Keaki Bryant
There are many ways to put guided meditations on your phone. You can download meditation apps, which often offer a range of meditations for different goals and time commitments. These can be found on the Apple App Store or Google Play. Some apps are free, while others require a subscription to access all features. Alternatively, you can find guided meditations on online music services, podcasts, mindfulness websites, and YouTube.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Platforms | iOS, Android |
| Features | Meditation guides for all levels, calming background sounds, short meditations, sleep stories, calming music, breathing exercises, etc. |
| Pricing | Free, $9.99/year, $12.99/month, $15/month, $70/year, $100/year, $59.99/year, $4.99, $3.99, $12/month, $69/year, $1/month, $5/year, $9/lifetime, $12.99/month, $70/annually, $13/month, $5, $8/month, $50/year, $10/month, $60/year, $84.99/year, $169/lifetime, $60/year, $700/year, $100/year, $799.99/lifetime, $1, $8/month, $50/year |
What You'll Learn
Meditation apps for beginners
Headspace
Headspace is a meditation app with a user-friendly interface that offers hundreds of guided meditations for beginners and experts alike. The app features meditations promoting mindfulness, better sleep, reduced stress, and more. It also offers a free version with limited content, but a subscription is required to access most features. Headspace is available on iOS and Android devices and costs $70 per year for an individual plan or $100 per year for a family plan.
Ten Percent Happier
The Ten Percent Happier app is perfect for beginners, with easy-to-follow guided meditations and shorter sessions that can be gradually increased. The app is based on ABC news anchor Dan Harris's book "10% Happier" and teaches meditation basics in a fun, accessible way. It offers a 7-day free trial, after which the annual subscription costs $99. Ten Percent Happier is available on iOS and Android devices.
Calm
Calm is a well-known meditation app that is particularly effective for promoting relaxation and improving sleep. It offers calming background sounds, short meditations, and sleep stories. Calm has a vast library of content, including soothing soundscapes, narrated meditations, and bedtime stories. The app offers a 7-day free trial, after which the monthly subscription costs $14.99, or $69.99 per year. Calm is available on iOS and Android devices.
Insight Timer
Insight Timer is a great budget option, offering over 150,000 free meditations. The app has a simple interface that allows users to filter meditations by need, time, and specific benefit. It also includes a community feature, enabling users to connect with other meditators. Insight Timer is free to use, but a premium subscription costing $59.99 per year unlocks additional content and features. The app is available on iOS and Android devices.
Buddhify
Buddhify specializes in guided meditations, offering over 200 targeted exercises to address anxiety, stress, sleep, and more. The app features a pinwheel design that allows users to easily select meditations based on their current needs. Buddhify costs $4.99 on the Apple App Store and $3.99 on Google Play, with optional in-app purchases and a $30 membership for extra features. It is available on iOS and Android devices.
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Meditation apps for sleep
Sleep meditation apps are a great way to help you fall asleep faster and improve your sleep quality. They are especially useful for people who have insomnia or difficulty falling asleep. Most apps feature guided meditations that use the spoken word to guide you through a relaxing exercise. Here are some of the best meditation apps for sleep that you can download on your phone:
Calm
Calm is the #1 app for sleep and meditation and is recommended by top psychologists, therapists, and mental health experts. It offers guided meditations, Sleep Stories, music, breathing exercises, and stretching exercises. The guided meditation sessions are available in lengths of 3 to 25 minutes, so you can choose the perfect length to fit your schedule. Calm also has a dedicated section for kids. The app offers a 7-day free trial and then costs $$69.99 per year.
Headspace
Headspace is one of the most popular meditation apps and offers a wide variety of meditations, including guided sessions for beginners and less-structured programming for more advanced practitioners. It also has a specific sleep section with guided meditations, relaxing sounds, and exercises to help you wind down for sleep. Headspace offers a 7-day free trial and then costs $12.99 per month or $69.99 per year.
Pzizz
Pzizz is a great app if you're looking for personalized dreamscapes to help you sleep. It has three themes: sleep, nap, and focus. The app uses a playlist of sounds, spoken segments, and music to help you get to sleep. The app is free, but the pro version costs $7.99 per month or $49.99 per year.
BetterSleep
BetterSleep is an app that aims specifically to help people sleep. It offers a library of sounds, music, white noise, guided meditation, bedtime stories, and breathing exercises. You can create a personalized mix by selecting tracks of varying lengths. The app is free to download, and most of its content is available for free. Subscriptions unlock premium content, costing $9.99 per year for students and $59.99 per year for adults.
Meditation & Relaxation Pro
This app is a great choice for beginners, with clear and simple instructions. It offers themed meditations, including meditations for sleep, and 7-day programs on topics like stress relief. The app is free to download, but a subscription is required to access all the content. The cost starts from $4.99 per month.
In addition to these apps, there are also free options available, such as Insight Timer, Medito, and Oak, which offer guided meditations and other features without a subscription.
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Meditation apps for breathing
IBreathe
IBreathe is a simple, beautifully designed app that reduces clutter to ensure a mindful and centred experience. It offers deep breathing exercises to help with anxiety and insomnia. The app pushes reminders to your phone, so you can take time out of your busy day to be fully present. You can also send breathing exercises to friends and go through them together. iBreathe is available for free on iOS and Android, with in-app purchases to remove ads and customise options.
