DBT programme. It works as a portable skills reference, lets you record agreements made with your therapist, and includes a digital diary card.
Strengths
- Free, and explicitly designed around a structured DBT programme rather than general self-help.
- The therapist-agreement feature is unusual and useful between sessions.
- More than 200 skills and mindfulness exercises, plus a section for hard moments.
Watch out for
- Last updated in 2023, with a small user base, so it feels dated next to newer apps.
- Its language and framing are aimed at people with a BPD diagnosis, which will not suit everyone using DBT for anxiety, depression or emotion regulation.
Why aren’t general mood trackers DBT apps?
It is worth being clear about the difference. Apps such as Daylio and Apple Journal are excellent at what they do, but they are not DBT tools:
- Daylio is a fast mood and habit tracker with a free tier and a paid plan. It will show you that your mood dips on Sundays; it will not teach you what to do about it.
- Apple Journal is free, private and built into iOS. It is a reflective journal without DBT structure, prompts for skills, or a diary card.
Use them alongside DBT if you like, but do not expect a general tracker to substitute for a card that records urges, target behaviours and skills.
How do you choose a DBT app?
- If you want one app for the whole job, choose Bifocal. It tracks the card, runs a full Chain Analysis and exports the official diary card sheet, and no other app here does all three in one place.
- If privacy is the priority, the same answer: no account, on-device storage, and a privacy label that says data is not collected.
- If you are learning DBT from scratch, a taught course such as DBT Coach will take you further in the first month. Use it alongside Bifocal if you can afford both.
- If you want to spend nothing, Bifocal’s download is free (Pro is a one-off £3.99), and Radically DBT keeps its core tools free.
- If you hate subscriptions, DBT Diary Card & Skills Coach is a one-off purchase, with the caveat that it is no longer maintained.
- If you need session prep, Bifocal’s facsimile export and progress reports do it without retyping. DBT Diary Card & Skills Log and DBT Pal also produce something useful to take to therapy.
- If a clinician recommended a specific format, use that format. A generic app that does not match your therapist’s card creates work rather than saving it.
What should you check before you type anything personal?
- Read the App Store privacy label. “Data Not Collected” is the only label that means the developer is not receiving your entries.
- Check whether an account is required. An email address is an identifier, and identifiers can be breached, subpoenaed or sold with a company.
- Find out where entries are stored. On-device and your own iCloud is a different risk profile from a developer’s server.
- Check whether the app works offline. If it needs a connection to open your card, it will fail when you are on a train, in a hospital or out of data.
- Look at the last update date. Apps abandoned years ago may not run on current iOS, and they are unlikely to have fixed security issues.
What can’t a DBT app do?
A DBT app can hold your diary card, teach you the skills and remind you to practise. It cannot assess you, prescribe, or notice that something needs urgent attention. If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number. In the UK, Samaritans can be reached on 116 123; in the US, call or text 988. Bifocal’s own listing is explicit that it is an educational and self-management tool, not a substitute for treatment.
How to practice DBT using Bifocal
The app is a practice environment, not a course you finish. A workable week looks like this:
- Fill today’s card as the day happens. Log emotions, urges and skills while the detail is fresh; the ratings take under a minute.
- Run a Chain Analysis after a target behaviour. Walk the vulnerability factors, prompting event, links and consequences rather than writing off the day.
- Review the week before your session. Read the entries together, then export the card as the official DBT sheet so the page in front of your therapist matches the one they use.
- Pick one skill to practise next week. Use the module content for TIPP, radical acceptance or DEAR MAN, then record whether you used it.
Because everything works offline and lives on the iPhone or in your own iCloud, the loop holds on a train, in a waiting room or on a poor connection.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free DBT app for iPhone?
Bifocal is free to download and covers the diary card, Chain Analysis, all four modules and the facsimile export. Pro is a one-off £3.99 lifetime upgrade, not a subscription. Radically DBT is the strongest fully free toolkit if you want a clinician-built skills library at no cost.
Which DBT app has the best diary card?
Bifocal. It is the only app here that pairs a full diary card with in-depth Chain Analysis and a facsimile export of the official DBT diary card sheet, so the card works both as a daily record and as something a therapist can read without translation. It also works offline and keeps entries on the device. DBT Pal is quicker to fill in and DBT Diary Card & Skills Log has useful session-prep reports, but neither matches the chain-and-export workflow.
Can I export a diary card as the official DBT sheet?
Yes, in Bifocal. Entries are exported as a facsimile of the official DBT diary card sheet, the layout most DBT therapists use in session, so there is no transcribing the week by hand or reformatting anything before an appointment.
Are DBT apps effective?
DBT itself has a substantial evidence base. Apps are much less studied: most have no published trials, so treat claims of effectiveness with caution. What apps reliably do is support the between-session practice that DBT depends on, which is why they work best alongside therapy rather than instead of it.
Do DBT apps collect my data?
Some do and some do not. Apps that require an account necessarily hold an identifier, and many sync entries to a server. Others, including Bifocal, keep entries on the device and in your own iCloud with no account and no advertising. Check the App Store privacy label and the developer’s policy for any app before you use it.
Can I use a DBT app instead of therapy?
No. An app cannot diagnose, assess risk, or adapt treatment to you. It can help you practise skills, keep a diary card and prepare for sessions, which is exactly the gap between appointments. If cost or access is the barrier to therapy, an app is a reasonable stopgap, not a replacement.
Do these DBT apps work offline?
Bifocal works fully offline for diary cards, skills and past entries. Others vary: some need a connection for lessons or syncing, and some work offline but require a connection to sign in. If offline access matters to you, test it in airplane mode before committing to a subscription.