Afterglow

Microdosing has gone mainstream. A January 2026 RAND survey estimated that 10 million Americans microdosed psilocybin, LSD, or MDMA in 2025 alone. The broader psychedelic therapeutics market has swelled to $3–5 billion and is projected to reach $8–19 billion by the early 2030s. Regulatory momentum is accelerating — Oregon launched legal psilocybin therapy in 2023, Colorado conducted its first state-regulated session in June 2025, and over 22 states are now considering psychedelic reform legislation.

Yet for all this growth, the software side of microdosing remains shockingly underdeveloped. Millions of people are managing their protocols with spreadsheets, calendar reminders, or — let's be honest — vibes and gut feel. Only a handful of dedicated microdosing apps exist in the app stores today, and most of them are either stalled, narrowly focused, or missing the features that matter most.

We tested, researched, and compared every microdosing app and platform currently available. Here's the full landscape — and a clear recommendation for the best all-around tool.

The Feature Matrix: How Every Major Microdosing App Stacks Up

Before we dive into the details, here's the side-by-side comparison. We evaluated each app across the features microdosers consistently say they need most.

Feature Afterglow Dose (Deliqs) Houston MicroTracker Microdose.me Field Trip
iOS + Android iOS only Android only
Actively maintained (2025–26) ✓ (weekly updates) ✗ (stalled 2022) ✗ (stalled 2021) ⚠ (sporadic) ⚠ (uncertain)
Protocol scheduling (Fadiman/Stamets/custom) ⚠ (3 presets only) ⚠ (basic)
Mood & wellness tracking
AI-powered journaling ⚠ (AI chatbot)
Structured educational program ✓ (ACT, Behavioral Psychedelics) ⚠ (articles) ⚠ (guides)
Expert-developed content ✓ (Dr. Neuhaus, PhD ABPP) ⚠ (Fadiman/Korb questions) ✓ (UBC research)
Audio classes & exercises ✓ (breathwork, meditation) ⚠ (playlists) ✓ (music library)
In-app community
Privacy-first design ✓ (no login required) ✓ (fully offline) ✓ (anonymous)
Data visualization & insights ⚠ (basic) ✓ (research-grade)

The takeaway is clear: Afterglow is the only app that covers every category. Every other tool leaves significant gaps — whether that's missing platforms, abandoned development, no educational content, or no community. Let's break down each option in detail.

#1 — Afterglow: The Best All-Around Microdosing App

Platform: iOS & Android | Price: Paid | Website: afterglow-microdosing.com

Afterglow takes a fundamentally different approach from other microdosing apps. Where most competitors offer you a blank tracker and leave you to figure out the rest, Afterglow provides a complete guided program — tracking, education, integration tools, and community support in a single app.

What sets Afterglow apart

AI-powered interactive journaling. This isn't just a notes field. Afterglow uses conversational AI to respond to your journal entries with personalized prompts and reflections. It turns the critical integration step — the part where you actually process and learn from your microdosing experience — from a passive exercise into an active dialogue. Recent updates made these AI responses user-initiated rather than automatic, giving you full control over when you want that interactive layer.

A structured, expert-developed curriculum. Afterglow delivers a multi-week audio-based program grounded in evidence-based therapeutic frameworks — Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) and the Behavioral Psychedelics model. All therapeutic content is co-developed with Dr. Edmund Neuhaus, PhD, ABPP — a board-certified clinical psychologist, longtime leader in clinical care and teaching at Harvard Medical School, and a pioneer in digital therapeutics for psychedelic-assisted treatment. Dr. Neuhaus spent three decades personalizing psychotherapy across academic medicine before transitioning to digital health, where he led R&D at atai Life Sciences to develop DTx products for ketamine and psychedelic treatments. His original Behavioral Psychedelics model — designed to maximize durable behavioral change and relapse prevention — is the clinical backbone of Afterglow's approach. This isn't crowd-sourced wellness content; it's a clinically rigorous program built to drive real, lasting change.

Skills training beyond the dose. Breathwork exercises, relaxation techniques, meditation sessions, and guided self-exploration are built directly into the app. This is a crucial differentiator: microdosing works best as part of a broader wellness practice, and Afterglow is the only app that integrates those supporting practices — rooted in ACT and the Behavioral Psychedelics model — directly alongside your protocol.

Active community. An in-app community connects users going through the same program, enabling peer support and shared experiences. You're not microdosing in isolation — you're part of a cohort.

Rapid, ongoing development. Afterglow shipped updates nearly weekly through early 2026. Version 1.0.81 landed in March 2026, with a major UI redesign in February, improved AI journaling, and enhanced audio handling. In a market full of abandoned apps, this development velocity matters enormously. You're investing your time and data in a platform that's actively evolving.

