Meditation has far-reaching and long-lasting benefits in our lives: it can lower our stress levels, help us know our pain, improve our focus, and we become kinder to ourselves.
In this article, I will outline some of the best services available to mobile users based on Rothman’s recommendations, as well as current users’ ratings.
1. Calm
Calm has been downloaded more than 50 million times with a 4.8-star rating, so it is mostly likely that you have already known about this app before. Calm is renowned for its relaxed approach to empowering users to generally ease into meditative practices. There are certain programs within the service designed to address anxiety, lack of sleep, stress, and most users can complete a daily guided meditating activity. The app offers auditory bedtime stories and a suite of relaxing audio, so it can help you establish mental guided imagery. You can use more than one of your senses to mentally remove yourself from your current surroundings.
There is a seven-day free trial and after that you’ll need to pay $70 annually.
2. UnPlug
UnPlug is an extension of physical studios out in the world, and it comes from Los Angeles-based Unplug Meditation Studio. It has more than 700 meditation videos, ranging from one minute to a full hour in length. You can customize your session by your mood, its time range, or your favorite teacher. This is a perfect choice if you feel like you practice best in a class setting with an instructor, as all of the sessions are filmed live in the studio. Via the in-app progress options, you can track just how far you’ve come since signing up for a membership.
The app has a 1-week free trial, and after that it charges $8 per month or $60 per year.
3. Simple Habit
If you are too busy to practice meditation, you are supposed to choose Simple Habit as they created their service with you in mind. The app focuses on relieving daily stress, with five-minute sessions at the top of the list as well as sessions that are developed for traveling. It also offers motivational guides and bedtime stories. The app charges $11.99 a month or $96 a year.
4. 10% Happier: Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics
This app has been quite popular among users. Using its premium version, you will have access to more than 500 guided meditation videos that are designed for particular scenarios or moments in your day. You will also be able to connect with experts and enquire them. But many reviewers say this app’s video offerings set it apart from other options, as new series about mindfulness are regularly made available to subscribers.
Its basic version is free, while you should pay $100 for the premium version for an annual subscription with a seven-day free trial.
5. Insight Timer
This app is entirely free to users, and it still manages to maintain a near perfect 5-star rating with more than 200,000 reviews on Apple’s App Store. Via the app, you can have access to over 30,000 pre-recorded guided meditation sessions. You can also refine sessions based on how long you have to practice. The app comes with an in-app progress keeper, through which you can chart your progress and earn badges for the time you’ve spent meditating. The guided sessions are led by well-known yogis and mental experts as well.
The app is free, and for certain features you can pay for the in-app premium.
6. Headspace
Headspace is a super popular app for people trying to improve their focus. Furthermore, it can also provide temporary relief from daily stressors as they arise. There are plenty of quirky illustrations that can guide you along your meditation period. You can also partake in audio sessions designed to have a sound sleep during night. The app has a small free trial, but it does eventually require you to fork over a membership fee. It charges $13 monthly with a seven-day free trial, or $70 annually with two-week free trial.
7. Relax Now
It is a simple and straightforward app, and is a quick tool to help your body relax with recordings from certified hypnotherapist, David Ridgeway D. Hypn., M.N.C.H. It offers eight different videos to relieve you immediately. It also has plenty of recordings with multiple endings designed to either energize or calm you. Furthermore, you can choose from custom background music for your meditation sessions. The app is totally free.
8. Pzizz
Pzizz was primarily designed for helping users get to sleep. It combines music, voiceovers, and various sound effects. The app can also help you zero in on getting more work done. These sections have you get into full concentration via meditation, while the “cooldown” section can help you integrate back into your space. The app is free for select features and charges $60 a year for full access.
9. Aura
This meditation app has many avenues for helping you self reflect, including guided stories and music options, but it generates them for you based on the mood you’re in! It not only tracks how much meditating you’re doing, but also your moods over time. It can also set reminders to practice mindfulness throughout the day in order to improve those moods. If you subscribe for the premium membership, you should pay $12 monthly, $60 annually, or $400 for lifetime use.
10. Petit Bambou
Petit Bambou first became popular in France and in Europe and then came to the United States. It employs striking and beautiful animations to explain how meditation works in the first place, so it is well suited to beginners, especially children. The app offers guided meditation sessions to adults, and the relaxing sounds feature of the app allows children to hone in on a cartoonish scene. The app charges $8.50 a month or $72 a year, or a one-time payment of $280.
11. The Mindfulness App
This app is perfect for you if you’ve previously practiced meditation and aren’t looking for guided exercises. Via the app you can create a custom session with flexible time periods, and select sounds like bells based on your needs. A premium subscription unlocks full courses on developing focus if that interests you, but if you use the free version, you can still integrate your phone’s health app to keep an eye on how long you’ve meditating throughout the week.
You will pay $60 for one year if you subscribe an optional in-app.