The definitive mobile meditation app directory – updated for 2023
We’ve put together this directory of the top most popular and unique meditation and mindfulness apps. Use the filters below to narrow down the list. Find a free or premium subscription app, for beginners or experts, anxiety or sleep, whatever it is you are looking for, here you can discover the best meditation app for you!
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Plum Village: Zen Meditation
- Features:
- Official Plum Village app. Guided meditations, songs, talks, text resources. Bell of mindfulness.
- Pricing:
- Free
- 🌐
- https://plumvillage.app/
mindful.technology review
"If you’re looking for a meditation app that you hope will aid in stilling your mind rather than distract it, look no further."
Insight Timer–Meditate & Sleep
- Features:
- Meditation timer, community-contributed guided meditations, paid courses
- Pricing:
- Free; optional paid membership and courses
- 🌐
- https://insighttimer.com/
mindful.technology review
"Insight Timer is a valuable app for meditators. The timer is good, and the volume of free guided meditations is impressive."
Medito: Meditation & Sleep
- Features:
- Guided meditations, beginner & intermediate courses, sleep stories, timer
- Pricing:
- Free
- 🌐
- https://meditofoundation.org/
We have not yet reviewed the Medito: Meditation & Sleep app
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Waking Up: Meditation & Wisdom
- Features:
- Sam Harris meditation course, guided meditations, talks, timer
- Pricing:
- Annual subscription $119.99 or monthly $19.99. Limited free content
- 🌐
- https://wakingup.com/
mindful.technology review
"It is clear that the Waking Up app has very much been a labour of love on the part of Sam Harris: well-curated, insightful and innovatively combining theory and practice, it is ideal for anyone looking to explore meditation from a secular, more intellectual standpoint"
#Mindful - Positive Reminders
- Features:
- Offers a daily mindful message and photo
- Pricing:
- Free, optional patronage subscription
We have not yet reviewed the #Mindful - Positive Reminders app
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Simple Habit Sleep, Meditation
- Features:
- Guided meditations, sleep sessions
- Pricing:
- Subscription $11.99 monthly, $89.99 annual, $299.99 lifetime. Limited free content
- 🌐
- https://www.simplehabit.com/
We have not yet reviewed the Simple Habit Sleep, Meditation app
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Meditation & Relaxation: Guided Meditation
- Features:
- Guided meditation sessions and 7/14 day programs
- Pricing:
- Subscription $14.99/year, $20 lifetime. Limited free content
We have not yet reviewed the Meditation & Relaxation: Guided Meditation app
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Meditation Time
- Features:
- Simple meditation timer with interval bells
- Pricing:
- Free (donations accepted)
- 🌐
- https://meditation-time.org/
mindful.technology review
"This app is all about simplicity. It doesn’t try to sell to you anything. Nor does it show you ads."
Mindfulness with Petit BamBou
- Features:
- Guided meditations arranged in courses, available in English, French, German, and Spanish.
- Pricing:
- Subscription: $8.49 monthly, $38.99 half-yearly, $280 lifetime. Limited free content
- 🌐
- https://www.petitbambou.com/
mindful.technology review
"With its comprehensive and compassionate approach to meditative practice, as well as its ability to simplify difficult concepts through animation, I feel that Petit BamBou is successful in achieving its aims"
Smiling Mind: Meditation App
- Features:
- Guided meditations and courses. Wellbeing Check In
- Pricing:
- Free
- 🌐
- https://www.smilingmind.com.au/
We have not yet reviewed the Smiling Mind: Meditation App app
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Gaia: Streaming Consciousness
- Features:
- Video streaming service available via website or app, known to some as the "Netflix of spirituality". Includes hundreds of guided meditation videos.
- Pricing:
- $11.99 / month, $99.99 / year
- 🌐
- https://www.gaia.com/
mindful.technology review
"With a Gaia subscription, you can access the library of videos that are related to expanding your consciousness and embracing a more mindful life."
Headspace: Meditation & Sleep
- Features:
- Guided meditations
- Pricing:
- Monthly ($12.99) or annual ($69.99) subscription. Limited free content.
