How to read this comparison
We build MyLoveLab, so this comparison isn’t neutral, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise. Three rules to keep it useful. What we say about each app comes from its public website at the time of writing, quoted whenever it is a number or a promise; we haven’t tested every subscription from start to finish. Figures like “89% see positive changes” are the ones the publishers display, not results we have verified. And we say what the others do well, because it’s true, and because a couple who picks another app that fits them well is making the right call.
Four kinds of couples apps
- Daily conversation apps: one question or quiz a day, to do together, to talk about things you don’t usually say out loud. Fun, quick, very good against routine, less so against a real problem.
- Guided-path apps: themed programs, often designed with therapists, that feel like a lighter version of therapy: a theme, lessons, exercises.
- Clinical tools: coming straight from a research institute, with a formal assessment, usually in English.
- Diagnosis-plus-program apps: a test that measures first, a personalized path afterward. This is the MyLoveLab family.
Zenlove: the guided path, in French
Zenlove is the most complete French app on the market. Its site advertises “more than 20 guided paths” on sensitive relationship topics, “hundreds of quizzes” and “hundreds of questions” that serve as conversation starters, all “designed with the support of couples therapists” (quotes translated from the French site). What it does well: the depth of its paths, its French-language roots, and the idea that a couple needs themes, not just questions. Who it suits: a couple that already roughly knows what it wants to work on, and wants a framework close to what a therapist would offer. What you won’t find on the home page: the price, and a diagnosis that tells you where to start. If you’re torn between Zenlove and MyLoveLab, that’s the real difference: Zenlove gives you paths to choose from, MyLoveLab measures you first, then chooses with you.
Paired: the question of the day, at scale
Paired is the international reference for daily conversation: check-ins of a few minutes, “1000+ expert-led quizzes and games,” games about intimacy and connection, a team of therapists and researchers, and a partnership with Relate, the big British relationship charity. The site claims “4 million couples” and “89% see positive changes in their relationship in 3 months,” the publisher’s figures. What it does well: consistency, enjoyment, lightness, and real editorial quality. Who it suits: a couple that is doing fairly well and wants to keep the bond strong without starting a program. Its limits: the interface and much of the content are built for English speakers, and one question a day is no substitute for working on an area that is stuck.
Lasting: therapy in your pocket, in English
Lasting, a Talkspace subsidiary, presents itself as the “#1 therapy program” for couples and families, “recommended by therapists,” with “3 million” users and “94%” reporting stronger relationships, again according to the publisher. It is the app closest to structured couples therapy, backed by decades of research. What it does well: rigor, clinical depth, and the link to an online therapy platform. Who it suits: an English-speaking couple who is comfortable in English and wants a real therapeutic program. Its limit for a French-speaking couple is obvious: the language, and an American cultural frame.
The Gottman Institute’s tools: the source, partly free
The Gottman Institute, run by John and Julie Gottman, whose research underpins a good part of what every app on this list does, offers its own tools. The “Gottman Card Decks” app is free: “14 card decks with more than 1,000 flashcards,” with questions, affirmations, and ideas for your relationship. Alongside it, a free quiz and two paid tools: the “Gottman Relationship Adviser,” described as “the world’s first complete relationship wellness tool for couples,” with a self-assessment and a personalized plan, and the “Gottman Assessment,” an in-depth evaluation. What they do well: this is the source, and the free card decks are an excellent starting point for a couple who simply wants to talk. Their limit: everything is in English, and the assessment tools are designed to be used with a trained therapist.
Want to know where your relationship stands before choosing a tool? The MyLoveLab test measures seven dimensions in 15 minutes, free, no sign-up.
Take the testMyLoveLab: measure first, then work, in French
MyLoveLab starts with a fifteen-minute adaptive test that measures seven dimensions separately (communication, conflict, attachment, love languages, intimacy, trust, shared project), gives you your attachment style using questions inspired by the ECR-R scale, and your relationship profile out of twenty-four. Then comes a program of seven dimensions with ten levels each, about eight minutes a day, that starts from your results rather than from a catalog of topics. Each level cites its sources: Gottman, Sue Johnson, Bowlby, Chapman, Perel, Basson, Bodenmann.
What we do well, in our view: the diagnosis before the path, the depth (seventy levels, each in five short sessions and a quiz), native French, and an honesty about limits that you’ll find throughout this site. What we don’t do, or don’t do yet: the test is taken separately by each partner, with no synchronized duo mode; the score hasn’t yet been statistically validated on a large sample, which is a goal; and the program is in beta, and we keep improving it. Who it suits: a couple that doesn’t know exactly what’s wrong, or that does and wants a path that starts there, without waiting until they have the means or the courage for therapy.
What no app will do for you
Three things, and they apply to every app on this list, ours included. None replaces a professional when there is fear, control, violence, a major betrayal, or two people of good will who can’t get there: those are situations where a therapist changes everything, and where an app can at best help you get there sooner. None works without consistency: the best app in the world, opened twice, changes nothing; an average app, opened every day, changes a lot. Pick the one you’ll actually open. And none makes the moves for you. What changes a couple isn’t reading a lesson card, it’s the “Do you want solutions, or just an ear?” asked tonight, the pause with a time to come back, the appreciation said out loud. An app is a reminder and a framework. The relationship is yours.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best couples app in French?
It depends on what you’re looking for. For guided themed paths in French, Zenlove is the most complete. To measure first where your relationship stands and follow a program that starts from there, MyLoveLab. For a light daily question, Paired, despite the English. The right criterion remains the one you’ll actually open.
Do couples apps actually work?
The serious ones rely on habits that research has identified as effective: talking regularly, listening before advising, repairing after an argument. The satisfaction percentages the publishers display are their own figures, not clinical trials. What makes an app work is consistency and follow-through, not the lesson card.
Can an app replace couples therapy?
No, none can, whatever it promises. It can help a couple keep the bond strong, work on a specific area, or reach a therapist sooner and better prepared. When there is fear, control, violence, or a major betrayal, it’s a professional.
Do both partners need to use the app?
For daily conversation apps, yes, that’s the whole idea. For paths and programs, no: one person can start, and in a two-person system, one person changing step changes the dance. The MyLoveLab test is taken alone; the program gives you actions to try with your partner without them needing an account.
References
- Site de Zenlove (zenlove.io), page d’accueil, consultée en septembre 2026.
- Site de Paired (paired.com), page d’accueil, consultée en septembre 2026.
- Site de Lasting (getlasting.com), page d’accueil, consultée en septembre 2026.
- Gottman Institute, page des applications (gottman.com/couples/apps), consultée en septembre 2026.
- Gottman, J. M. & Silver, N. (1999). The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. Crown.