Mental health problems have a considerable impact on individual well-being and healthcare systems. Past research has revealed gender-differences in both the prevalence of mental disorders as well as preferences for mental health treatment options. However, very little is known about gender-specific preferences for AI-driven mental health apps. This study aims to elucidate gender differences in preferences using a choice-based conjoint analysis (CBCA) in a nationally representative sample of 2.108 participants (53% female), aged 18 to 74 living in Germany. The CBCA task consisted of 20 choice sets, each featuring three treatment variants characterized by the attributes provider (AI, psychotherapist), content (emotions, behavior, relaxation-techniques), costs (fully-covered , 120€ per month, 35€ per month) and waiting time (one hour, three days). In addition to examining differences in preferences based on gender, age and prior experiences with psychotherapy and mental health apps were examined based on a pre-registered analysis plan. Overall the results revealed that superficial criteria, like costs, rather than content had the strongest impact on decisions and participants consistently favored mental health treatments involving some level of human interaction rather than solely AI-based approaches. Furthermore, results revealed statistically significant but “small” differences between men and women. Women showed stronger preference for psychotherapist then men. These gender differences remained stable when controlling for age, previous experiences with psychotherapy and mental health apps. Despite group differences, the general aversion to AI-based therapies persists, highlighting the need for strategies to overcome this if these tools are to enhance mental health on a large scale.