Mindfulness apps compared: features, costs and what to expect

If you're looking for solutions to regain some inner peace, there are plenty of meditation apps available that can help with building mindfulness sessions into your daily life.

So many, in fact, that trying to figure out which one to go for might well run counter to a quest for relaxation.

They've all got a few things in common, such as offering guided meditations and sleep assistance, plus help for beginners. Most have a free version and a subscription option too, though they vary in terms of what is offered at each level.

Prices vary between around £25 and £90 for an annual subscription. Beyond cost considerations, it's important that you find the app engaging and relatable. This could take some experimentation, but most apps offer a free trial period before you sign up.

We've rounded up the main meditation and calming apps with a guide to their features and prices to help you get started.

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What are the benefits of mindfulness and meditation?

Mindfulness is the practice of bringing yourself into the present moment, noticing any thoughts or feelings that arise, but not getting caught up in them. 

This is often achieved by meditation, which typically involves focusing on your breath and other physical sensations to help ground you.

Mental health charity Mind says: 'Studies show that practising mindfulness can help to manage depression, some anxiety problems and feelings of stress.'

The theory is that practising mindfulness through things such as meditation can help you notice the signs of stress and anxiety in day-to-day life, and help you disentangle yourself from those patterns of thought.

Research is ongoing into the efficacy of mindfulness and meditation apps, but regular practice is likely to be important in reaping any benefits, something an app can help you keep track of.

How to choose a mindfulness app

You'll generally get better value if you sign up for longer - a year vs monthly for example. For some brands, such as Calm, this is your only option. Students can get an impressive 85% off with Headspace.

Headspace and Calm are the biggest players in the market and are designed well to make starting out with meditation less intimidating. 

For those seeking variety, Insight Timer has the largest library of free meditations. Buddhify is the cheapest, as most of its content is available for a one-off fee rather than a subscription, but you have to pay up front before trying it out.

Find out more about each app below:

Headspace

Headspace is one of the most popular and longest-running meditation apps. It's very accessible for beginners, but there are also some advanced 'pro' courses and a range of mindfulness exercises to suit different needs and approaches.

The app has meditation sessions and multiple session courses dedicated to specific issues. These are organised into categories including anxiety, stress, productivity and sleep.

There's also a featured meditation each day and you can choose how long you want it to last.

It's got a slick and aesthetically pleasing interface, and is simple to use.

Key features

• Sleep assistance Contains sleepcasts (stories that are slightly different each time you listen), sleep radio, guided meditation for waking up in the night and soothing soundscapes such as 'ocean at dusk' or 'jungle canopy'.
• Mindful fitness It also has a 'move' section for mindful exercise sessions, including running and mobility, and stretching sessions.
• Animated videos Taking advantage of its distinctive illustration and design, Headspace also has short animated video meditations that you can watch.

How much is it?

A subscription, which gives you full access to the app, is £9.99 a month (with a one-week free trial) or £49.99 for a year (with a two-week free trial).

There is also a family plan available, which offers six accounts for £74.99 a year, and a student plan for a bargain £7.99 a year. 

You can access a 10-part Basics meditation course, three sessions of the featured daily meditation and a meditation for falling back to sleep for free.

Find out more on the Headspace site or app store.

Calm

Calm is another of the most popular meditation apps. It has an expansive library of guided meditations that you can filter by category, plus meditation courses that go for multiple days, sleep stories and soundscapes.

According to Calm, its most popular feature is 'The Daily Calm', a daily themed 10-minute meditation (available to subscribers). When you open the app, it greets you with a soothing rain soundscape, although you can turn this off or switch it for another sound if it doesn't bring you peace.

The app is easy to navigate, but with so much content it isn't quite as neatly organised as some of the other apps - although this is a minor aesthetic issue.

Key features

• Sleep assistance Calm has a library of more than 100 sleep stories, with a few famous narrators thrown into the mix, including Stephen Fry, Matthew McConaughey and David Walliams.
• Music library There is also a large library of music, ranging from ambient nature sounds to classical and contemporary music for sleep or concentration.
• Mood tracker This is a simple feature where you can log how you're feeling each day via a selection of 12 emojis and add a note.
• Guided stretches If sitting still is a challenge for your meditations, there's a section guiding you through meditation with movement and stretches.

How much is it?

You can get a free seven-day trial and have to pay for an annual subscription after that, which costs £39.99.

You can also pay £399.99 for lifetime access, you’d have to use the app for more than 10 years to start seeing savings from this option though. 

Find out more on the Calm site or app store.

