Below is a collection of the best meditation apps during 2020. There are thousands of apps now; some focussed on mindfulness, some with excellent guided meditations, a few with soothing melodies and nature, atmospheric sounds, while others with mantra, zen music, etc. While selecting the top ten best meditation apps, we have carefully considered the overall reviews, ratings, feedback from actual users, and monthly charges.
Meditation is considered a spiritual practice that helps create peace of mind, inner balance, and a calm state of mind. It is ancient traction with proven benefits in focus, concentration, and stress relief. The practice is popular worldwide, cutting across nations, religions, languages, and cultures. Religion has got very little to do with meditation, and most people find it useful, given our busy schedule and hectic lifestyle.
We hope you will benefit from this review of the Best Meditation Apps for 2020 and also share your views.
1. Headspace
Entry Price: Free for 2 weeks
Headspace is one of the best meditation apps. It is ideal for beginners or anyone suffering from stress, anxiety, and insomnia. The app is also ideal for personal development, boosting happiness, resilience, and physical well-being.
The app has a collection of guided meditation sessions. The topics covered include how to begin meditation, reframing stress, sadness, anger, techniques of meditation, how to focus at work, and how to reach your goals by cultivating a perfomance mindset, among others.
Sessions are 3 to 20 minutes short to help you focus throughout the session. You can stipulate the length of your sessions depending on your schedule and the program you choose.
Some courses run for several days, meaning you can take a session each day. One-day sessions and multiple level sessions are also available. The sleepcasts feature story narrations, and you’ll be able to choose the ambiance or voice.
It also features Wind Downs and Nighttime SOS to prepare you for sleep and to calm you down after a nightmare. The app is also suitable for kids and as such qualifies top rank as one of the best meditation apps.
Paid option: $95 annually, $12.99/month, or $19.99/month (family plan)
2. Calm
Entry Price: Free
Calm emerged as the best app of the year in 2017, and it is worth noting that the app has more than 75 million downloads. It was designed to make you happier and healthier and came to market with a huge spend in advertsing. It is ideal for alleviating stress, anxiety, undesirable behavior, and sleep problems, among others.
When you first open the app, you will be welcomed by the soothing sounds of crickets, chirping birds, and river waves. Such sounds will undoubtedly ease you into a meditation mood.
Even if you do not have meditation experience, you can comfortably use the app at your most convenient time and place. The app is also ideal for advanced meditators.
The type of meditations featured includes walking meditations, body scans, sleep narrations, and masterclasses.
There’s also a motivation session known as Train You Mind given by Lebron James, who is a three-time world champion. The sessions last between 3 to 30 minutes depending on the program you choose.
The calm app also features a library of music, consisting of soundscapes, low melodies to help you focus, and acoustic mixes. Though the app is very popular, quite a few users find the commercial approach disturbing. Calm also qualifies as one of the best meditation apps given the sheer volume of download.
Paid Option: 7-day trial, $14.99/month or $69.99 annually, and Calm for Life plan for $399.99 billed once.
3. Buddhify
Entry Price: $4.99 for iOS users and $2.99 for Android users.
The goal of Buddhify is to cultivate clarity, calmness and kindness into your life with the help of ancient meditation practices. One compelling feature of Buddhify is the wheel, which consists of a number of categories.
Each category or color represents a certain type of guided meditation. For instance, when you click on the travelling category, you will gain access to a wide collection of travel-based meditations.
The wheels also give you access to meditation for kids, difficult times, working hard, and sleep-related topics. You will also have an opportunity to create a personalized wheel based on your interests.
The guided meditation sessions are facilitated by experienced teachers in calm and soothing voices. The types of meditation featured on Buddhify app include body scanning, walking meditation, deep breathing, as well as breath awareness.
Regardless of your level of expertise, you’ll be able to find a guide that meets your requirements. It also allows you to save your favorite guided meditations so you don’t look for them anytime you want to meditate. The app also features meditation sessions for kids. The guided section is what makes this app stand out as one of the best meditation apps.
