Best Meditation and Mindfulness Apps to Download
We rarely hear the inward music, but we’re all dancing to it nevertheless- Rumi
In my previous posts on free meditation classes in Sydney, I discussed meditation, its different types, and why it is essential. In 2024, meditation apps have evolved with AI-powered guidance, personalized meditation plans, and sleep tracking. Some even adapt sessions based on your mood and stress levels.
These apps can be found at app stores, be it iTunes or Google Play, and you can download them from the link provided according to your device. Many such meditation apps are free to download, and few might cost you a few bucks as subscription services to use their full features.
Also, the best meditation apps are classified according to category. Some might be useful for calming your mind or lowering your anxiety; many are best for sleep or newbies. You can check the app features and select the best meditation app to meet your needs.
- The Mindfulness
- Headspace
- Calm
- Insight Timer
- Ten Percent Happier Meditation
- MyLife Meditation (Formerly Stop, Breathe & Think)
- Buddhify
- Unplug
- Simple Habit
- Sattva
1. The Mindfulness
With a rating of 4.8 at the app store, the Mindfulness App will help you to become more present in your daily life. Millions of meditators use this app in over 130 countries
Features:
- Start with five days of guided practice and introduction to mindfulness
- Silent meditations from 3 to 30 minutes
- You can customize your meditation with a guided introduction
- Also, keep track of your meditation journey
The app is free to download but offers a premium section with an additional 200+ guided meditations and courses by some of the world’s most influential teachers (available subscription or one-time purchase)
1 One-month subscription costs US$9.99, and 12 12-month subscriptions cost US$59.99 after the free trial.
Click here to download it for iPhone.
Click here to download for Andriod.
2. Headspace
With a rating of 4.9 at app stores, this is the best meditation app for letting go of stress and getting a better night’s rest. Here, you learn to relax with guided meditations and mindfulness techniques that bring calm, wellness, and balance to your life in just a few minutes a day.
Features:
- Hundreds of guided meditations on subjects like focus, exercise, and sleep
- Sleep by Headspace to help you drift off
- Everyday Headspace: daily meditations on a new topic each day
- 2-3 minute “mini-meditations” for a quick mental reset
- “SOS” sessions for moments of panic, anxiety, and stress
The Basics course is free and will teach you the fundamental meditation and mindfulness techniques. After that, gain access to the entire Headspace meditation library by subscription.
Headspace now offers monthly ($12.99), annual ($69.99), and family plans ($99.99/year for up to six accounts). It also features AI-driven sleep sounds and new mindfulness courses for anxiety relief.
Click here to download it for iPhone.
Click here to download for Andriod.
3. Calm
This app has a rating of 4.8 at app stores and won the 2018 Best Meditation App award. You can find guided meditations here for better sleep, lower stress, and less anxiety. You can also get Sleep Stories, breathing programs, stretching exercises, and relaxing music.
Calm is recommended by top psychologists, therapists, and mental health experts. It is the perfect mindfulness app for beginners and includes hundreds of programs for intermediate and advanced users. Guided meditation sessions are available in 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 minutes, so you can choose the perfect length to fit your schedule.
Features:
- 10-minute program added daily to help ease you into the day or unwind before bed
- 7 and 21-day mindfulness programs for both beginner and advanced users
- Life-changing audio classes featuring world-renowned experts
- Mindful stretching and movement to relax your body during the day
- Exclusive music engineered to help you focus, relax or sleep
- Breathing exercises to help you relax
- Use mood check-in to reflect on your feelings daily and receive meditation recommendations based on your moods.
Calm offers a lifetime subscription for $499.99. The app includes Calm Kids, AI-generated relaxation music, and personalized breathing exercises.
Click here to download it for iPhone.
Click here to download for Andriod.
4. Insight Timer
With a rating of 4.9 at the app store, this is another award-winning best meditation app. This app offers guided meditations and talks led by the world’s top meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and teachers from Stanford, Harvard, the University of Oxford and more.
Insight Timer remains one of the best free meditation apps, with 100+ new guided sessions added daily. However, for premium access (offline listening, courses), the subscription is now $60/year.
Features
- Thousands of music tracks and ambient sounds are used to calm the mind, focus, sleep better, and relax.
- Thousands of discussion groups and community features
- Stats and milestones for tracking your progress
- Integration with Apple Health Mindful Minutes
You can choose to have the app free or subscribe to an annual subscription for US$59.99/year or US$9.99/month.
Click here to download it for iPhone.
Click here to download for Andriod.
5. Ten Percent Happier Meditation
With a rating of 4.8, this award-winning app helps you sleep better, be more mindful, improve your relationships, and become about ten per cent happier. It offers guided meditations, videos, talks, and sleep content to boost your meditation practice.
Features:
- Video and meditation combos that make it fun and straightforward to learn to meditate.
- You can find the right meditation for the moment in our library of 500+ guided meditations on topics ranging from anxiety to parenting to focus.
- The sleep section is filled with relaxing meditations that make falling (and staying) easy.
- There are bite-size stories, wisdom, and inspiration that you can listen to while on the go – for those moments when you’re not feeling like meditation but want some mindfulness.
Though free, monthly and yearly subscription membership options allow full access to 500+ videos and guided meditations.
Click here to download it for iPhone.
Click here to download for Andriod.
6. MyLife Meditation (Formerly Stop, Breathe & Think)
This beautiful meditation app helps kids discover and develop their sleep, calmness, breathing, and conflict resolution superpowers.
