9 Best Conscious Living Apps For Your Phone

App Name	Best For	Key Features	AC Rating	Pricing
Life7	All in one mental wellness	Binaural beats, CBT therapy, sleep stories	4.8/5	Free trial, then subscription
Calm	Sleep improvement and relaxation	Sleep stories, breathing exercises, nature sounds	4.6/5	Free trial, then subscription
Headspace	Beginners to meditation	Guided courses, sleepcasts, focus music	4.5/5	Free trial, then subscription
Insight Timer	Free meditation library access	200,000+ meditations, live events, community	4.5/5	Free with optional premium
Smiling Mind	Families and children	Age based programs, mood tracking, 700+ lessons	4.4/5	Completely free
Buddhify	On the go meditation	Wheel interface, activity based sessions, offline use	4.3/5	One time purchase
Ten Percent Happier	Skeptics and practical learners	Video courses, real life applications, expert guidance	4.4/5	Free trial, then subscription
Simple Habit	Busy professionals	5 minute sessions, situation based content, diverse teachers	4.2/5	Free trial, then subscription
Healthy Minds	Science based mindfulness	Podcast style lessons, research backed, goal tracking	4.3/5	Completely free

#1. Life7 – Best for All in One Mental Wellness

Life7 is the ultimate companion for anyone serious about improving their mental health. This app combines everything you need in one place. You get sleep sounds, guided meditations, breathwork, and even therapy tools.

What makes Life7 stand out is its incredible variety. The app includes green noise, white noise, brown noise, and pink noise options. It also offers binaural beats and brain wave music. These include delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequencies.

Life7 goes beyond basic meditation apps. It includes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) tools, hypnotherapy sessions, and vagus nerve stimulation exercises. You can even find SOS sessions for when anxiety or panic hits hard.

Key Features:

• Over 312 million meditation minutes logged by users with daily new content including meditations, music therapy, and wisdom sessions
• Comprehensive sound library with binaural beats, solfeggio frequencies (432 Hz, 528 Hz), 8D audio, and backdrop mode to mix soundscapes
• Advanced features like lucid dreaming guides, ASMR, nervous system reset exercises, and gamified progress tracking with XP rewards

What I like: I absolutely love how Life7 brings so many wellness tools together. The sound variety is amazing. I can mix my own soundscapes using the backdrop mode while listening to sleep stories. The gamified approach keeps me motivated to build a daily meditation habit. Earning XP and unlocking new content makes the whole experience feel rewarding and fun.

What I don’t like: The free content is a bit limited. You really need to subscribe to get the full experience. This might turn off people who want to try before committing.

Pricing: Free 7 day trial available. Subscription options include weekly, monthly, and yearly plans. Frequent special offers pop up too.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#2. Calm – Best for Sleep Improvement and Relaxation

Calm has become one of the most popular wellness apps worldwide. It focuses heavily on helping you sleep better and feel less stressed. The app has helped millions of people find their peace.

Calm is the number one mental health app designed to help you manage stress, sleep better, and live a happier, healthier life. The app offers research based tools for building healthy habits.

If you’re having trouble falling asleep, their 500+ Sleep Stories, soundscapes, and guided sleep meditations can lull you to sleep. Celebrity narrators read many of these bedtime stories.

Key Features:

• Extensive library of Sleep Stories narrated by celebrities and calming voices for peaceful rest
• Daily Calm sessions provide quick 10 minute meditations to start or end your day
• Breathing exercises and Breathe Bubble feature for instant stress relief in 60 seconds

What I like: The Sleep Stories feature is pure magic. Listening to soothing voices tell gentle tales while drifting off feels like a warm hug. The Breathe Bubble is perfect for those moments when I feel overwhelmed at work. Just one minute of focused breathing helps me reset completely.

What I don’t like: The subscription price feels a bit steep compared to some alternatives. Also, the free content is very limited. You really need to pay to get the good stuff.

Pricing: Free 7 day trial. Monthly, annual, and lifetime subscription options available. Family plans also offered.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#3. Headspace – Best for Beginners to Meditation

Headspace has become a top choice for those looking to incorporate meditation and mindfulness into their lives. The app makes meditation simple and approachable.

Headspace offers 1,000+ expert led exercises including mood boosting meditations and stress relieving tools for all of life’s moments. The cute animations make learning enjoyable.

