5 meditation apps you need to know about

Meditation is big right now and is often used as a way for people to reduce their stress and anxiety. We live in a busy world that expects a lot of us most of the time, not only in terms of working and family demands but also our senses. TV advertisements, billboards, city lights and social media – these are all things that can dysregulate our nervous system and require us to find a way to restore the balance. Meditation does just that.

Now you can meditate from home, while you’re commuting or even waiting in a queue, thanks to meditation apps that have made this ‘out-there’ practice accessible to the Western world. There are so many different ways to meditate and different traditions you can follow, which is why access to meditation apps can help bridge the gap and make this journey feel less overwhelming.

Here we break down five of the best meditation apps and what you can expect from each one to help you get started.

1. Headspace

Headspace is a meditation app that has been around for a long time and one that many people already know about. It might seem a bit boring to place it in this guide but this is one of the best meditation apps out there.

Focusing on a Buddhist approach to meditation, the app offers guided meditations that cover various aspects of life such as reducing stress and anxiety, managing conflict and mindful parenting among many options including walking and running meditations for those who find sitting meditations unenjoyable. There is a meditation for any circumstance you might find yourself in and for when you need help managing your emotions, plus a focus on mindfulness practices you can bring into your daily life.

For those new to meditation, there are plenty of beginner meditations and courses to help you develop your practice. It also offers guided meditations to improve sleep as well as soundscapes, sleepcasts and music to help you drift off calmly. All meditations are led by experts in the field, with the app being co-founded by previous Buddhist Monk, Andy Puddicombe.

Headspace offers free meditations to get you started under a 14-day trial period and then a paid subscription for those who want to explore the content further. At the time of writing, Headspace is offering 50% off their annual plan, making the subscription only $2.92 / £2.08 per month. This rings true to their mission in making mental health support accessible to everyone. If you don’t want to buy the annual plan, at the time of writing, the monthly subscription was reduced to £4.99 per month from £9.99.

2. Calm

Similarly to Headspace, the Calm app offers a range of things to help you ease stress and tension in your life. You can choose from thousands of meditations plus soundscapes and sleep stories, read by celebrities, to help you drift off. Unlike the Headspace app, Calm also offers movement exercises to help you unwind, allowing you to relieve any tension you may also feel in your body.

Some meditations are read by clinical professionals such as Dr Julie Smith, a UK-based clinical psychologist and author, whereas others are guided by meditation teachers. Plus, if you want to introduce your little ones to a world of calm, there is a special section for kids on this app where they can listen to excerpts of children stories or have a go at a mindfulness program designed with children in mind. These programs use popular characters such as Moana and PAW Patrol to guide the children through the various techniques.

In order to gain access to most of the app’s content, you will need to pay a subscription. At the time of writing, a yearly subscription is reduced from $203.88 to $79.99. For those wanting to only commit to a month at a time, it will cost you $16.99 per month. This is quite pricey for a meditation app but there are many features to enjoy.

3. Insight Timer

Unlike the previous two apps, the way Insight Timer works is a little different. It's a free app to download and lots of the content is entirely free. A huge range of people supply the content to this app including spiritual leaders, meditation and yoga teachers, psychologists and more.

One thing to note is that this process is rigorous and teachers must have the relevant qualifications to produce content for this app. However, this breadth means there is a never-ending amount of content for you to explore and the ability to find teachers that work for you. On top of this, you can also access nature sounds, ambient music and bedtime stories to help you get a good night’s sleep. As yoga teachers also use this app, you can access breathwork and yoga classes for free.

Another added feature of this app is the fact you can use it as a journal to reflect on your feelings and meditation journey. This is something that may prove useful if you want to see how meditation is affecting your general mood. Plus, for those wanting to develop their practice and do unguided meditations, there is a self timer bell you can use.

As mentioned, this app is free to download and free to use. You get a lot of content for absolutely nothing. However, there is the option of upgrading to the premium membership, known as MemberPlus, which would give you access to courses, offline listening, high-quality audio and a premium timer with sounds amongst other things. This upgrade costs $59.99 per year or $9.99 per month. By paying this, you are helping to keep the community going, and the content free for other users.

4. Meditopia

Meditopia offers you a personalized experience. On downloading the app, it asks you what you want to focus on and what you’d like to see appear on your app to help you gain the benefits you want to get. This is a lovely touch and allows you to feel in control of your meditation journey. However, in order to access the content to a good extent (there are a select few meditations and other features available for free), you need to pay for the subscription at $4.99 per month or $29.99 annually.

With this subscription, you can access over 1000 guided meditations as well as nature sounds, music, sleep sounds and more. Topics focus on stress, anxiety and improving sleep. This is a well-rounded app that targets your problems through various means such as meditations, articles that you can listen to or read and courses. You can see it as more of a coaching program that’s personalized to you, rather than an app you meditate with.

5. Plum Village

Plum Village is one for more serious meditators who would like a helping hand at home to continue their practice, or to surround themselves with spiritual teachings. Developed by the Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, and based on his teachings, this app has recordings of his teachings and guided meditations by him, as well as others. It’s not for the fainthearted and dives deep into Buddhist teachings so we’d recommend it for those familiar with some Buddhist teachings already.

However, saying that, the app is entirely free and has a huge amount of varied meditations available which is incredible. It’s offered to the world as a gift and based on donations which are completely optional. Having three main sections; Meditations, Talks and Resources, it’s easy to navigate around and select what you’re interested in. The meditation page has a ‘Start here’ section which is useful for those who may be new to meditation and want to learn more before starting.

For those more familiar with meditation, you can select from any of the other meditation sections, of which there are guided meditations, silent meditations, deep relaxation and walking and eating meditations plus many more. This app also provides a few stories for children but isn’t heavy on content for little ones. One area where this app excels is in terms of accessibility – it offers meditations for those who are less mobile or suffering with pain as well as a section called ‘Trauma-informed practice’ which uses neuroscientific practices for regulating the nervous system.