Eight Meditation Apps That Are Cheaper (and Better) Than Headspace and Calm
Headspace and Calm are giants in the meditation app space, and both have done impressive work in bringing mindfulness-based meditation to the masses . Their apps allow anyone to learn the skills needed to relax and even deal with more pressing issues like anxiety and depression.
But at $100 a year, they are certainly very expensive. And because they are so popular, their programs can be quite generic.
If you’ve already tried Headspace or Calm and found they weren’t right for you—or you just found them too expensive for what they offer—there’s a whole world of niche meditation apps out there for you. Here are eight of my favorite alternatives, so you can test them out and see which one works best for you.
Smiling Mind
If you’re looking for a free alternative to Headspace, start with Smiling Mind. It is developed by an Australian non-profit organization and the app is completely free (not even a premium level is offered).
The app offers structured programs to teach mindfulness meditation, sleep, relationships, stress, food and more. The Introduction to Mindfulness course is a great place to start. You can also try one-time guided meditations that include breath and sound meditation, body scan meditation, sleep meditation, and more.
Smiling Mind is available for iOS and Android .
Pros :
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Completely free and run by a non-profit organization.
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A great collection of basic, repeatable meditations you can rely on.
Minuses :
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The design can be a little confusing and sometimes difficult to use.
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The app’s program library isn’t as extensive as some of the other apps on the list.
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New features appear quite rarely.
Plum Village
Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese monk who founded a monastery in France called Plum Village. He is also the author of many popular books on mindfulness, including No Mud, No Lotus . Plum Village has hosted many programs, workshops and talks on mindfulness.
The Plum Village is a completely free app that allows you to browse a wealth of information on your smartphone. You get access to meditations (some written by Thich Nhat Hanh himself), talks, text resources, and videos.
The Plum Village app is available for iOS and Android .
Pros :
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The Mindfulness Bell will help you come back to the present throughout the day.
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A huge library of programs led by monks and nuns from Plum Village.
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The meditations are easy to follow.
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For free!
Minuses :
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The app is quite unreliable and suffers from freezing and random shutdowns.
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The practices are limited to only those taught in the Plum Village tradition.
Medito
Medito is another popular free option. It is also run by a non-profit organization and has a no-advertising policy. The app will start you off with a Medito course that will help you learn mindfulness, compassion meditation, and insight meditation. There are also options to learn the practice of gratitude.
The app also has an entire section dedicated to sleep, featuring sleep meditations, sleep stories, and music. Medito also offers a simple timer for silent meditation.
Medito stands out for its simplicity: the app only offers programs, lists, and meditations. That’s it: no need for an account or complicated user interface. However, the downside is that you can’t bookmark anything or create your own lists of exercises that you find useful.
Medito is available for iOS and Android .
Pros :
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Completely free, no ads.
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Incredibly simple and fast application.
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Covers meditation for beginners, compassionate practice, and sleep meditation.
Minuses :
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There is no way to bookmark or save meditations.
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The catalog, although simple, is very limited.
Comprehension Timer
Insight Timer is a community mindfulness meditation app and website. With an app like Headspace, you essentially have access to one or two meditation teachers. There are thousands of meditation teachers to choose from on Insight Timer. You can even join communities that practice mindfulness and meditation together.
The free version of the app offers over 100,000 meditations with access to live events where you can practice mediation with people from all over the world. The app organizes meditations into different categories and you will find different meditations to combat anxiety, stress, sleep and so on.
The best thing about Insight Timer is that it doesn’t limit you: you can explore and find teachers and courses that suit your current needs.
The “Timer” part of the name comes from the fact that the app has a handy meditation timer built into it. If you’re moving into an unguided meditation practice, a timer can help you with interval bells and custom timers. They also have a really nice collection of bells, gongs and chimes.
Insight Timer has a Member Plus program that gives you access to over 1,000 exclusive courses and offline downloads for $60 per year, but you don’t have to pay to get the most out of the app. (Unfortunately, if you use it regularly, you will see a lot of ads.)
Insight Timer is available for iOS and Android .
Pros :
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Lots of free, community-led meditations.
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An intuitive and customizable timer for guided meditation.
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Easy to use interface.
Minuses :
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Too many promotions for Member Plus.
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The sheer number of programs, teachers, and meditations can make finding the one that’s right for you overwhelming and time-consuming.
Ten percent happier
Ten Percent Happier isn’t a cheaper alternative to Headspace or Calm—an annual membership costs $99—but it’s certainly better than both of those options when it comes to targeted meditation training. The app offers a selection of diverse teachers to help you practice mindfulness. The app has over 500 guided meditations.
What makes it stand out is its 1:1 meditation training program. If you’ve tried Headspace but haven’t been able to meditate, learning directly from a meditation teacher may help.
The Ten Percent Happier app is available for iOS and Android .
Pros :
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A good place to start is managing stress and improving sleep.
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Live group sessions provide time for questions and answers.
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Easy to use application with multimedia and useful videos.
Minuses :
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Membership costs are still high and fall between Headspace and Calm.
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Not that useful for advanced practitioners.
The Awakening of Sam Harris
Awakening by Sam Harris is a different type of meditation app. It’s actually more like a meditation course. It’s based on Sam’s book of the same name , in which he talks about awakening your spirituality even if you’re not religious.
Awakening combines elements of Buddhism, Stoicism and mindfulness meditation to create a 28-day course. All you need to do is spend about 10 minutes practicing every day. The $99/year membership isn’t any cheaper than Headspace, but if you’re trying to explore the mindfulness meditation space, you might want to try the 28-day beginner course—you can use the program for one month for $14.99. Membership also includes several programs taught by many respected educators in the fields of mindfulness and psychology.
Waking Up is also doing a good job of helping people in need, so if you can’t afford the app, write to them to see if you can get it at a discount or even free.
The Awakening app is available for iOS and Android .
Pros :
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Great program for beginners.
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A completely secular and scientific approach to mindfulness meditation.
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Easy to use app and many programs to deepen your practice.
Minuses :
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The only drawback is the price.
Anti-aircraft gun
Once you’ve mastered a few mindfulness techniques, the best way to practice and grow is to do it on your own, without any audio prompts, but you can still set a timer and maybe add a nice bell to get you started. and complete the meditation or add interval bells. It would be nice if there was a daily streak, just to keep you motivated.
Zenitizer is an application from an independent developer that can help you with all this. The application has a minimal design, there are no ads even in the free version. In my experience, it works more reliably than Insight Timer.
You can set your own timer, interval bells, warm-up, start sound and end sound. The free version comes with a few presets, but if you decide to pay for it, you’ll be able to create your own presets and get access to interactive widgets. Zenitizer Premium costs $19.99 per year or $2.99 per month. You can buy a lifetime subscription for $79.99.
Zenitizer is available for iOS .
Pros :
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Minimalist design, easy to use and not bloated.
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Custom procedures, support for shortcut automation.
Minuses :
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Many customization features are behind a paywall.
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Lack of guidance can turn off newbies.
YouTube
Don’t want to pay to subscribe to a meditation app? You don’t have to. YouTube is full of great resources to help you meditate. Just find meditations for relaxation, anxiety or stress. YouTube is also a great resource for learning breathing techniques and listening to talks about mindfulness.
Reddit has some tips for finding good channels , and here are some of our favorites to help you get started:
Pros :
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Free and easily accessible.
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More variety and a better chance of finding something that’s right for you.
Minuses :
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YouTube advertising can weaken awareness.
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Too many choices can be confusing.