The app breaks down meditation into easy steps. You start with basics and build up over time. This approach works great for people who never meditated before.

Key Features:

• Structured courses that teach meditation from the ground up with fun animated videos
• Sleepcasts that combine music and storytelling for better rest
• Focus mode with curated playlists designed to boost productivity and concentration

What I like: The beginner friendly approach is fantastic. I never felt lost or confused when I first started. The animations explain concepts in ways that just click. The variety of meditation lengths means I can always find something that fits my schedule, even on crazy busy days.

What I don’t like: Advanced meditators might find the content too basic. The subscription model can feel expensive for what you get. Student and family plans help but still cost money.

Pricing: Free trial period available. Monthly and annual subscription plans. Student and family discounts offered.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#4. Insight Timer – Best for Free Meditation Library Access

Insight Timer is a meditation app that features an extensive free meditation library. This makes it stand out from subscription heavy competitors.

The app features over 200,000 free meditation tracks with 80+ new ones added daily, making it the largest collection of meditation resources on the market. You can explore for months without paying anything.

The app also offers yoga, mood tracking, private mentoring, and workshops available. It has grown into much more than a simple timer.

Key Features:

• Massive library of 200,000+ free guided meditations, music tracks, and talks from thousands of teachers
• Live events happening every hour including yoga classes and group meditation sessions
• Community features that let you connect with other meditators worldwide

What I like: The amount of free content is honestly unbelievable. I have spent months exploring without spending a dime. The live events make me feel connected to a global community of meditators. Finding teachers whose voices I really connect with has been wonderful.

What I don’t like: The multi session meditation courses are only available in the premium subscription. The app can feel overwhelming with so many choices. Navigation takes some getting used to.

Pricing: Core app is completely free. Optional MemberPlus subscription available for advanced features.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#5. Smiling Mind – Best for Families and Children

What began as a pioneering mindfulness based meditation app has evolved to be Australia’s go to digital mental health organisation representing children and young people.

The Smiling Mind App has remained free for individuals and families to access for over 12 years. This makes it perfect for budget conscious families.

The app provides personalized content, tools and resources to support specific wellbeing needs and goals. There’s content for kids aged 5 to 12 and adult collections from beginner to advanced.

Key Features:

• Age appropriate programs designed specifically for kids, teens, and adults with content created by psychologists
• Mental fitness tracker to monitor progress and build daily mindfulness habits
• Completely free with 700+ lessons, practices and meditations across 50+ collections

What I like: Finding a quality meditation app that is totally free feels rare. The kids content is thoughtful and engaging. My children actually want to use it before bed. The progress tracking helps our whole family stay consistent with our mindfulness practice.

What I don’t like: The music sometimes loops too quickly during sleep meditations. The app interface went through major changes recently. Some users found the transition confusing at first.

Pricing: Completely free for everyone.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#6. Buddhify – Best for On the Go Meditation

Buddhify is a meditation app that features a unique meditation library organized on a brightly colored wheel, with each wedge representing a specific meditation topic.

A large majority of the meditations are under 12 minutes, which makes them ideal to complete from anywhere. This fits perfectly into busy schedules.

While other meditation apps need you to find ten or twenty minutes of quiet time per day, Buddhify focuses on mobile or on the go meditation.

Key Features:

• Unique colorful wheel interface organizing meditations by activity or mood for easy navigation
• Short session lengths perfect for quick meditation breaks during daily activities
• One time purchase model instead of ongoing subscription fees

What I like: The wheel design is genuinely creative and fun to use. I love that sessions are short enough to fit into my commute or lunch break. Paying once instead of monthly feels so much more fair. The diverse team of teachers offers different perspectives and voices.

What I don’t like: No meditation courses, each wedge is a specific topic with sessions but they do not build on each other. No free trial means you pay before trying. Updates can take a long time to download.

Pricing: One time purchase fee with optional annual membership for premium features.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#7. Ten Percent Happier – Best for Skeptics and Practical Learners

Spun off from the New York Times best selling book by the same name, 10% Happier skyrocketed to popularity during the pandemic.

The app takes a no nonsense approach to meditation. It speaks to people who think mindfulness sounds too woo woo. The practical focus helps skeptics give meditation a real chance.

The premium version of the app can connect you to a library of more than 500 guided meditation videos designed for particular scenarios or moments in your day.

