Rest vs Sleepio: Which CBT-I App Fits You?

If you've been researching insomnia programs, you've probably seen Sleepio described as the one with real science behind it. That part is true. What usually comes next is the surprise: in the US, you can't just download it. Sleepio reaches you by prescription or through your employer, so the best-evidenced program in the category is, for a lot of people, one they can read about but never start. That's what this comparison is actually about. Sleepio delivers CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) and Rest is built on the same behavioral principles [1]. The method isn't the question. Getting to it is.

Here's the short version.

• Check coverage for Sleepio first. If your employer or health plan offers SleepioRx, it can cost you little or nothing, depending on what your plan asks you to pay, and it's the best-evidenced program in the category. Without coverage it runs around $400, and you still need a prescription and a code from your provider before you can open it at all [5].

• Start Rest today if you'd rather not wait. The free tier holds the full education library, the sleep-restriction schedule and the algorithm that personalizes it, the relaxation audio, and the nightly sleep log, with no expiry. The AI coach is what you pay for, and it's what brings the daily check-ins, where the coach reads your log each morning and adjusts your sleep window as your sleep improves.

For the many people who can't get Sleepio through a doctor or an employer, Rest is the more realistic pick.

Full disclosure: we build Rest, so weigh that. We've tried to give Sleepio a fair read below, and its research record is genuinely the strongest in the category.

Rest vs Sleepio, Compared

(Pricing and availability accessed August 2026 and may change.)

How They Actually Differ

• Getting in the door. This is the biggest practical gap. In the US, Sleepio reaches you as SleepioRx, so you need either a prescriber willing to write for it or an employer or health plan that offers it. You can't even find the app by searching the store: your provider sends you a download link and a five-digit access code [5]. If you have coverage, it can cost you nothing. If you don't, you're looking at roughly $400 out of pocket, and the odds are you'll spend a few more weeks not sleeping while you sort it out. Rest is a download.

  
  

• Daily versus weekly. Sleepio runs as six automated weekly sessions, and it isn't bare in between: you get reminders, relaxation audio, a library of expert articles, and a community of other users working the same program [2]. Rest is a back-and-forth every morning, typed or spoken, where the coach reads what you logged overnight and tells you what to do with today. Neither app gives you a live human therapist, so what really separates them is how often the program touches your own data, and a plan that responds to last night is much easier to keep going than one that waits until next week.

  
  

• Adaptation. Both use sleep restriction, the part of CBT-I that shrinks your time in bed to match how much you're really sleeping and then gives it back as your sleep consolidates. Sleepio does that on a weekly cycle. Rest recalculates your sleep window in 15-minute steps as your sleep efficiency climbs, so the plan keeps pace with you rather than with a calendar. It also adapts to your life, not just your numbers: tell the coach during a check-in that you're traveling, ill, or on a temporary schedule, and it suspends the rules that don't apply until you're back, then picks up where you left off. Sleepio lets you pause and take time off mid-course [2], which is not the same thing: pausing stops the program, while Rest keeps going and drops the parts that don't fit the week you're having.

  
  

• Evidence. Sleepio's research record is the deepest in the category: several randomized trials, one of them against a credible placebo rather than a waiting list [3], plus the FDA clearance and the NICE recommendation [4]. Rest sees similar improvements in its own internal data, but it hasn't run a formal randomized trial, so the results are not directly comparable. What those trials show is that CBT-I delivered through software works, which is a reason to trust the method rather than a verdict on which app you'll finish.

  
  

• Cost and the free tier. Rest's free tier is a real starting point, not a locked demo. Everything except the AI coach sits in it, with no expiry, and the paid plan carries a 30-day money-back guarantee. Sleepio has no free version at all. Covered, it can cost you nothing, though that depends on your plan and some will still ask for a copay. Uncovered, you pay about $400 up front for a six-week program, where the same six to eight weeks of Rest runs under $70 and you can cancel any month.

  
  

• Platform. Sleepio takes this one: it runs on iOS, Android, and the web [2], while Rest is iPhone-only for now, so Android users can't use it yet. The catch is that none of those platforms help you if you can't get a prescription.

So Which One Should You Pick?

Spend ten minutes checking coverage before you decide anything. If your employer, insurer, or doctor can get you SleepioRx, it's a well-evidenced program and it may cost you nothing, which is worth knowing before you pay for anything.

Go in knowing what you're giving up, though. Sleepio moves week to week, so there are no daily check-ins and nothing reading your log each morning to tell you what to do with today. You get the evidence and the price, and between sessions you get a diary, reminders, and a library to read, but the program itself waits until next week.

