9 Best Meditation Apps Like Calm

App Name	Best For	Key Features	AC Rating	Pricing
Life7	Complete mental wellness toolkit	Binaural beats, sleep stories, CBT tools, gamified meditation	4.8/5	Free trial, weekly/monthly/yearly plans
Headspace	Beginners and structured learning	Animated lessons, sleep sounds, mindfulness exercises	4.6/5	Free trial, monthly/yearly subscription
Insight Timer	Free meditation content	100,000+ free meditations, customizable timer, community	4.5/5	Free with optional premium
Waking Up	Philosophical meditation approach	Theory and practice combined, daily meditations, multiple teachers	4.5/5	Monthly/yearly subscription
Ten Percent Happier	Meditation skeptics	Expert teachers, video introductions, podcast integration	4.4/5	Free trial, yearly subscription
Buddhify	On the go meditation	Activity based wheel, short sessions, offline access	4.3/5	One time purchase plus optional membership
Breethe	Sleep improvement and stress relief	Hypnotherapy, sleep stories, personalized sessions	4.3/5	Free trial, monthly/yearly/lifetime
Simple Habit	Busy professionals	5 minute sessions, situation specific content, offline use	4.2/5	Free content, monthly/yearly/lifetime
Balance	Personalized daily practice	AI personalization, daily plans, sleep content	4.4/5	Free first year, then subscription

#1. Life7 – Best for Complete Mental Wellness Toolkit

If you want one app that does it all, Life7 is your answer. This app goes way beyond basic meditation. It combines brain frequencies, guided meditations, sleep stories, and so much more into one package.

I love that Life7 uses science backed sounds like binaural beats and isochronic tones. You get access to delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma wave music. The app also includes special frequencies like 432 Hz and 528 Hz for deep relaxation.

What makes Life7 stand out is the variety. You can try hypnotherapy, CBT sessions, vagus nerve stimulation, or transcendental meditation. There are over 312 million meditation minutes tracked by users. Plus, the app has received more than 1,200 editorial mentions.

Key Features:

• Green noise, white noise, brown noise, pink noise, and solfeggio frequencies for any mood
• SOS sessions for anxiety and panic attacks with breathing exercises to calm your nervous system
• Gamified approach where you earn XP and unlock premium soundscapes while building streaks

What I like: The daily sessions keep things fresh. Every day you get a new meditation, music therapy session, and wisdom quote. I really enjoy the backdrop mode that lets you mix soundscapes with sleep stories or meditations. The mood tracker helps you see your progress over time. The lucid dreaming sessions are also something I have not found in other apps.

What I don’t like: The free content is a bit limited. You will need to subscribe to access most of the good stuff. This might be frustrating if you just want to try things out first.

Pricing: 7 day free trial available. Offers weekly, monthly, and yearly plans with frequent special offers.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#2. Headspace – Best for Beginners and Structured Learning

Headspace is one of the most popular meditation apps around. It uses fun animations and simple language to teach you how to meditate. The app breaks everything down into easy steps.

The beginner courses are excellent. You start with the basics and slowly build your skills. The app covers stress, sleep, focus, and many other topics. Each session is clear and never overwhelming.

Headspace also has sleep content including sleep stories and calming music. The design is bright and friendly. It makes meditation feel less scary for newbies.

Key Features:

• Structured courses that build on each other for stress, sleep, and focus
• Short easy to follow sessions perfect for beginners
• Sleep sounds and bedtime content to help you rest better

What I like: Headspace’s playful design and well structured courses make meditation easy to adopt. The animations explain concepts in ways that just click. I appreciate how the app holds your hand through the learning process. The consistency of having one main teacher helps you stay focused.

What I don’t like: Almost all the content is behind a paywall. The free version gives you very little to work with. After a while, the animations can feel childish if you prefer a more serious approach.

Pricing: Free trial available. Premium subscription required for full access. Monthly and yearly options.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#3. Insight Timer – Best for Free Meditation Content

If you want tons of free content, Insight Timer is hard to beat. With 100+ new free guided meditations and sleep tracks added daily, more meditation is practiced on Insight Timer than anywhere else.

The app started as a simple timer but grew into something huge. It features thousands of guided meditations across a range of styles: Buddhist mindfulness, Kundalini yoga, walking meditation, and many others.

You can connect with a global community of meditators. The app shows you who else is meditating right now around the world. This creates a nice sense of connection.