Key Features:

• Video content featuring experts explaining mindfulness in practical, relatable terms
• Real life application focus helping you use meditation skills throughout your day
• Regular new series about mindfulness with teachings from respected meditation experts

What I like: The straightforward approach really resonates with me. No fluffy spiritual talk. Just practical tools for real life situations. The video offerings add a personal connection that pure audio apps lack. Learning the science behind why meditation works keeps me motivated.

What I don’t like: The subscription price sits on the higher end. The app appeals more to adults. Kids content is limited. You need dedication to get through the longer courses.

Pricing: Free to start with limited content. Annual subscription with free trial period available.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#8. Simple Habit – Best for Busy Professionals

The mindfulness and meditation platform promises to make you feel better in five minutes with five to 20 minute lessons and more than 1,000 sessions.

This app understands that professionals have packed schedules. Every session fits into even the busiest day. Quick breaks can make a big difference.

Mindfulness teachers from around the world, including former monks, guide the courses. For a more tailored meditation, you can choose the time, place and trigger of your stress.

Key Features:

• Super short 5 minute sessions designed to fit into any schedule no matter how busy
• Situation specific meditations addressing common stressors like meetings, commutes, and deadlines
• Diverse roster of teachers from around the world bringing different meditation traditions

What I like: The five minute sessions are perfect for my crazy work schedule. I can sneak in a quick meditation between meetings. Choosing sessions based on my specific situation feels personalized. The variety of teacher voices keeps things fresh and interesting.

What I don’t like: The free content feels quite limited. Full access requires a subscription that some find pricey. Longer meditation sessions are fewer compared to other apps.

Pricing: Free trial available. Monthly and annual subscription options.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#9. Healthy Minds – Best for Science Based Mindfulness

Born out of Healthy Minds Innovations and the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin Madison, the Healthy Minds free meditation program provides podcast style audio guided lessons.

This app brings serious research credentials. Scientists and neuroscientists developed it. The focus stays on what actually works based on studies.

The goal isn’t just to work on meditation and mindfulness but to also provide opportunities to learn about the science behind mental health strengthening and healing.

Key Features:

• Research backed content developed by neuroscientists and researchers at a major university
• Podcast style lessons that educate while you practice mindfulness techniques
• Focus on awareness, connection, insight, and purpose through structured learning paths

What I like: Knowing that scientists created this app builds my trust. The educational aspect teaches me why these practices help. Having a completely free app with quality content feels generous. The structured approach helps me track my genuine progress over time.

What I don’t like: The podcast style might not appeal to everyone. Some users prefer more traditional guided meditation formats. The interface looks simple compared to flashier apps. Content variety is smaller than paid alternatives.

Pricing: Completely free.

Platforms: iOS and Android

What Are Conscious Living Apps?

Conscious living apps help you become more aware of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. They offer tools like meditation, breathing exercises, and mindfulness practices. These apps guide you toward living with more intention and less stress.

Most conscious living apps include features for sleep improvement and stress management. Some focus on meditation while others offer therapy tools or mood tracking. The best apps combine multiple approaches to support your overall mental wellness.

You can use these apps anywhere and anytime. Most sessions take just a few minutes. This makes building healthy habits easier even with a busy schedule.

Are Free Meditation Apps Worth It?

Free meditation apps absolutely provide value. Apps like Smiling Mind and Healthy Minds offer quality content without any cost. Insight Timer provides over 200,000 free meditations. You can build a solid practice without spending money.

However, paid apps often offer more structure and variety. Premium subscriptions unlock advanced courses and exclusive content. Features like offline listening and personalized recommendations require payment on most platforms.

Consider starting with free options to build your habit. Once you know what works for you, upgrading makes more sense. Many paid apps offer free trials too. This lets you test before committing.

How Do I Choose the Right Wellness App for Me?

Start by identifying your main goal. Do you want better sleep? Look at Calm or Life7. Need something for your whole family? Try Smiling Mind. Skeptical about meditation? Ten Percent Happier speaks your language.

Think about your schedule too. Busy professionals benefit from short session apps like Simple Habit or Buddhify. If you have more time, longer programs from Headspace might suit you better.

Finally, consider your budget. Free apps work great for many people. If you can afford subscriptions, the extra features often prove worthwhile. Try free trials before committing to any paid option.