Best App Picks
5  min read

The Best Meditation Apps In 2024

Abhishek Agrawal
By Abhishek A Agrawal
December 7, 2023
Table of Contents

    Busy and hectic schedules can quickly make life overwhelming. Fortunately, solutions like meditation apps can offer temporary relief and instill good habits, such as pausing for a moment before you speak or act. With regular sessions, you can learn the best practices for re-centering and re-focusing. 

    In this guide, we’ll take you through our top picks for the best meditation apps on the market and how you can benefit from using them.

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    What Is A Meditation App And Why Do You Need One?

    Meditation apps are a platform for mindfulness practice that allows you to master skills like deep breathing, mental clarity, and presence. Some may offer additional tools like ambient sounds on top of your guided meditation, a mood tracker, or forums where you can share feedback with other users. 

    The benefits of meditation apps are endless. By using them regularly, you can develop good daily habits, create more focus during work hours, and improve your mental health.

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    What Makes A Great Meditation App?

    What you consider a “great” meditation app will ultimately depend on what you find most helpful. However, the most popular meditation apps typically share these features. 

    • Generous content: A good mindfulness app will have a lot of content to help you reach various goals like better sleep, enhanced focus, or daily meditation.
    • Clean interface: Like your approach to meditation, a mindfulness app should be easy to navigate.
    • App features: While some apps exclusively provide meditation sessions, others offer extra features like mood trackers, journals, and more.

    Our Top Picks For The Best Meditation Apps In 2024

    Here are the top picks for the best meditation apps, we recommend for mindfulness exercises.

    Breethe

    If you are a mindfulness beginner learning the basics of meditation, Breethe is for you. It offers sleep meditation, music, and even allows users to choose the topic they desire.

    Pros

    • Playlists: If you have a favorite meditation guide or breathing exercise, add them to a playlist for easy access.
    • Inspirational talks: Are you looking for long-form meditation videos? You’ll get full access to inspirational talks and workshops by authors, life coaches, and more.

    Cons

    • Ads on free version: While you can use Breethe for free, the pop-up ads can quickly become distracting.

    Pricing

    A membership with Breethe costs $10/month.

    Headspace

    Overall, Headspace has the most expansive library of meditations and has guided sessions for beginners. Pros will also love Headspace for its less-structured and flexible meditation offerings.

    Pros

    • Dozens of meditation programs: Choose between topics like self-love, focus, grief, anxiety, patience, and more.
    • Self-dimming screen: Headspace’s interface automatically dims when you start your meditation timer to put you in the mood.

    Cons

    • Expensive: To get access to all of Headspace’s best app features, expect to pay a hefty membership fee.

    Pricing

    Headspace costs $13/month after a seven-day free trial.

    Stop Breathe Think

    For people who like to live in the moment, Stop Breathe Think offers hundreds of meditations according to how you’re feeling. Simply tick off your emotions – whether angry, resentful, impatient or otherwise – and get dozens of customizable meditations to choose from.

    Pros

    • Plenty of other activities: Do you want to pair your meditation practice with guided journaling, yoga, or something else? With Stop Breathe Think, you can!
    • Pairs with Amazon Alexa: If you use Alexa to run your household, you can easily pair it up with your app.

    Cons

    • Limited freemium plan: Many users report that some features that were previously free are now limited to premium access only.

    Pricing

     A premium Stop Breathe Think plan costs $9.99/month. An annual subscription costs $58.99/year.

    Calm

    For meditation pros who don’t mind something less structured, Calm is your best option. It’s great for daily practice and has the best library of music options. You can also sign up for structured programs to address specific problems like stress or anxiety.

    Pros

    • Insights: You can keep track of your progress through stats recording. Calm takes note of how many sessions you’ve attended and how your mood has changed.
    • Kid-friendly meditations: If your kids have little to no experience with meditation, you can try some of Calm’s quick five-minute meditations for younger listeners.

    Cons

    • Less organization: Compared to the Headspace app, Calm has far less structure and can be difficult to navigate.

    Pricing

    An annual membership with Calm costs $70/year, while a lifetime subscription costs a one-time fee of $400.

    Simple Habit

    Users with clear meditation goals will love Simple Habit. Its extensive library of meditations is easy to sort through and caters to specific problems like anxiety, fear, or depression. Created with the help of mindfulness experts, Simple Habit’s goal is to provide daily stress relief over time.

    Pros

    • Sleep stories: If you have trouble sleeping, Simple Habit’s bedtime stories can help you get a full eight hours of rest.
    • Offline use: Unlike most other apps, you can use Simple Habit offline.

    Cons

    • Not beginner-friendly: Simple Habit doesn’t have a beginner’s course or clear jumping-off point, which can be challenging to navigate for those new to meditation.

    Pricing

    Premium membership with Simple Habit costs $12/month, $90/year, or a one-time fee of $300.

    Insight Timer

    Insight Timer has the biggest variety of meditations for free – over 45,000, to be precise. You can filter through meditation techniques according to need, the length of the session, or category.

    Pros

    • Free beginner’s course: If you’re new to mindfulness meditation, you can take a free seven-day introductory course to get you started.
    • Progress trackers: Keep up with how you’re doing using Insight Timer’s free and customizable progress tracker.

    Cons

    • Multi-session courses are paid: If you want to save your sessions and make the most out of Insight Timer’s offerings, you’ll have to pay for a premium subscription.

    Pricing

    Premium membership with Insight Timer costs $10/month or $60/year.

    What’s The Best Meditation App For You?

    The best meditation app for most people will be Headspace. Headspace offers great value for money for beginners, however, pros might prefer something like Calm. For those on a budget, Insight Timer offers the most content for free.

    When the strokes of daily life become overwhelming, using a meditation app can help you re-center, re-focus, and get back on track. If you’re looking for a way to unwind after work or gear you up before the day starts, we hope these best meditation app recommendations have been useful.

    Want to keep an even closer eye on your daily habits? Automate the way you use apps with Integrately, compatible with over 650 apps!

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    FAQs about Meditation

    How do meditation apps work?

    Mindfulness meditation apps work by equipping users with helpful tools like mantras, breathing exercises, help from a meditation coach, and more. Some apps are connected to a community of meditators where you can share your thoughts and progress.

    Are meditation apps worth it?

    Meditation apps are worth it if you’re looking to improve your habits and self-care routine over time. Using a meditation app regularly can help keep you accountable and even provide access to a meditation instructor, should you need one.

    Is there a completely free meditation app?

    Insight Timer is a free mediation app that comes with a lot of useful content. It’s worth noting that almost all meditation apps come with free content, however, most also offer paid subscriptions.

    Abhishek Agrawal
    Author - Abhishek A Agrawal
    Abhishek is the founder of Integrately, CompanyHub, and Dreamwares. He is passionate about technology and entrepreneurship. He is always looking to leverage technology for the growth of the business. He has a deep understanding of how businesses work and uses this knowledge to build products that help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
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