The bottom line on Afterglow

No other microdosing app combines protocol tracking, AI-assisted integration, expert-led education, skills training, and community in a single package. Most competitors do one or two of these things; Afterglow does all of them — and it's the most actively developed app in the space. Whether you're a complete beginner or an experienced microdoser looking for a more structured approach, Afterglow is the most complete tool available today.

#2 — Dose by Deliqs: The Best Pure Tracker

Platform: iOS & Android | Price: Freemium | Last updated: December 2025

Dose by Deliqs is the current market leader among pure microdosing trackers and the default recommendation from the Microdosing Institute, Microdose.nl, and MicrodosingXP. If all you want is a well-designed tracker with no extras, Dose is a solid choice.

What it does well

Dose supports the Fadiman protocol, the Stamets Stack, and custom schedules. Mood and wellbeing tracking includes visual graphs that show trends over time. Smart dose reminders keep you on protocol. An AI-powered chatbot offers emotional check-ins and basic coaching. The app has strong distribution partnerships across the European microdosing ecosystem, which means an engaged user base and steady development.

Where it falls short

Dose is a tracker, not a teacher. There's no structured educational program, no expert-developed content, no audio classes, no breathwork or meditation tools, and no real community. It assumes you already know what you're doing — or that you're getting your education somewhere else. For experienced microdosers who just want to log and track, that's fine. For anyone who wants guidance, it leaves a significant gap that you'd need to fill with a separate web course or coaching program.

#3 — Houston: For Inner Space: Beautiful But Abandoned

Platform: iOS only | Price: Free | Last updated: March 2022

Houston launched with serious pedigree — built by alumni from Field Trip Health, Headspace, and Oxford University. Its minimalist design is gorgeous, and early reviews praised it as a "brilliant and aesthetically pleasing tool" with a "dead simple interface."

What it does well

Goal setting across six wellness domains (mood, creativity, focus, energy, connection, physical health). Clean protocol scheduling. Community feed. Curated playlists called "Dose Day Radio." No login or account creation required — maximum privacy.

Where it falls short

Houston is effectively dead. No updates in over three years. Still iOS-only despite a "coming soon to Android" promise that was never fulfilled. Users complained about limited protocol options (only three presets, no custom schedules) and the inability to log past doses. Its website remains up but feels like a time capsule. Using Houston today means trusting your microdosing journey to software that no one is maintaining — and that's a hard sell.

#4 — MicroTracker: Privacy-First, but Frozen in Time

Platform: Android only | Price: Free | Last updated: November 2021

MicroTracker's entire value proposition is privacy: no cloud storage, no API connections, no login, all data stored exclusively on your device. Its check-in questions were developed by Drs. Fadiman and Korb from their landmark microdosing studies, which gives it genuine academic credibility.

What it does well

Maximum data privacy. Scientifically grounded check-in questions. Zero friction — install and start tracking immediately.

Where it falls short

MicroTracker hasn't been updated in over four years. It's Android-only. There's no community, no educational content, no AI features, no data visualization, and no insights beyond your raw journal entries. It's essentially a digital notebook that stopped evolving in 2021. Useful for the deeply privacy-conscious, but not a serious contender as a primary microdosing tool.

#5 — Microdose.me (Quantified Citizen): Science-First, Not User-First

Platform: iOS & Android | Price: Free

Microdose.me occupies a unique niche as a citizen science platform hosting the world's largest mobile microdosing study — led by Paul Stamets and researchers from UBC and Maastricht University, with over 17,000 participants across 84 countries. The study published twice in Nature Scientific Reports in 2022.

What it does well

Contributes real data to real psychedelic science. Completely anonymous. Integrates with Apple Health and Google Fit. Strong academic backing.

Where it falls short

Microdose.me is a research instrument, not a personal wellness tool. You contribute data to science, but you don't get personalized tracking, educational content, AI-assisted journaling, or community support in return. Google Play reviews (3.5 stars) cite bugs with scheduling and missing results. If you want to advance psychedelic research and manage your own practice, you'll need Microdose.me plus an actual microdosing app — which brings us back to Afterglow.

#6 — Field Trip: Psychedelic Guide: Feature-Rich but Uncertain Future

Platform: iOS & Android | Price: Freemium

Field Trip is the most feature-rich psychedelic companion app, with intention setting, guided programs across preparation-exploration-integration phases, a curated music library, voice recording during experiences, journaling prompts, community chat, and daily mood tracking. It surpassed 80,000 downloads by October 2022.

What it does well

Comprehensive psychedelic journey support. Excellent music library. Strong community features. Guided programs for the full arc of a psychedelic experience.