- 🌐
- https://www.headspace.com/
mindful.technology review
"If you’re beginning to meditate and can easily afford a subscription, a Headspace subscription provides an easy way to get started learning about meditation and developing a daily habit."
Ten Percent Happier Meditation
- Features:
- Meditation courses, single guided meditations
- Pricing:
- Annual subscription ($99.99). Limited free content.
- 🌐
- https://www.tenpercent.com/
mindful.technology review
"If you can afford the one year subscription, Ten Percent Happier is a great way to get started with meditation. I appreciated Ten percent even though I’m not a meditation skeptic or beginner."
The Mindfulness App: relax, calm, focus and sleep
- Features:
- Guided meditations, courses, timed sessions
- Pricing:
- Subscription $59.99 annual / $9.99 monthly. Limited free content
- 🌐
- https://themindfulnessapp.com/
We have not yet reviewed the The Mindfulness App: relax, calm, focus and sleep app
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Breethe: Meditation & Sleep
- Features:
- Guided meditations, music, nature sounds, sleep stories
- Pricing:
- Subscription $12.95 monthly, $89.95 yearly, $149.99 lifetime. Limited free content
- 🌐
- https://breethe.com/
mindful.technology review
"The Breethe model is clearly intended to reach the listener with accessible meditations, made so by the relatability of the topics"
Sattva Meditations & Mantras
- Features:
- Guided meditations, chants, mantras, music. Inspired by Vedic (Hindu) traditions
- Pricing:
- Subscription $12.99 monthly, $49.99 yearly. Limited free content
- 🌐
- https://www.sattva.life/
We have not yet reviewed the Sattva Meditations & Mantras app
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Dharma Seed
- Features:
- Dharma talks, meditations from the Western Insight Meditation tradition
- Pricing:
- Free
- 🌐
- https://dharmaseed.org/
We have not yet reviewed the Dharma Seed app
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Calm - Meditate, Sleep, Relax
- Features:
- Guided meditations, sleep stories, music, masterclasses
- Pricing:
- Subscription $69.99 annual, $399.99 lifetime. Limited free content
- 🌐
- https://www.calm.com/
mindful.technology review
"Meditating with the Calm app may be a useful way to approach new ways of being. However, it feels a bit like wearing stabilisers when learning to ride a bicycle"
Mindvalley: Self Improvement
- Features:
- Guided meditations and self-improvement courses from Mindvalley
- Pricing:
- Subscription £19.49/week or £300/year. Free trial available
- 🌐
- https://www.mindvalley.com/
We have not yet reviewed the Mindvalley: Self Improvement app
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Meditation Assistant
- Features:
- Highly configurable meditation timer. Open source.
- Pricing:
- Free (donations accepted)
- 🌐
- https://rocketnine.space/
We have not yet reviewed the Meditation Assistant app
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buddhify - mindfulness meditation on the go
- Features:
- Guided meditations, meditation timer, karaoke-style meditation
- Pricing:
- $4.99 plus optional membership $29.99/year
- 🌐
- https://buddhify.com/
mindful.technology review
"Buddhify is certainly an app that I’ll keep around. When I’m offline, and I want a guided meditation, I know that Buddhify will there for me."
Aura: Meditation & Sleep, CBT
- Features:
- Mood tracking, guided meditations, music, and life coaching
- Pricing:
- Subscription $11.99 monthly, $59.99 annual, $399.99 lifetime. Limited free content
- 🌐
- https://www.aurahealth.io/
We have not yet reviewed the Aura: Meditation & Sleep, CBT app
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Contribute a review for us
Expectful: Wellness for Moms
- Features:
- Guided meditations and courses for fertility, pregnancy, and motherhood
- Pricing:
- Subscription $8.99 monthly. Free trial available
- 🌐
- https://expectful.com/
We have not yet reviewed the Expectful: Wellness for Moms app
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Contribute a review for us
MindBell (Mindfulness Bell & Meditation Timer)
- Features:
- Meditation timer, periodic mindfulness bell
- Pricing:
- Free (but not maintained and no longer available in Google Play)
- 🌐
- https://github.com/udamken/mindbell
mindful.technology review
"I appreciate that I was not required to sign up and give away data on my usage just to meditate, like some other apps"
Are we missing a great meditation app that you can recommend? Contact us
How to find the best meditation & mindfulness app for you
Using the filtering and sorting options, you can narrow down the selection to discover the best apps for you.
