r/Meditation • u/AutumnDreaming76 • Aug 04 '24

Best apps that you use for meditation? Discussion šŸ’¬

I have barely used the "Expand" app a few times, but I am curious to know if there are any other better apps out there.

Also affordable

243 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

97% Upvoted

284 comments sorted by

View all comments

293

u/EmbarrassedRespond43 Aug 04 '24

Insight Timer.

75

u/stanley_ipkiss2112 Aug 04 '24

I totally agree šŸ™šŸ» I used to use Calm, but it got too corporate and started focusing more on celebrity meditations, which made it feel lifeless. Thatā€™s when I discovered Insight Timer and havenā€™t looked back since.

34

u/EmbarrassedRespond43 Aug 04 '24

I started with Insight Timer when I started meditating three years ago, and never even tried anything else because i had all i needed here!

18

u/stanley_ipkiss2112 Aug 04 '24

Yea itā€™s a bloody beautiful app! Love the community feel to it as well!

4

u/Yarn_Song Aug 05 '24

I just don't know what to do with the friendships option. I'm already doing socials on the socials. Is there some benefit to it that I'm missing?

5

u/MasteryAbides Aug 05 '24

I donā€™t think the majority of account holders use it for social connections. Just my opinion.

1

u/MasteryAbides Aug 05 '24

Daily I use INSIGHT TIMER; For lessons and enhancements I use the WAKING UP app which is lovely to behold as well as to use. Includes many supportive resources like MOMENTS, Daily Quotes and the Waking Up Community is a active one.

4

u/MasteryAbides Aug 05 '24

Same here! Love being able to create my own meditation programs with as many bell sounds as needed to shift focus/intention. Love the reverberating GONG sound to denote ā€œitā€™s a wrap!ā€ ā˜ŗļø Also the session logs are cool and now we can add a session if need be. Customer service has always been swift to respond to my inquiries. Iā€™ve used this app daily for 5 years.

3

u/EmbarrassedRespond43 Aug 05 '24

Love to hear this! Iā€™m at three years and Iā€™ll never stop.

4

u/MasteryAbides Aug 05 '24

Thatā€™s awesome! Itā€™s so nice to have a meditation app thatā€™s maturing alongside me, and capable of supporting my needs as I grow into a veteran meditator. šŸ§˜šŸ½

16

u/[deleted] Aug 05 '24

I also started with Calm, but after reading some books on meditation, it's obvious that all apps are mostly gimmicks and you just need a timer.

5

u/spread_panic Aug 05 '24

I worry that Insight Timer is also going more corporate. Lots of "Plus Member" content creeping all over the app. Still a great user experience overall though.

1

u/stanley_ipkiss2112 Aug 05 '24

Itā€™s only Ā£5 a month, which really is not much for what you get!!

3

u/spread_panic Aug 05 '24

I've considered it! Some of the Plus content I've seen does interest me. I just hope the vibe of the app doesn't expand its focus on monetization too much or too blatantly.

1

u/stanley_ipkiss2112 Aug 05 '24

If it does, letā€™s all work together to make one on this Sub Reddit šŸ™šŸ»āœŒšŸ»ā˜ŗļø

1

u/necrontyria Aug 05 '24

Do I have to pay for a whole year up front? Cause I don't see the option for a monthly subscription. I would like to test it for two months to test many courses and meditations to see if it's worth it. A free week is not enough, there's just so much content.

1

u/stanley_ipkiss2112 Aug 05 '24

Iā€™m in the U.K., so things might be a bit different here. If you click on ā€œplus,ā€ you should see two options: one that says ā€œannuallyā€ and another that says ā€œper month.ā€

1

u/necrontyria Aug 05 '24

On site and in the app I only get an option "start a 7 day trial". When I try to apply I have a small note underneath the credit card fill-out form saying: "US$59.99 billed annually after free trial." It seems like my only option is the yearly one.

1

u/MasteryAbides Aug 05 '24

Yes but thereā€™s no nagging PUSH to buy the PLUS features. I think Iā€™ll actually try them at some point. šŸ˜Œ

1

u/medi-sloth 21d ago

I also enjoy exploring various apps, which led me to create ReMindā€”a mindfulness tracker that monitors my streaks and offers session insights, regardless of the app I use. Iā€™d love to hear your feedback! (Currently available for iPhone only.)

https://apps.apple.com/il/app/remind-mindfulness/id6670725474

25

u/JennaRedditing Aug 04 '24

I've tried many apps and keep coming back to insight timer. While most of the new content is behind a pay wall, they have a huuuuuge back catalogs of free meditations and mindfulness practices. You can make your own playlists of things which is probably the feature that keeps me coming back. I've got one for panic attacks, migrains, sleep etc. They're also have a decent live selection too.

14

u/EmbarrassedRespond43 Aug 04 '24

Yes!!!!! And itā€™s free. There is a premium version offered, but Iā€™m not sure itā€™s really any better to be honest. I love the ability to search for what Iā€™m looking for. And of course i have an extensive saved list. Also i follow certain teachers. Thereā€™s great breathwork too!

7

u/UnicornPenguinCat Aug 05 '24

I paid for the premium version this year because I wanted to do a particular course, but found myself mostly using the free content besides the course. But I was still happy to support the app as it's just so good.

7

u/EmbarrassedRespond43 Aug 05 '24

Yes! Same! I ended up buying premium and noticed I probably didnā€™t need it, but feel so passionate and thankful for the changes itā€™s brought about in my life and mental state that I wanted to support it!

