7 Best Meditation Apps You Can Download Today

Meditation apps are a simple and accessible way to integrate mindfulness exercises into your everyday routine, whether you’re struggling to deal with stress in uncertain times or need to fall asleep faster.

But how can you find the best meditation app with so many choices? How do you know which app is ideal for you? What are the pros and cons of these apps?

There are many meditation apps available right now, promising to help you fight anxiety, get quality sleep, increase focus, and so much more. We’ve gathered a list of seven meditation and mindfulness apps you can try to help you find what suits you best.

Are Meditation Apps Helpful?

Meditation apps can be used in any location

Meditation can help you calm an overactive mind. Regardless of how many hours you spend practicing meditation, it can be difficult to develop and continue a habit.

Apps are great instruments if you’re a complete beginner looking for a place to start, but they can also be helpful for seasoned meditators who need to acquire new skills. These applications provide guided meditations, everyday reminders, and relaxing music tracks to help you meditate better.

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7 Best Meditation Apps

1. Waking Up

Price: Free download with an option to upgrade

Availability: App Store and Google Play Store

Sam Harris, aphilosopher, neuroscientist, and author is the man behind Waking Up. He teaches meditation in a scientific and modern way.

Waking up boasts a minimal design and easy-to-use interface. Using this meditation app is like entering a new classroom and studying a new skill. It’s suitable for beginners and experts.

Waking Up is for those who want to integrate the teachings of mindfulness into their lives. It’s not for the person meditating rarely. This app is a total immersion experience and is prepared to support individuals wanting to improve their lifestyle through education.

Pros
  • Detailed resources for studying theory
  • Great quality of audio lessons
  • Easy-to-use interface
Cons
  • No ambient sound features
  • Yearly subscription is pricey
  • Not suitable for those who want to meditate to music

2. Primed Mind

Price: Free download with an option to upgrade

Availability: App Store and Google Play Store

In a world full of obstructions, the Primed Mind channels your anxieties into achievements. This meditation app prepares you for particular challenges in every aspect of your life. It gives you access to the preparations you need that are usually available only to high-level business executives and athletes.

Instead of behaving towards mindfulness as an abstract way of disengaging yourself from the pressures of daily living, Primed Mind wants you to harness your stresses into accomplishments.

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Pros
  • Lots of free content
  • Quick primers to help you prepare mentally
  • Enhances athletic performance with Pro Primers
Cons
  • Self-hypnosis
  • The free version isn’t ideal for professional purposes
  • Not suitable if you aren’t willing to upgrade

3. Headspace

Price: Free download with an option to upgrade

Availability: App Store and Google Play Store

Find wellness and balance in your life with Headspace’s guided daytime mindfulness and meditation techniques. Try a few of its latest sleep meditations before bed including nature sounds, storytelling, and music to get better sleep.

The app creates customized plans based on a little feedback from you so you can learn the basics of meditation and develop from there.

Pros
  • Very accessible
  • Visualization using enjoyable video animations
  • Has 30 guided sessions
Cons
  • Some features are distracting
  • Live sessions can cause fear of missing out
  • Sleep sounds have no preview

4. Calm

Sleep stories are a popular choice in meditation apps

Price: Free download with an option to upgrade

Availability: App Store and Google Play Store

Calm claims itself to be the number one meditation app available in the market. This app fills your daily life with laughter, calm, and a sense of clarity. Millions of people believe that this app is perfect for mindfulness, meditation, and a meaningful way to improve your life.

Calm gives a soothing sound of falling rain in the background, but you can also opt to be greeted by crackling crickets, fireplace, or ‘celestial white noise.’ Users consider it worth the price and they find awesome results during these trying times.

This award-winning meditation app also allows you to have a mindful experience through accessing it from your Apple Watch. There’s plenty of mindful walking meditation, breathing exercises, and masterclasses.

Pros
  • Recommended by peers
  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Hollywood celebrities like Matthew McConaughey can read you a story
Cons
  • Sleep stories for kids are quite long
  • Some meditations are similar to what can be found on YouTube
  • Reminders aren’t powerful enough

5. Buddhify

Price: US$4.99 in iOS and US$2.99 in Android

Availability: App Store and Google Play Store

Buddhify arranges meditation sessions by theme based on where you are in your day. It’s considered to be one of the best applications for anxiety and is tailored depending on what you want to do.

This app has 80 plus custom meditations for you to choose from that have been developed by experts in the field. Buddhify is perfect if you’re always on the go. The professionals who operate it are fantastic leaders and teachers who continue to make developments to the meditation app.

Pros
  • Ideal if you’re on the go
  • Solo meditation timer
  • Simplified meditation methods suitable in every level of experience
Cons
  • Controls are a bit complex
  • No free version
  • Statistics tracking features are difficult to navigate

6. Stop, Breath & Think

Price: Free download with an option to upgrade

Availability- App Store and Google Play Store

Stop, Breathe & Think wants to create a more deliberate, intentional experience compared to other apps that want you to plunge right in. A segment referred to as Learn to Meditate discusses mindfulness, its benefits, and the physiology and neuroscience behind it.

Every day when you open the app, you’re asked “How are you?” and encouraged to check in to rate your body and mind on a scale of “rough” to “great,” and to say up to five emotions you have. After this, the app will suggest mindful walks, acupressure videos, and meditations personalized to how you feel.

Pros
  • Plenty of accessible and short exercises
  • Works with all ages
  • Tailored exercises
Cons
  • The app opens a bit slow
  • Inconsistency with the narration’s volume
  • Some level of emotional literacy is necessary to make the best of the app

7. 10% Happier: Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics

Price: Free download with an option to upgrade

Availability: App Store and Google Play Store

This great app offers instruction for people who are wary of meditation. Dan Harris, a meditation supporter, podcast host, and author of the 10% Happier book introduced this meditation app.

The content is focused on neuroscience and excludes spiritual components that are included in many other mindfulness apps. This app may be a good match for you if you’re new to meditation or have never really grasped the point of it.

Users of this app have recorded that they feel more relaxed and calmer for the whole day after using it. Another good thing about this app is it allows individuals from any background to start learning the idea of mindfulness practice.

Pros
  • Value for money given the diversity of features
  • Includes beginners meditations
  • Includes expert guides, aiding your development
Cons
  • Poor search facility within app
  • Lack of sound effects to aid relaxation
  • Customers reported issues with app cancellation

Final Word: Best Meditation Apps

There are so many choices concerning meditation and mindfulness apps. Using your iPhone or Android phones, you can download these apps in a few minutes. Feel free to try other meditation apps like Meditation Studio, Insight Timer, Aura, and Simple Habit.

These apps feature bedtime stories, daily meditations, free meditations, and a lot more that will help you achieve a greater well-being. Take advantage of the latest trends in technology and develop a better meditation experience.

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