How much do meditation apps cost?
You needn’t pay anything to meditate. Experienced meditators may need nothing at all – even a cushion may be dispensed with on occasion.
But when you are first beginning meditation, or need some support, it’s really helpful have guidance and structure. Whilst you can find guided audio meditations online for free, a well designed app can make it so much easier to integrate into your life.
When your budget allows, it can make sense to pay for an app that has had thousands of hours of work put into it to help you get the most out of the time you can put aside to practice meditation.
Our pricing filters allow you to narrow down the list to one of the following:
- Free – these apps allow you to use most of the features and access much of the content at no cost. In some cases, you can support free apps by making a donation on their website. In other cases, they offer paid upgrades for extra features or content.
- Free to try – these are primarily paid apps, but offer some limited amount of free content or a trial period, so you can get a taste of the experience you will have with that app.
- Paid apps – these require an up-front payment before you can use any of the features (or alternatively, they require an in-app purchase before accessing most of the features). This is not common in meditation apps sector.
- Subscription apps – these include some features or content that you must pay for on a regular basis. This is often via an in-app purchase, but sometimes you can also subscribe on the app’s website. A yearly subscription period is commonly offered, but monthly subscriptions are also frequently available at a higher overall cost. Some apps offer a lifetime subscription option equivalent to a few years of subscribing. Some apps allow you to buy a gift subscription for a friend or family member, which can be redeemed by entering a redemption code.
Which features are available in meditation and mindfulness apps?
Meditation and mindfulness apps may include a range of features to support dedicated meditation practice, mindfulness during the day, and a good night’s sleep.
Our feature filters allow you to discover apps which offer the most common features:
- Guided meditations are audio recordings that guide you through a meditation for a set time. Many different styles of meditation can be offered. Typically these have some particular focus: on breathing, on the body, or on sound. Alternatively they may be open awareness meditations which allow the attention to drift somewhat but with a heightened sense of awareness about where one’s attention is direction. They may follow a particular tradition, for example a strand of Buddhism or Hinduism, or they may be modern and secular. Some guided meditations are designed for practical scenarios in your life: to calm your mind before sleep, to understand your emotions, or to help you improve your usage of digital devices.
- Courses typically offer a series of guided meditations in a progression. This is helpful if you are new to meditation, but can also be used for improving your meditation practice, or getting back into a regular routine with your practice. Some apps also offer video lessons or interviews with meditation teachers.
- A solo timer feature is typically used for silent meditation without guidance. It is usually advisable to set a time limit so that you won’t be constantly deliberating on whether to end your meditation session or continue for longer. You could just set an alarm on your phone for this purpose, but a dedicated meditation timer typically offers a few special features designed for meditation. A common feature is to use interval bells, so for example if you will meditate for 20 minutes you could have an interval bell every 4 minutes. This is a helpful reminder to keep your on track with your meditation. Another feature sometimes offered is ambience: for those who prefer some gentle background sounds instead of complete silence.
- Mood tracking is offered by some mindfulness apps. By asking some questions about your mood and emotions each day, you become more aware of them, plus you can keep a record to determine how to improve your mood in future.
What other factors to consider when selecting a meditation app?
Other than pricing and features, we provide some other filters:
- Open source – apps which make the source code available for viewing and reuse. Many people prefer to use open source software because it may contribute to the world in ways which are beyond the capabilities of the organisation that originally created it.
- Non profit – apps run by non profit organisations may be able to provide an experience that is more in line with the interests of the users of the app, because they are free from some of the constraints of working for shareholders who expect a return on their investment.