Two other things settle it outright, one in each direction. If you're on Android, Rest isn't an option yet, so Sleepio is the one that runs on your phone. If you'd rather do this in Spanish, it's the reverse: Rest runs in English and Spanish, while Sleepio asks that you be able to read, hear, and understand English [5].

For everyone else, Rest is the stronger choice. You can start today with no prescription, there's a free tier to try, and the paid plan costs a fraction of Sleepio's cash price. You also get daily coaching that adapts to your own numbers instead of six weekly modules you push through alone. Finishing is what rebuilds your sleep, and something that shows up every morning is what most people actually finish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need a prescription for Sleepio?
In the United States, usually, but not always. If you're getting it on your own, you need one: Sleepio reaches individuals as SleepioRx, a prescription digital therapeutic that a provider has to order for you. Coverage is the exception. If your employer or health plan offers it, you enroll through them and no prescription is involved. Either way the app isn't listed in the public app stores: whoever prescribes or sponsors it sends you a download link and a five-digit access code [5]. Consumer programs like Rest need no prescription and can be downloaded straight from the App Store.

How much does Sleepio cost without insurance?
About $400 for the program if you pay cash through a reseller, against $0 when an employer or health plan covers it, and there is no free version [5]. For comparison, Rest has a free tier that doesn't expire, and its paid plan is $29.95 for the first month and $39.95 a month after that, cancellable any month.

Is there a free CBT-I app instead of Sleepio?
Yes. Rest has a free tier on iOS with no expiry, covering the full education library, the sleep-restriction schedule and the algorithm that personalizes it, the relaxation audio, and the nightly sleep log; only the AI coach and its daily check-ins are paid. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs also publishes CBT-i Coach free on iOS and Android to anyone, not only veterans.

If you're weighing consumer apps rather than prescription ones, the closer comparison is Rest vs Stellar Sleep. For the full field, including the free options, see The Best CBT-I Apps (2026).

See how Rest works and start today »

(Rest is a program built on the principles of CBT-I. It does not diagnose or treat insomnia and is not a substitute for medical care. Features and pricing for other products are current as of August 2026 and may change.)

Citations

1. Edinger, J. D., Arnedt, J. T., Bertisch, S. M., et al. (2021). Behavioral and psychological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder in adults: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 17(2), 255-262. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.8986

2. Sleepio program description: six automated weekly sessions delivered by an animated narrator, covering sleep restriction, stimulus control, cognitive restructuring, relaxation, and sleep hygiene. Program content per Eldridge-Smith, E. D., Manber, R., Tsai, S., et al. (2022). Stepped care management of insomnia co-occurring with sleep apnea: the AIR study protocol. Trials, 23(1), 806. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-022-06753-4 Platform availability (iOS, Android, and web), the six-week structure, the between-session support (sleep diary, reminders, relaxation audio, a library of 100+ expert articles, and a user community), and the option to pause mid-course, all per Big Health's own pages (info.sleepio.com/faq; bighealth.co.uk/sleepio) and the Sleepio Google Play listing, accessed August 2026. Big Health was co-founded by Professor Colin Espie, University of Oxford, and Peter Hames.

3. Espie, C. A., Kyle, S. D., Williams, C., et al. (2012). A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of online cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic insomnia disorder delivered via an automated media-rich web application. Sleep, 35(6), 769-781; Espie, C. A., Emsley, R., Kyle, S. D., et al. (2019). Effect of digital cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia on health, psychological well-being, and sleep-related quality of life: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(1), 21-30 (n=1,711); Freeman, D., Sheaves, B., Goodwin, G. M., et al. (2017). The effects of improving sleep on mental health (OASIS): a randomised controlled trial with mediation analysis. Lancet Psychiatry, 4(10), 749-758 (n=3,755).

4. FDA 510(k) clearance K233577, cleared 5 August 2024 (device name "Sleepio", marketed in the US as SleepioRx; Big Health, Inc.), accessdata.fda.gov. NICE HealthTech guidance HTG624 (formerly MTG70): nice.org.uk/guidance/htg624.

5. SleepioRx access model (prescription plus a five-digit provider code; the app is not listed in the public app stores) and cash-pay price of approximately $400: sleepiorx.com; bighealth.com/sleepio-rx; sleepdoctor.com/products/digital-cbt-i-program. English-only availability: Big Health's suitability criteria require that users be "able to read, hear, and understand English" (info.sleepio.com/suitability), and NICE's scope for HTG624 notes Sleepio is not suitable where English is not well understood. All accessed August 2026.