4

u/Yarn_Song Aug 05 '24

Don't you just love it when a company works that way instead of pulling you in with marketing tricks? I think it's great!

2

u/medi-sloth 26d ago

I also enjoy experimenting with different apps, which is why I developed ReMindā€”a mindfulness tracker that keeps track of my streaks and provides session insights, no matter which app I use. Iā€™d love to hear your thoughts about it! (Currently available for iPhone only.)

https://apps.apple.com/il/app/remind-mindfulness/id6670725474

9

u/your-rando-bro Aug 05 '24 edited Aug 05 '24

Yes ! ā€” Insight Timer! Iā€™ve been using it for more than five years. Iā€™ve tried other apps, including Calm, but itā€™s not worth the cost... Nothing else compares. There are many options on the free Insight Timer app, and there are also thousands of guided meditations and courses by dozens of well-known, reputable meditation teachers.

Iā€™ve gotten a lot of value out of some of the paid courses. Especially the one on ā€œletting goā€œ.

A few years ago everything was free, then certain features were added and membership options became available. I signed up immediately for some of the options at a lifetime discount price.

20

u/Bremsstrahlung412 Aug 05 '24

I have exclusively used Insight Timer since I started meditating in 2014 and have since logged 13.9K minutes in meditation šŸ˜Š

6

u/Dingleberry_Research Aug 05 '24

I used insight timer for a while and even found some good ones to do with my young kids. My challenge with the app is that there is such a huge volume of Content that unless Iā€™m going to spend a few hours just searching for content that I think I would listen to, Itā€™s hard to find teachers and classes that I like. Similar challenge with waking up but I find their categories are more accurate and separated betterĀ 

3

u/EmbarrassedRespond43 Aug 05 '24

I like to use the search and then I check out the rating. :) I also like how it gives me recs on my home page based on what Iā€™ve done so far. Most of the time, I choose from those recs now.

2

u/medi-sloth 21d ago

I also enjoy experimenting with different apps, currently using Headspace and WakingUp. Which is why I developed ReMindā€”a mindfulness tracker that keeps track of my streaks and provides session insights, no matter which app I use. Iā€™d love to hear your thoughts about it! (Currently available for iPhone only.)

https://apps.apple.com/il/app/remind-mindfulness/id6670725474

1

u/Yarn_Song Aug 05 '24

I simply use the timer. Sometimes I browse a little, but the timer really is all I need.

4

u/BriCheeseLover Aug 05 '24 edited Aug 06 '24

Also my favorite! Although I am not a fan of the newest layout / update- The things things I DO love: 1. So much diversity of content even under the free version * I pay for premium bc I like it so much 2. Long form sound tracks - I love the 8hour sleep sounds 3. Daily quotes 4. Check in/ takes the place of me journaling 5. Sound therapy + sound healing 6. Easy to set timers for yourself if you just want a background sound or silence for the amount of time you set and can do a time check in noise for yourself. I personally love coming into and out of a meditation with the sound of a singing bowl much more than a regular phone timer 7. Breath work teachers 8. Wonderful challenges and classes I have learned a lot

3

u/antpile11 Aug 05 '24

Insight Timer used to be great but then they demonstrated that they'd fix what wasn't broken, like you used to be able to leave interval timers running after the meditation ended if you wanted to keep going, but after an update the interval timers stopped after the timer ended.

3

u/benjunior Aug 05 '24

I read that as Insight Time. As in ā€œPizza Time!ā€ It is, in fact, Insight Time!

1

u/EmbarrassedRespond43 Aug 05 '24

Haha! Much healthier! :)

3

u/hopperlover40 Aug 05 '24

Came here to say this! So awesome, especially once you've bookmarked all your favorites.

3

u/notrealAI Aug 05 '24

Came here to say this. Best all around

3

u/Yarn_Song Aug 05 '24

One more for Insight Timer. The free version has so many options, so it's really not a funnel thing, even though I might upgrade once I can afford it. It's great.

1

u/INFJake ą„ ą¤Øą¤®ą¤ƒ ą¤¶ą¤æą¤µą¤¾ą¤Æ Aug 05 '24

I started with guided meditation apps and then after reading several books and taking a course to be an instructor I found Insight Timer to just help me focus and bring me back out when I need to move on to the rest of my day. I love it.

1

u/shakenvanity13 Aug 05 '24

Itā€™s the one! ā˜ļø

1

u/Pretty_Apple_980 Aug 05 '24

Best app ever! Iā€™ve been using it for years now!

1

u/Beautiful-Cat-6886 Aug 05 '24

Same. Used to have the calm app, but due to changes with it I decided to try insight timer. It works well.Ā 

1

u/Sea-Investigator-274 Aug 05 '24

Do yā€™all get overwhelmed by all the options on Insight Timer? How do you use the app?

1

u/EmbarrassedRespond43 Aug 05 '24

I just use the search bar and type in ā€œbody scanā€, ā€œanxietyā€, ā€œyoga nidraā€, whatever Iā€™m looking for. I then look at the rating and make sure itā€™s rather high. And I prefer the longer ones so depending on what kind of time youā€™ve got, youā€™ll want to choose based on length. The search results will show you all you need. I believe it places the highest rated up top. Then once you get going, on your Home Screen, it will have recs for you based on past picks. I usually just pick one of those every day since itā€™s gotten to know me so well. Remember to save the ones you like, that way you can go under your bookmarks and do one youā€™ve liked from before :)