Paid Option: $30 / per year
4. The Mindfulness App
Entry Price: Free
The mindfulness app features guided meditations for beginners and advanced meditators. It features a 5 day guided meditation course on how to be mindful. It also features timed meditations of between 3 to 30 minutes, which comprise of guided and silent meditation.
The app also allows you to create personalized sessions. You will be able to utilize a guided introduction, nature sounds, or bells based on your unique needs. The app also features reminders and alerts to help you practice mindfulness all through the day.
The mindfulness app also helps you keep track of the progress you’ve made in your weekly meditation practice. If you decide to get the premium subscription, you will get unlimited access to over 250 guided meditations and courses from renowned teachers.
You will also have access to a wide collection of themes related to alleviating stress, relationships, sleep, focus, emotions, children, and adolescents, among others. The mindfulness app also allows you to listen to your favorite guided meditations offline.
You will also have access to new content on a regular basis. You can opt to try out the premium content for a period of one week. The mindfulness app is one of the most user-friendly app and thus secures its place as one of the best meditation app.
Paid Option: $60 annually
5. Insight Timer
Entry Price: Free
Insight Timer app is ideal for beginners and advanced meditators. You’ll have access to over 75,000 guided meditations. The guided meditations can calm your mind and boost your happiness by helping you deal with a range of issues including stress, sleep problems, anxiety, and relationships.
The meditation sessions are led by over 9000 meditation experts. You’ll be able to follow your favorite teacher to avoid missing new content. Some of the renowned teachers include Tara Barch, Jack Kornfield, Davidji, Sara McLean, Diana Winston, and Sharon Salzberg.
The app also offers relaxing music from renowned experts, and one of the best meditation timers. It also features over 2000 therapeutic talks from the renowned Anthony DeMello and Indian yogi Sadhguru.
The home screen will make you feel a strong sense of belonging and community because it lets you know how many people are meditating. Insight Timer team prides itself on being able to attract over 5 million meditators which makes it a top contender for best meditation app in 2020.
After your session is over, you will get to know how many people were meditating with you. If you set your location, you will be able to know how many meditators are from your area, and their best content.
Insight Timer has the option of silent meditation, which means you can meditate to the sound of calming bells.
Paid Option: $9.99/month, $59.99/year, or $4.99
6. Zen Lounge
Entry Price: Free
During these Corona virus times, Zen Lounge is one the apps that is helping people deal with the effects of the pandemic. Just recently, Zen Lounge released an iOS version to help people cope with the stress and anxiety of quarantine, lock down and physical distancing.
The team at Zen Lounge has developed the app based on the teachings of Zen masters, Zen monks and Yoga teachers. The team is well aware that listening to music can boost happiness.
The app features handpicked relaxing music geared towards helping you sleep better, calm your mind, acquire inner peace, and meditate. The app features a combination of seven nature sounds and an array of 10 different moods to help you achieve a state of mindfulness.
The nature sounds include sea waves, river sounds, chirping birds, and temple bells, among others. You will be able to blend the music and sounds based on your unique needs. Not only does the app help you keep track of your progress, but it also rewards you with Zen Levels.
You will be able to track your progress on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, and share your stats with significant others. Zen Lounge is one of the simplest app which can be used by almost anyone. And this makes it as one of the best meditation app.
Paid Option: $1.99 one-time
7. Breethe
Entry Price: 14 day trial
The goal of Breethe app is to help you manage grief, stress, sleep difficulties, anxiety, weight problems, and addictions. It can also help you cultivate better relationships, inner peace, mental clarity, and happiness.
The app is suitable for newbies and experienced meditators. It teaches you how to carve out time for meditation, how to get rid of negative thought patterns, and how to tell whether your meditation sessions are helping you.
Meditation sessions are conducted by experienced teachers. You will have an opportunity to interact with psychologists, hypnotherapists, spiritual healers, best selling authors, as well as yoga and meditation teachers. Teacher profiles are available to help you figure out the best teacher.
Your teacher will teach you how to breathe and tune into your body and emotions. The key meditation techniques will include breathing exercises, guided meditation, music therapy, and music meditation .