It’s a mindful game app for children ages 5 – 10. Kids can use fun emojis to check into how they feel and try recommended mindful missions and meditations tuned to those emotions. Stickers reward their progress and keep mindful activities engaging.
Features:
- 15 + free mindful activities for every situation
- 30 + premium missions for more meditation and mindful activities
- Mindful sleep stories to ease into bed
This app now operates under MyLife Meditation, offering guided mindfulness practices for kids and adults—subscription: $9.99/month or $59.99/year.
Click here to download it for iPhone.
Click here to download for Andriod.
7. Buddhify
This app had 4.8 ratings at the app store and helped you bring more calm, clarity, and kindness to all parts of your life. Buddhify is no longer being actively updated.
Features:
- Over 200 meditations to help overcome life’s challenges, including anxiety, stress, sleep, pain and difficult emotions
- You can do mindfulness exercises wherever you are, such as when travelling, at work, waking up, eating, or even online.
- Sessions for complete beginners and those with more experience, with lengths from 3-40 minutes
- A range of experienced teachers so you can choose the voice and style that’s right for you
- Buddhify integrates with Apple Health to track your meditation using the Mindful Minutes category within the Health app.
Buddhify is no longer actively updated but remains available for a one-time purchase ($30.99). Users looking for continuous updates may prefer Waking Up or Calm.
Click here to download it for iPhone.
Click here to download for Andriod.
8. Unplug
With a rating of 4.9 at the app store, Unplug Meditation offers guided meditation videos led by world-famous teachers. It is the world’s first drop-in meditation studio, with thousands of people walking through the door every month, packed classes, and a class line-up that is simple, modern, interesting, and engaging. In this app, you’ll find guided meditation sessions for any situation!
Features:
- Meditation sessions range from 1 to 45 minutes
- Meditation timer & ambient sounds for self-guided sessions
- You can access curated video playlists from meditation teachers or create your own
- Browse through a range of categories with meditations for every situation. Whether you need better sleep, less stress and anxiety, a quick break at work, or meditation for kids, Unplug has it!
The app is free, but subscription pricing is $59.99 a year with a 7-day free trial and $7.99 a month with a 7-day free trial, renewing monthly.
Click here to download it for iPhone.
9. Simple Habit
This app also ranked 4.8 ratings at the app store and helps you breathe easy and relax with guided meditation chosen for your life and situation. Meditate for just 5 minutes daily to reduce stress, improve focus, sleep better, relax faster, breathe easier, and more. Work through daily struggles with guided meditation sessions for any situation.
Features:
- New meditation guides by the world’s best teachers, from mindfulness experts at Google to former monks
- Track your progress with Mindful Minutes.
- Meditate with Simple Habit’s On-the-Go feature to quickly calm your nerves and/or anxiety and achieve mindfulness.
Access meditations offline with the Premium subscription so you can meditate anytime. Monthly: $11.99/month and Yearly: $7.99/month, one payment of $95.99 billed every 12 months
Click here to download it for iPhone.
Click here to download for Andriod.
10. Sattva
With a rating of 4.8 at the app store, this app now offers a Meditative Wisdom collection – soothing, calming and meditative music tracks overlayed with topic-based wisdom delivered by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
You will find deeply profound meditations, drawing from Vedic principles that millions have benefitted from for thousands of years. The meditations, sacred sounds, and music on Sattva are delivered by Sanskrit scholars who have mastered the subtle inner workings of the mind.
Features:
- Find deep meditations starting from just six minutes, and you can set goals and reminders to build up your practice.
- For seasoned meditators, there are 100+ Guided Meditations, Sacred Sounds (chant and mantras), and Music tracks to meditate to. You can also set yourself challenges, gain milestone trophies, and track your meditation journey via in-depth stats.
- Sattva offers curated collections and playlists to eliminate the confusion about what to meditate on. You can close your eyes and meditate according to mood, feeling, or time of day.
- Join Meditation Community – interact, communicate, motivate, and meditate together.
Sattva offers $108/year premium access with exclusive mantra chanting, Vedic meditations, and live classes. The free version still provides essential guided meditations.
Click here to download it for iPhone.
Click here to download for Andriod.
11. New App: Balance (AI-Powered Meditation)
Balance is an AI-driven meditation app that tailors sessions based on your mood and stress levels. It’s currently offering a free one-year trial for new users. Balance is available on iOS and Android.
12. Waking Up by Sam Harris
Blending science, philosophy, and mindfulness, Waking Up offers unique meditation insights beyond relaxation. The app’s first 30 days are free; the subscription is $99.99/year or $14.99/month.
Features:
- Daily mindfulness lessons and guided meditations
- Insights from neuroscientists, philosophers, and spiritual teachers
- Mindful movement exercises
- Unique content for deepening meditation practice
This app blends neuroscience, philosophy, and meditation to deepen mindfulness. The first 30 days are free, and the subscription costs $99.99/year. It’s ideal for those seeking more than just relaxation.
Besides, good meditation apps exist, such as Breethe, Omvana, Meditation & Relaxation Pro, Simply Being, and others.
Remember, many apps are freemium; they have free basic meditation classes and require a subscription service to load all the app’s features. If you go for the premium features, the subscription will automatically renew unless turned off in your iTunes Account Settings or Google Play settings at least 24 hours before the current period ends. You can go to your store Account settings to manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew.
Looking for the perfect meditation app? Whether you’re a beginner or daily practitioner, there’s an app tailored to your needs.