Insight Timer

Insight Timer has an expansive range of free guided meditations, plus a solo meditation timer (from which it gets its name). When you open the app it tells you how many people are currently using the app to meditate, which is a nice touch.

The app organises its large breadth of content fairly intuitively so you can explore or find what you want, but it's not as attractively designed as some others.

The app's biggest 'selling' point is its expansive library. It has thousands of free guided meditations (but some courses are reserved for paid members). You can filter by desired benefit, length and type of practice, or just dive into the entire mammoth list.

There are also some beginner meditation kits to help you get started.

Key features

• Meditation timer Set how long you want to meditate for and the ambient sound you would like to hear. This isn't guided, so is probably one for more experienced meditators.
• Sleep support Insight Timer has sleep music, soundscapes and sleep stories.
• Music There is a large collection of tracks and playlists, which range from ambient to classical and other options that you might swerve if you're a newbie, such as Shamanic drumming.
• Courses A paid-for subscription gives access to hundreds of meditation courses. These are guided mindfulness coaching courses that range in length from about seven days to 30 days, on topics from building confidence to overcoming worry about climate change.
• Exercise and journalling - the app includes yoga sessions and a space to note your thoughts and feelings.

How much is it?

Insight Timer boasts a huge library of free guided meditations, but you have to pay to fast-forward or rewind any of them in the app, or if you want to close the app mid-session and pick up where you left off when you return. 

This paid-for functionality also goes for the sleep tracks and the music library, where it's probably a little more annoying if you're on the free version.

Member Plus is £55.99 a year, and there's a seven-day free trial before you have to commit.

Find out more on the Insight Timer site or app store.

Simple Habit

Simple Habit bills itself as a 'five-minute meditation app for busy people'. When you first open it up, you can set a time for a daily reminder to meditate.

Like other meditation apps, you can search the library of guided meditation tracks through standard categories. There is a basics category for beginners, and when you sign up to the app it gives you a five-minute starter meditation right away.

Key features

• Mindful fitness For those who get fidgety when meditating, or just want to combine healthy practices, there are some movement-focused sessions, including for yoga and running.
• Sleep assistance Like the other apps, there's a whole section of sleep tracks with soundscapes, music, sleep meditations and bedtime stories.
• Music Simple Habit has a music library with tracks, playlist and music courses, which are a bit more involved, such as a 30-day mantra challenge.

How much is it?

It's free to download and there is a limited amount of free content - you have to pay to unlock the later sessions of some courses. 

A premium subscription gives you access to more meditation practices (more than 2,000). It costs £87.99 a year, and you can trial it first for seven days for free.

Find out more on the Simple Habit site or app store.

Buddhify

Buddhify aims for simplicity and to 'fit into busy lives'. When you open up the app there's a colour from which you choose your mood, and it gives you a guided meditation to suit.

The categories include things such as 'can't sleep', 'meditation 101' and specific emotions such as stress. There's also a beginner category.

Interestingly, there are some meditations that are designed to be done with others, such as a friend or partner.

Key Features:

• Customisable options You are able to edit what you see on the home screen colour wheel, so you can collect the types of meditation you're likely to want most often.
• Solo timer For more experienced meditators, there's a solo timer for unguided meditation.

How much is it?

Buddhify costs £4.99 to download, which will give you over 200 meditations and mindfulness exercises. 

Annual membership adds more content for £23.99. 

Find out more on the Buddhify site or app store.

Breethe

Breethe, like Calm, greets you with soothing ambient sound when you open the app. When you first use it, you can choose your top goals, such as 'deal with insomnia', 'deal with illness', 'learn to meditate' or simply 'relax'. These display on the home page of the app.

It's simply organised and easy to navigate - there's a tab named 'Day & Night', which lets you choose out of five categories for the situation you find yourself in - from starting your day, to commuting, focusing at work, taking a break or going to sleep. 

The entire library, on another tab, is categorised concisely into 'meditation' (which has a 'learn to meditate' option), 'sleep,' 'music & sounds' and 'well-being'.

Key features:

• Daily meditation Each day there's a 10-minute guided meditation called the 'Daily Breether', the name of which might slightly ruin your zen if you're a stickler for spelling.
• Sleep assistance Like other apps, there are bedtime stories, sleep playlists and specific sleep meditations to help you drift off.
• Music Breethe also has a music library of soundscapes, tracks and playlists, which are simply organised into genre and type of sound.

How much is it?

The app is free to download and you get access to some content across all the categories for free.

A paid-for subscription gives access to more content. You can sign up for a free 14-day trial, then subscriptions are £12.49 a month. Paying for an annual subscription is substantially cheaper, at £87.99 a year.

Find out more on the Breethe site or app store.

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