The team at Breethe updates content every week, meaning you will be able to find a suitable video session on your topic of choice. If you want to incorporate meditation in your daily routine, you will love the daily breethe, which features short daily meditations. The refreshing content of Breethe makes it unique and helps secure a position as one of the best meditation apps.
Paid Option: $12/ per month
8. Simple Habit
Entry Price: Free
Simple habit has become extremely popular since its appearance on Shark Tank. The app features simple meditation sessions with the aim of helping you incorporate meditation in your daily routine.
The main focus of the app is to help you develop a recurring and long-term meditation habit. It helps you maintain your habit by helping you keep track of your progress, holding you accountable, and rewarding you with badges.
The pinwheel enables you to practice meditation based on your unique needs, and it even allows you to choose the time you want to meditate. One of the best features of Simple Habit is the On-the-Go feature.
It allows you to practice meditation during your commute, before bed, or during your short break at work. In essence, it is suitable for busy people who want to carve out time to meditate any time and any place.
The app also features a unique playlist for managing burnout, which covers topics like staying calm with a busy schedule and relieving morning anxiety. You will have access to over 1000 guided meditations and over 60 teachers.
Paid Option: $11.99/month or $89.99/year, or $299.99 for lifetime access.
9. Let’s Meditate
Entry Price: Free
The Let’s Meditate app is easy to navigate, which makes it ideal for beginners and advanced meditators. If you are a beginner, you can comfortably practice the meditation sessions without worrying whether you are doing it right.
The app has an array of features to help you learn the basics of meditation and improve your meditation skills. It teaches you how to pay attention to your thoughts and body.
The guided meditations are designed to alleviate stress, anxiety, sleep problems, and promote overall healing. Some of the featured guided meditations include a beginner’s guide, A Covid-19 meditation, and the art of gratitude.
You will also have access to meditations aimed at helping you sleep better, overcome depression, forgive, and cultivate self-love. Besides guided meditations, you will also be able to meditate and calm your mind with relaxing ocean sounds.
With regard to length of sessions, Let’s meditate app has short, long and in between sessions. The duration of the sessions is between 5 minutes to half an hour. The shorter meditations are suitable for anyone who wants to carve out time for meditation in their busy schedule.
You will undoubtedly love the Habify meditation reminder, particularly if you are a forgetful person. Habify sends you a reminder to meditate at a time of your choosing. As per reviews, simple habit really helps in building a habit of meditation and this helps the app earn a seat among the best meditation apps.
In-app Products: $0.99 – $25.00 per item
10. 10% Happier
Available for iOS and Android
Entry price: Free for first 7 days
The 10% Happier app was developed by Dan Harris an ABC news anchor. Dan Harris once had a panic attack on air, and it’s that unforseen ordeal that motivated him to practice meditation. It is also our 10th choice in the list of best meditation apps.
The ten percent happier app features a science-based approach to meditation. Dan Harris developed the app for “fidgety skeptics.” This app is ideal for anyone who feels like meditation is not for them.
The app features guided meditation videos, inspirational talks and sleep content. The goal of the content is to help you improve your meditation skills and be more consistent.
The app offers over 600 guided meditations that will not only alleviate your stress and anxiety, but also help you sleep better. Dan Harris also promises that the app can strengthen your relationships, motivate you towards your goals, and increase your happiness by 10%.
You will have access to a one-week mindfulness training. Every day, you’ll be able to enjoy a one-on-one conversation between Harris and Goldstein, and a meditation session from Goldstein.
Harris uses his journalistic skills to answer your most pertinent questions on how to meditate, whether you’re meditating the right way, etcetera. He also features people like Dalai Lama, Richard Davidson, Arianna Huffington, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. The rich content qualifies the app as one of the best meditation apps available.
Paid option: $9.99/month or $99.99/year
We hope you can now decide which is the best meditation app for you. We have listed the main details and advantages of each app, as we have seen during the review. However, the app is updated frequently, and there may be some variation from the description here. Please do read the description in app store or Google Play before you subscribe or download the app.
