Digital CBT-I runs from free to $297 per 28 days. Two of the programs below are published by the US Department of Veterans Affairs and cost nothing. Three publish a subscription price. Two are cleared by the FDA as medical devices and publish no price at all.
The therapy is the same in each case. The 2021 sleep medicine guideline recommends multicomponent CBT-I, not any particular app, so what the price is actually buying is delivery, coaching, and support.
What CBT-I programs publish
| Program | Published price | What you get | How you get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insomnia Coach (US Department of Veterans Affairs) | Free (no subscription) | A self-guided program for managing sleep problems without professional support | Download from the app stores. Open to anyone, not only veterans |
| CBT-i Coach (US Department of Veterans Affairs) | Free (no subscription) | Sleep diary, sleep education and the behavioral steps of CBT-I | Download from the app stores. The VA states it is designed to be used with a provider, not for self-care |
| Dawn Health | $0 to $75 per month (depends on your plan) | A sleep coach with unlimited messaging and weekly calls | Submit insurance details, in-network status confirmed within 24 hours |
| Stellar Sleep | $188 (starting price for the basic subscription) | An app-based CBT-I program | Direct subscription |
| Sleep Reset | $297 (per 28 days, after a $19 one-week trial) | A personalised CBT-I based plan with coaching | Direct subscription, cancel any time |
| Somryst | Not published (prescription product) | Six training cores over 6 to 9 weeks, 45 to 60 minutes a week plus a daily sleep diary | Through a prescriber |
| Sleepio (Big Health) | Not published (check whether your employer or plan already offers it) | A digital CBT-I program | Usually through an employer or a health plan |
The two rows at the top are worth reading before the rest. Insomnia Coach is the self-guided one, and CBT-i Coach is the one the VA says to use alongside a provider rather than on its own. Both are open to anyone, not only veterans.
Free is a real option here, not a compromise
This is unusual in the cost articles on this site. In most of them the free option does not exist or is not comparable. Here a US federal agency publishes two apps at no charge, built on the same therapy manual the paid programs are built on.
What the paid programs add is a person. Dawn Health pairs you with a sleep coach with weekly calls, and Sleep Reset publishes a personalised plan with coaching. Whether that is worth $60 to $75 a month is a question about how much support you need to keep going, not a question about which program contains better content.
The place free tends to fall down is adherence. CBT-I asks you to restrict your time in bed for a few weeks, which is uncomfortable, and finishing it is the hard part. That is the thing the coaching is for.
The two the FDA has cleared
| Product | FDA clearance | Applicant on the record | Classification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somryst | 510(k) K191716, decided 2020-03-23 (the first of the two) | Pear Therapeutics, Inc. | Class II, 21 CFR 882.5801, product code QVO, computerized behavioral therapy device for insomnia |
| Sleepio | 510(k) K233577, decided 2024-08-05 (four years after the first) | Big Health, Inc. | Class II, 21 CFR 882.5801, product code QVO, computerized behavioral therapy device for insomnia |
Both are Class II devices under the same regulation, 21 CFR 882.5801, described as a computerized behavioral therapy device for insomnia. Somryst was cleared in 2020 and Sleepio in 2024.
Two things about that clearance are easy to misread. It is a clearance, not an approval, which means the FDA agreed the device is substantially equivalent to one already on the market. And it says nothing about price, which is why both rows in the first table read Not published.
The FDA 510(k) database returns no record under the names Stellar Sleep, Sleep Reset or Dawn Health. That is not a criticism of those programs. It means they are sold as consumer wellness subscriptions rather than as regulated devices, and the two categories are not priced or distributed the same way.
What the guideline actually recommends
| Point | What it says | Why it matters to the price |
|---|---|---|
| What the sleep medicine guideline recommends | Multicomponent CBT-I, as a strong recommendation (typically four to eight sessions) | The recommendation is for the therapy, not for any product. What you are choosing between in the table above is delivery and price, not a different treatment |
The recommendation is for the therapy. Any product in the first table that delivers multicomponent CBT-I properly is delivering the thing the guideline points to. The guideline describes treatment as typically four to eight sessions, which is a useful yardstick when a subscription is billed by the month.
What changes what you pay
Your employer or health plan may already cover one of these. Big Health distributes Sleepio mainly through employers and health plans, and Dawn Health publishes a $0 to $75 range that depends on in-network status. Checking that before subscribing is the single highest-value step on this page.
HSA and FSA money may apply. Sleep Reset states it is HSA and FSA eligible at checkout.
Billing periods are not months. Sleep Reset publishes $297 per 28 days, which is 13 billing periods a year rather than 12. Stellar Sleep publishes $188 as a starting price for a subscription rather than a one-off.
A prescription route means the price is not yours to look up. For Somryst, what you pay is set by a prescriber, a channel or a plan.
When to talk to a clinician first
An app is not the right first step in some situations.
- Your sleep problem started with a low mood that has not lifted, or with thoughts of harming yourself
- You snore heavily, or someone has seen your breathing stop. That is a different condition, and CBT-I does not address it
- You are taking a prescription sleep medication and want to stop. Coming off one is done with the prescriber, not around them
- You work night shifts or rotating shifts, where the standard sleep restriction instructions do not apply cleanly
Stellar Sleep's own FAQ asks you to speak to a provider before starting, which is a reasonable instruction to follow whichever program you pick.
If you are in crisis in the US, you can call, text, or chat 988. The 988 Lifeline lists all three, and the text and chat services are also available in Spanish.
This page organises published prices and public regulatory records. It is general information, not medical advice. Whether CBT-I is right for you, and in what form, is a decision for the clinician who sees you.
Related
For a sleep problem that might be breathing rather than insomnia, what an at-home sleep apnea test costs is the relevant number, and what an online sleep doctor costs covers the remote consultation route. If falling asleep is the specific problem, why you cannot fall asleep covers the behavioural ground without the price question.
Where these numbers come from
Prices were read from each program's own page on the date shown. Clearance records come from the FDA 510(k) database. The guideline statement is from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
- Apple App Store — Insomnia Coach, US Department of Veterans Affairs (verified 2026-08-14)
- VA Mobile — CBT-i Coach (verified 2026-08-14)
- Dawn Health — Pricing (verified 2026-08-14)
- Stellar Sleep — Program details FAQ (verified 2026-08-14)
- Sleep Reset — CBT-I based program (verified 2026-08-14)
- Somryst — product site (verified 2026-08-14)
- Sleepio — product site (verified 2026-08-14)
- FDA 510(k) database — K191716 Somryst (verified 2026-08-14)
- FDA 510(k) database — K233577 Sleepio (verified 2026-08-14)
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine — new guideline supports behavioral and psychological treatments for insomnia (verified 2026-08-14)