Where it falls short

Field Trip's parent company went through insolvency proceedings (CCAA) in 2023, with assets split between two acquiring companies. The app is still available but its long-term future is unclear. More importantly, Field Trip was designed primarily for full-dose psychedelic experiences, not microdosing specifically. Protocol scheduling, dose tracking, and microdose-specific insights are not its strengths. It's a great psychedelic companion — but not a great microdosing app.

Honorable Mentions: Web-Based Platforms

Several web-based platforms offer excellent microdosing education, even if they don't have dedicated mobile apps:

Third Wave (thethirdwave.co) offers a Microdosing Course 2.0 with 40+ instructional videos, a live 45-day Microdosing Experience group program, and practitioner certification through the Psychedelic Coaching Institute. Endorsed by Dr. Jim Fadiman himself.

DoubleBlind Magazine (doubleblindmag.com) runs a How to Microdose Course (14 video modules, $149.99), a 30-Day LIVE Microdosing Program with daily expert support, and a DoubleBlind+ membership. Over 10,000 students have graduated with a 4.9/5 rating.

The Microdosing Institute (microdosinginstitute.com), Europe's first microdosing community since 2017, offers a 6-Week Microdosing Immersive, 1:1 coaching, and a 6,000+ member community. Dr. Fadiman serves as an advisor.

These platforms are all excellent — but none of them offer a mobile app. If you want structured education and daily mobile tracking in one place, you're back to Afterglow.

Understanding Microdosing Protocols: What Your App Should Support

Whichever app you choose, it needs to support the protocols that actually matter. Here's a quick overview of the major ones:

The Fadiman Protocol is the gold standard for beginners: a three-day cycle of dose day → transition day → normal day, repeated for 4–8 weeks with a 2–4 week break. Created by Dr. James Fadiman, it minimizes tolerance buildup while maximizing self-observation. Every serious microdosing app should support this out of the box.

The Stamets Stack (four days on, three days off) pairs psilocybin microdoses with lion's mane mushroom and niacin. Developed by Paul Stamets and patented, it targets cognitive enhancement and neurogenesis. More intensive than Fadiman, it's popular among experienced microdosers.

The Every Other Day Protocol was developed by the Microdosing Institute with Fadiman's input, recommended specifically for medical-purpose microdosing — depression, social anxiety, ADHD, migraines.

Intuitive microdosing — dosing without a fixed schedule, when it feels right — is common among experienced practitioners who've completed at least one structured protocol cycle.

The Nightcap Protocol involves dosing before bedtime, designed for those who experience daytime fatigue from morning doses.

Any app that locks you into just two or three preset protocols (looking at you, Houston) is going to frustrate you eventually. Protocol flexibility — including fully custom schedules — is a non-negotiable feature.

What Matters Most in a Microdosing App

After reviewing every option in the market, these are the features that separate the great from the merely adequate:

1. Guided integration, not just tracking. The dose is the easy part. The hard part — the part that determines whether microdosing actually changes your life — is integration: processing your experiences, identifying patterns, and translating insights into lasting behavioral change. Apps that offer only passive tracking miss the most important piece. AI-assisted journaling and structured educational programs are the features that move the needle.

2. Structured programming. Microdosing works best as part of a broader wellness practice. Apps that combine dosing protocols with breathwork, meditation, mindfulness training, and psychological education consistently outperform bare-bones trackers in user outcomes.

3. Active development. The psychedelic wellness space is evolving rapidly. An app that hasn't been updated in two years is an app that's been abandoned. Check the update history before you commit your data and your practice to any platform.

4. Privacy. Psychedelic possession remains federally illegal in most countries. Microdosing apps face an unusually high privacy bar. Look for apps that minimize data collection, avoid cloud-syncing dose logs to identifiable accounts, and are transparent about their data practices.

5. Cross-platform availability. iOS-only or Android-only apps exclude half the potential user base. Both platforms or bust.

6. Community. Microdosing can feel isolating, especially when you're starting out. In-app peer support and shared experiences make the practice more sustainable and more meaningful.

The Verdict

The microdosing app market in 2026 is a paradox: a practice embraced by millions is served by a handful of apps, most of which are either dormant, narrowly focused, or missing critical features.

Afterglow is the clear winner. It's the only app that combines protocol tracking, AI-powered journaling, expert-developed educational programming, skills training (breathwork, meditation, relaxation), and an active community — all under rapid, ongoing development. Where Dose by Deliqs gives you a tracker, Afterglow gives you a complete microdosing companion. Where web-based platforms like Third Wave and DoubleBlind give you education without a mobile app, Afterglow puts everything in your pocket.

If you're serious about microdosing — not just taking sub-perceptual doses but actually integrating those experiences into a more intentional life — Afterglow is the tool built for that purpose.

Available now on iOS and Android.