Alternatives to Shalem
If Shalem isn't the right fit for what you're looking for, there are good alternatives. This page is a real guide to other tools, not a list of competitors framed unfavorably.
We will recommend you to one of these instead of Shalem when:
- The matching format isn't what you want.
- The Jewish framing isn't what you want.
- The depth or scope you need is different from what Shalem does.
Below are the alternatives that come up most often, what they do well, and who they're for.
If you want a Catholic equivalent: Hallow
Hallow is the strongest spiritual-wellness app in the Catholic tradition. Daily prayer, lectio divina, examen, rosary, Bible reading with Catholic commentary, sleep prayers. Streak tracking and habit-building format. Multiple voices, polished production, large content library.
If you tried Hallow and the only thing wrong was the tradition, Shalem is the closest analogue built for a Jewish foundation. If you tried Shalem and wanted Catholic content, go to Hallow.
Pricing roughly comparable to Shalem premium (~$70/year). Free tier available with limited content.
Find it at hallow.com.
If you want secular mindfulness: Calm or Headspace
Both products are excellent. They are not Jewish, not religious, not contemplative-tradition-grounded. They are secular meditation with sleep stories, breathing exercises, longer-form guided sessions, and habit-building UX.
Calm leans into sleep content and celebrity-narrated stories. Headspace leans into structured meditation programs and animated explainers. The choice between them is largely aesthetic — both are well-built. Both have free tiers and ~$70/year premium tiers.
If your goal is meditation as a general practice, not a religious one, these are better fits than Shalem.
If you want academic Torah study: Aleph Beta
Aleph Beta produces high-production animated Torah teaching, primarily from Rabbi David Fohrman's school. Weekly parsha videos, deep textual analysis, narrative arc identification across the Tanakh. The format is academic in the best sense — careful, sourced, intellectually serious.
If you want to spend 45 minutes following a textual argument about why a specific verse appears where it does, Aleph Beta is the right tool. Shalem is not aiming at that use case at all.
Aleph Beta has a free tier with limited access and a paid tier (~$15/month, ~$180/year). Find it at alephbeta.org.
If you want raw access to the texts: Sefaria
Sefaria is a free, open library of the Tanakh, the Talmud, halachic codes, midrashic collections, kabbalistic texts, and modern commentary. With Hebrew originals and English translations. Searchable, cross-referenced, free, supported by donations.
If you want to read Tehillim 23 in Hebrew and English, look up a tractate of Talmud, or follow a specific commentator's chain of reasoning, Sefaria is the right tool. It is one of the most important Jewish open-source projects of the last two decades.
Shalem is built on top of source material that lives in libraries like Sefaria. Shalem's value is the matching and the framing — Sefaria's value is unmediated access. A user who wants the texts directly should use Sefaria.
Find it at sefaria.org.
If you want a once-a-year reflection practice: 10Q
10Q is a free annual Jewish reflection project that runs during the Yamim Noraim (the High Holy Days, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur). For ten days, the project sends one question per day, you write your answer, the answers are sealed for a year, and they return to you the following Yamim Noraim.
The format is brilliant. It does one thing very well. It is not a daily-use product and is not a substitute for ongoing contemplative practice. But for the ten days of the year it covers, nothing else does what it does.
Find it at doyou10q.com.
If you want encyclopedic Jewish content: MyJewishLearning
For "what is X in Judaism" questions — what is a chuppah, what is the difference between Sephardi and Ashkenazi practice, what does the Talmud say about Y — MyJewishLearning is the most useful general-purpose resource. It is reference material, not contemplative content, and not built for daily use.
Find it at myjewishlearning.com.
If you want a Chabad-perspective daily practice: Chabad.org
Chabad.org has a deep daily content stream from Chabad-Lubavitch perspective: daily Torah study, daily Tanya study, daily Mishneh Torah study, plus extensive how-to material on Jewish practice, plus livestreamed shiurim. If Chabad's specific framing fits your spiritual orientation, this is an excellent free resource.
Find it at chabad.org.
If you need clinical mental-health care: a licensed therapist
This is the most important "alternative" on the page. If you are using Shalem because you are struggling and you don't have other support, please consider also working with a licensed therapist — through a directory like Psychology Today, through a service like BetterHelp or Talkspace, or through your local community resources.
Shalem is contemplative software. It is not a substitute for clinical care. It can sit alongside therapy. It cannot replace it.
If you are in crisis, please contact local emergency services or a recognized hotline. In the United States: 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline). In the UK: 116 123 (Samaritans). In Israel: 1201 (ERAN). In Italy: 800 86 00 22 (Telefono Amico).
When Shalem is the right choice
After all of those alternatives — when is Shalem actually the right fit?
When you want a Jewish-grounded response to a specific moment. When you don't need a streak or a daily commitment. When you want a short, honest reflection rather than a long study session or a long meditation. When you want journaling that stays on your device. When you don't need halachic guidance. When the format Hallow uses appeals to you but the tradition doesn't.
For that specific configuration, Shalem is the only product built around the use case. For everything else on this page, the listed alternative is probably better.