Breathe+
Breathe+ lets you experiment with your meditation practice by trying different breathing intervals, session lengths, and cycles of breathing. The app also has presets for those looking for simple deep breathing exercises. It is currently only available on iOS.
Breathwrk
Breathwrk offers breathing exercises, as well as classes and programs promoting the long list of benefits of focused breathing. These include pain relief, relaxation, and an energy boost. The app lets you do any classes or exercises in any order, allowing you to personalise your experience. Breathwrk is available for a premium subscription of $12 per month or $69 per year, with a 7-day free trial.
Simply Being
Simply Being is an affordable app that features voice-guided meditations and relaxing nature sounds. It is a solid, no-frills option for those who find more elaborate apps overwhelming. Simply Being is available for $1.99 on iOS and Android.
Buddhify
Buddhify has over 200 guided meditations and a pinwheel feature that lets you choose a category of meditations depending on how you're feeling. The app is especially helpful for beginners, as the exercises are guided and include body scans to identify how you're feeling. Buddhify is available for $4.99 on the Apple App Store and $3.99 on Google Play, with in-app purchases and an optional $30 membership.
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Meditation apps for spirituality
There are many apps available to support your spiritual journey and keep you inspired. Here are some of the best meditation apps for spirituality:
Mindfulness with Petit BamBou
This app offers a variety of mindfulness programs with guided meditation courses from 3 to 50 minutes long in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and German. The app has courses based on the science of positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness. It offers both free and paid subscription options. However, some reviewers report technical issues and find the number of options overwhelming.
Waking Up
Waking Up is an app created by Sam Harris, a New York Times bestselling author and public intellectual. The app offers a huge collection of science-backed meditation courses and other resources that can help with mindfulness. It also includes additional educational tools about philosophy, selfhood, and free will. Waking Up does not offer any free content and costs about $100 per year or a one-time cost of $799.99 for lifetime access. They offer a refund if you don't find the app valuable. However, some reviewers have reported technical issues.
Spiritual Me
Spiritual Me is your personal toolkit for mindfulness and meditation. It offers daily exercises, guided meditations, mindfulness games, self-reflection activities, mood-enhancing activities, and more. The app is intuitive and user-friendly, welcoming beginners and seasoned meditators alike. It is available in seven languages and respects your privacy by not collecting or analyzing your personal emotional data. The app has received positive reviews for its easy-to-follow daily routines and soft, peaceful voiceovers. However, some users have reported bugs and technical issues.
Headspace
Headspace is one of the most popular meditation apps, offering guided meditations for mindfulness, anxiety, stress, and sleep. It also provides reminders and widgets that display mindful messages. The app builds personalized plans based on user input and offers a variety of single meditations and courses. Headspace costs about $70 annually or $13 per month after a 14-day free trial. However, some reviewers have reported technical issues and limited free content.
Gaia
The Gaia app offers a wealth of information to support your spiritual journey, including interesting documentaries, series, and spiritual teachers to explore. It also has plenty of Tai Chi and Yoga classes that you can stream from your phone. The app can be downloaded for free, with in-app purchases starting at $11.99.
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Meditation apps for a budget
There are many meditation apps available to help you find inner peace, reduce stress, and improve your sleep. Here are some of the best budget-friendly options:
Insight Timer
Insight Timer is a community-based meditation app with a vast library of free content. It offers over 150,000 free meditations, live workshops, expert talks, and courses from experienced teachers. The app also allows users to browse niche categories and facilitates in-person meditation meetups. While the basic features are free, a premium subscription is available for $59.99 per year, which includes offline listening and high-quality audio.
Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind is a free evidence-based and not-for-profit meditation app developed by an Australian organization. It offers structured programs for learning mindfulness meditation, improving sleep, managing relationships and stress, and more. The app is suitable for both adults and children and includes an "Intro to Mindfulness" course for beginners.
Healthy Minds Program
The Healthy Minds Program app is affiliated with the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It offers hundreds of hours of free guided meditations, podcast-style teachings, and progress-tracking features. The app is based on decades of research and provides a clear sequence of well-structured courses. It's an excellent option for anyone wanting to try meditation without committing to a paid subscription.
UCLA Mindful
The UCLA Mindful app is developed by UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center and offers research-based mindfulness meditations for free. It provides basic meditations for beginners, instructional videos on meditation techniques and posture, a simple meditation timer, and guided meditations for various personal struggles.
Mindfulness Coach
Mindfulness Coach is a free app created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD. It teaches mindfulness as a healthy coping strategy and lifelong skill. The app includes guided audio meditations, goal-setting, and progress-tracking features, making it a great resource for beginners.
These apps offer a wide range of meditations and features to help you improve your mental well-being without breaking the bank.
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Frequently asked questions
Guided meditations can be found in many places online, including streaming music services, podcasts, mindfulness websites, and apps.
Guided meditation can help you relax and improve your mood, sleep, concentration, memory, and self-awareness. It can also reduce negative emotions, stress, anxiety, blood pressure, and fatigue.
During a guided meditation, it's important to find a comfortable and quiet space where you can sit or lie down without distraction. You should also try to focus on your breath and visualise the things the guide is describing.