Key Features:

• Over 120,000 free meditations and everything is ad free
• Customizable meditation timer with various bell sounds and ambient backgrounds
• Community features including groups, live events, and teacher connections

What I like: They have a huge catalog of guided meditations from a wild number of different teachers, music so you can do your own meditation and the titular Timer. The variety is amazing. I can always find something that matches my mood. The free content is genuinely useful without feeling watered down.

What I don’t like: The free version doesn’t allow access to any of the app’s courses, offline listening, or the option to rewind or fast forward. The interface can feel cluttered with all the social features.

Pricing: Free with premium plan costing $9.99 monthly or $59.99 annually.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#4. Waking Up – Best for Philosophical Meditation Approach

Waking Up is different from other meditation apps. Unlike other meditation apps, which aim to reduce stress or help one to feel better in the moment, Waking Up adopts the slightly more ambitious approach of aspiring to help each user make fundamental discoveries in the laboratory of their own mind.

Sam Harris created this app. He is a neuroscientist and philosopher. His approach combines meditation practice with theory and lessons. You learn the why behind the how.

The meditations are simple and powerful, starting with standard mindfulness practices such as observing the breath, but swiftly and effortlessly, as the days pass, stretching towards non dual awareness.

Key Features:

• 28 day introductory course with 10 minute guided meditations
• Daily meditations paired with lessons explaining the concepts
• Content from leading voices in meditation, philosophy, and psychology

What I like: In the 30 day introductory course, every meditation is paired with a lesson. These are 5 to 10 minutes long and Sam Harris touches on a certain theme. The intellectual depth sets this app apart. I appreciate learning not just how to meditate but why certain techniques work. The guest teachers bring fresh perspectives.

What I don’t like: Harris moves at a pace that would seem incongruent with the progress of someone completely new to meditation. Some concepts can feel too advanced too quickly. The serious tone might not appeal to everyone.

Pricing: Monthly and yearly subscriptions available. Free access available for those who cannot afford it.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#5. Ten Percent Happier (Happier Meditation) – Best for Meditation Skeptics

Happier, which has rebranded from Ten Percent Happier, is a user friendly app solely dedicated to mindfulness and meditation. It was created by Dan Harris, a news anchor who had a panic attack on live TV.

Whereas in Headspace you have one ex monk as teacher for all the meditations, Ten Percent Happier brings you a number of experienced teachers with varied approaches. This variety helps you find a style that works for you.

The app is perfect if you are skeptical about meditation. Dan Harris approaches everything from a practical standpoint. No fluff or spiritual jargon.

Key Features:

• Over 500 guided meditations led by relatable expert teachers
• Video introductions that explain concepts before you meditate
• In app podcasts and talks for deeper learning

What I like: The variety and quality of the content is the most appealing thing about Ten Percent Happier. The teachers feel authentic and down to earth. I love that each course features video explanations. It helps build understanding before practicing.

What I don’t like: None of the meditations are geared towards kids and teens. The sleep section is not as large as other meditation apps. There are no ambient sounds or music to add to meditations.

Pricing: Premium version costs $99.99 annually and comes with a seven day free trial.

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. Each colored wedge represents a different activity or situation.

The central idea in buddhify is that you don’t have to find time for meditation, instead it comes to you. The meditations are designed for real life moments. Think traveling, work breaks, or waking up.

A large majority of the meditations are under 12 minutes, which makes them ideal to complete from anywhere.

Key Features:

• Over 200 meditations to help overcome life’s challenges including anxiety, stress, sleep, pain and difficult emotions
• Unique wheel interface organized by activity like traveling, working, or going to sleep
• Solo timer for experienced meditators who want unguided sessions

What I like: Buddhify cleverly weaves mindfulness into your daily activities in a way that broadens your experience. The wheel interface is beautiful and makes finding content fun. I appreciate the one time purchase option instead of yet another subscription.

What I don’t like: No meditation courses where sessions build on each other. Cannot set your meditation level, reminders, or goals. The app lacks a search function which can be frustrating.

Pricing: Upfront cost of $4.99 for Apple and $3.99 for Android. Annual membership costs $30.00.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#7. Breethe – Best for Sleep Improvement and Stress Relief

Dubbed Real Help for Your Life, the Breethe meditation app focuses on specific issues that can cause stress, work issues, difficulty sleeping, relationship issues, and much more.

The app stands out with its hypnotherapy sessions. Music is clearly important to the Breethe developers; from the moment you login it’s present. You will find nature sounds, sleep stories, and calming music everywhere.

Breethe offers a 12 week programme for learning meditation from the very beginning. This structured approach helps build a solid foundation.

