Best Sanctuary alternatives in 2026
The best Sanctuary alternatives are CHANI if you want the daily astrology without the paid-reader model, TimePassages if you want serious chart work, and Natus if what you wanted from a psychic reading was to feel genuinely known. People leave Sanctuary for two reasons: features that used to be free moved behind a paywall, and paid readings that charge money but never connect you to a reader.
What Sanctuary users say in their own reviews
Verbatim from public 1 and 2 star App Store reviews.
Scam1 star review
You pay for a reader and the money gets charged and they don't show up. The app also doesn't seem to want to give me the money back to my credit card. Don't fall for it
never got a reading1 star review
i tried to do a 5 minute reading. after i confirmed my details it said my reading was completed and i could add more time or end it there. but i never spoke to the person.
Ruined it1 star review
Loved this app and used it daily for years and now suddenly the main benefits are gone. Completely ruined my favorite app and now need to delete it and find something else.
Doesn't deserve any stars1 star review
I appealed to get a refund via email since I didn't get any reading and I still haven't gotten my money back or heard from the developer. Please be careful with this app.
The options
CHANI
Best for: daily astrology without paid chat readings
The gentlest swap. Written horoscopes and meditations instead of per-minute psychic chats, so there is no meter running and no reader who fails to show up.
TimePassages
Best for: doing the chart work yourself
If the readings felt generic, TimePassages hands you the actual chart mechanics. Less warm, more real. Note that it now charges for charts that used to be free.
The Pattern
Best for: personality depth without a psychic
Detailed, specific breakdowns people describe as uncomfortably accurate. Its own reviews warn the best parts sit behind a paywall.
Natus(this is us)
Best for: feeling known without paying per minute
What people usually want from a psychic reading is to be accurately seen. Natus does that with a First Reading built from your name and birth details, then reads your real week back every Sunday. There is no meter, and nobody has to show up.
If your paid reading never happened
This is the ugliest pattern in the Sanctuary reviews: money charged, no reader, no refund, no reply. If you still want a live reading somewhere else, pay through the App Store so Apple handles the refund path. If what you wanted was the feeling of being seen, skip the meter entirely.
If the app you loved got paywalled
Long-time users describe watching Sanctuary's free features shrink update by update. When that happens, the honest question is what you were actually using. Daily astrology: CHANI. Real chart mechanics: TimePassages. The sense of being personally read: Natus.
The honest trade-off
Natus is not a psychic and will not tell you what is coming. It is built on a different bet: that being accurately understood about the week you just lived is worth more than a stranger's guess about the one ahead.
Common questions
- Why do Sanctuary reviews mention readers who never showed up?
- A recurring 1 star complaint: users pay for a timed chat reading, the session ends or fails to connect, the charge stands, and refund emails go unanswered. If you try any paid-reading app, pay through your Apple ID so refunds run through Apple.
- What replaced Sanctuary's free features?
- Long-time users describe the chart breakdowns and daily content moving behind a paywall over several updates. CHANI keeps a free daily horoscope; Natus's free tier covers your First Reading, Preview, private journal, and first Sunday letter.
- Is there an app that feels like a real reading?
- That is the gap Natus fills. It is not a psychic and does not predict. It reads your own journal back to you, which tends to land harder than a stranger guessing.