Key Features:

• Over 1700 guided meditations, soothing music, nature sounds, inspirational talks and much more
• Hypnotherapy sessions and sleep stories for better rest
• Personalized My Life Kit feature that matches content to your specific situation

What I like: The meditations are so specialized, you can pinpoint exactly the type of meditation you need. The variety of content types keeps things interesting. Hypnotherapy sessions have helped many users with chronic sleep issues.

What I don’t like: At $89.99 for an annual membership, Breethe costs more than many good mindfulness and meditation apps. Some users report occasional technical glitches.

Pricing: 14 day free trial. Membership costs around $12.95 monthly, $89.99 yearly, or $149.99 lifetime.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#8. Simple Habit – Best for Busy Professionals

Simple Habit is a 5 minute meditation app designed to help busy people stress less, achieve more, and live better.

The app won Google Play awards for its thoughtful design. Sessions are designed for life’s daily problems. You can find content for commuting, work stress, or winding down before bed.

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.

Key Features:

• 5 minute meditations perfect for squeezing into a busy schedule
• On the Go feature that suggests meditations based on what you are currently doing
• Offline use available unlike most other apps

What I like: Even when I ran out of premium time and was flung back to freebies only, I still found plenty of relevant meditations. The short session lengths make it easy to stay consistent. The interface is clean and calming without being distracting.

What I don’t like: Simple Habit doesn’t have a beginner’s course or clear jumping off point, which can be challenging for those new to meditation. Most content requires a premium subscription.

Pricing: Premium membership costs $12 per month, $90 per year, or a one time fee of $300.

Platforms: iOS and Android

#9. Balance – Best for Personalized Daily Practice

Balance takes personalization seriously. The app uses AI to create meditation plans tailored to your needs. It checks in with you regularly to adjust recommendations.

The app was free for its first year after launch which helped it build a huge user base. Now it offers a subscription model. The content focuses on building skills over time rather than one off sessions.

Balance covers meditation basics, sleep, and focus. The daily plans keep you on track without overwhelming you.

Key Features:

• AI powered personalization that adapts to your progress and preferences
• Daily meditation plans based on your goals and mood
• SOS sessions for moments of high anxiety or stress

What I like: The personalization actually works. The app remembers what you have practiced and builds on it. Daily check ins help the content stay relevant. The voice options let you pick a narrator you connect with.

What I don’t like: Limited community features compared to other apps. Some users feel the AI recommendations can be repetitive. Not as much variety in meditation styles as larger apps.

Pricing: Often offers extended free trials. Annual subscription required for ongoing access.

Platforms: iOS and Android

Is Calm Worth It for Meditation?

Calm is definitely worth considering if you want a polished meditation experience. The user interface is gorgeous but also very easy to navigate through and use. The app has grown from focusing on relaxing sounds to offering guided meditations, breathing exercises, and sleep stories.

With celebrity narrated sleep stories, relaxing nature sounds, and guided sessions, Calm is perfect for those who struggle with anxiety and insomnia. The sleep stories featuring famous voices are a big draw for many users.

However, Calm can be expensive. Most features require a premium subscription. A frustrating part of using this free account is that the few free items are limited to three plays each before they are locked. If budget matters, consider alternatives like Life7 or Insight Timer first.

What App is Better Than Calm?

Life7 offers more value for most users. While Calm focuses mainly on meditation and sleep, Life7 provides a complete mental wellness toolkit. You get brain frequencies, hypnotherapy, CBT tools, and gamified progress tracking.

For free content, Insight Timer offers one of the largest collections of meditation resources on the market. You can access thousands of meditations without paying anything.

If you want depth over breadth, Waking Up provides a more intellectual approach. Harris is a neuroscientist and while also a meditation teacher who has deeply explored esoteric practices, his Waking Up app is magnificently hokum free.

The best app depends on your needs. Calm excels at sleep content. Life7 wins for variety. Insight Timer leads on free content. Try a few and see what clicks.

How Do Free Meditation Apps Compare to Paid Ones?

Free meditation apps can be excellent starting points. Great for both beginners and experienced practitioners, apps like Insight Timer prove that quality meditation content does not require a subscription.

That said, paid apps often provide more structure. They offer courses that build skills over time. You also get features like offline access, personalized recommendations, and ad free experiences.

After testing apps, my favorite free app was Medito as it offers the most features and options of all the free meditation apps. Insight Timer probably offers the best free version of the paid apps.

Life7 strikes a nice balance with its free trial. You can explore the features before committing. Many apps follow this model now. Take advantage of trials to find your perfect fit before paying.