Best Meditation Apps to Help You Build a Daily Practice (Without the Pressure)

You’ve downloaded a few free meditation apps already, but somehow still can’t make meditation stick as a simple daily habit.

Maybe you get bored with the same guided voice every day, or the sessions feel too long when you’re already rushing through your morning routine. 

The truth is that meditation doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming to be effective. The best apps for meditation can turn it into one of those life-changing habits that feel less like a chore and more like the highlight of your day.

Meditation Apps for Beginners

Starting a meditation practice can feel intimidating if you don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing or whether you’re doing it right. The most popular meditation apps for beginners remove those fears by giving you clear guidance and encouragement that makes meditation feel like second nature. 

Best for Beginners: Headspace

Headspace nails the beginner experience with its friendly, approachable design and structured learning paths that take you from complete novice to confident meditator. The app breaks down the basics of meditation into bite-sized lessons with clear explanations of what you’re doing and why, making it feel less mysterious and more like learning any other skill.

The results speak for themselves when it comes to building a sustainable practice with Headspace. A study found that using Headspace for just two weeks led to increases in acceptance and attention, according to Mindfulness. That’s pretty impressive for something you can do in just 10 minutes a day while sitting on your couch.

Mental Clarity and Relaxation

The right meditation app can help you feel more clear-headed and relaxed throughout the day. Research shows that mindfulness-based stress reduction has a comparable effect to anxiety medication Lexapro, according to JAMA Psychiatry. That means the right app could provide relief from stress and anxiety without the side effects of medication.

Best for Emotional Balance: Meditopia

Meditopia stands out for its approach that targets specific emotions, with daily meditations tailored to difficult emotions, negative emotions, stress, or whatever you’re feeling. Instead of just doing a generic relaxation session, you can follow along with meditation sessions designed specifically for your current emotional state.

This works extremely well for people who want to use meditation to address specific challenges and support their emotional health. If you’re dealing with overwhelming emotions, then having a meditation that directly addresses anger management or anxiety relief feels more supportive than trying to force yourself through a basic breathing exercise that isn’t quite what you need.

Best for Daily Stress Management and Focus: Mindspa

Mindspa excels at helping you incorporate meditation into your daily routine, which makes it ideal for both personal use and corporate meditation initiatives. Rather than treating meditation as a separate activity you need to find time for, this app helps you integrate mindful moments into your existing schedule, making it easier to stay consistent without feeling like you’re adding another task to your to-do list.

Meditation Apps for Better Sleep

If you’re tired of tossing and turning every night, then sleep-focused meditation apps could be the knight in shining armor you were hoping for. Meditation helps people get deeper sleep, even if they don’t have existing sleep problems, according to WebMD. So, you can turn to any of these apps if you’re looking for restful sleep.

Best for Winding Down at Night: BetterSleep

BetterSleep creates the perfect bedtime routine with its combination of sleep meditations and soothing stories that can put you to sleep in no time. The app recognizes that everyone’s sleep needs are different, so you can layer ambient sounds like meditation music and nature sounds to find the perfect meditation track to soothe you.

What makes BetterSleep especially effective is its focus on the entire bedtime routine rather than just the moment you hit the pillow. The app has bedtime stories for adults with enough mental stimulation to distract from daily stresses, without being exciting enough to keep you awake. The sleep meditations are designed to make you drowsy rather than alert, with slower pacing to progressively relax your body and mind.

Best for Guided Relaxation and Deep Sleep: Calm 

Calm has earned its reputation as a sleep juggernaut with its massive library of stories narrated by soothing voices, plus hundreds of meditations that target sleep. The app’s strongest selling point is its variety, as you can choose from celebrity-narrated stories and traditional meditation sessions to find your daily calm depending on what you're feeling.

The guided relaxation sessions in Calm are perfect for people whose minds tend to race at bedtime. These sessions combine deep breathing techniques and visualization exercises to give your brain something calming to focus on instead of tomorrow’s problems.

Best for Improving Sleep Quality and Tracking Sleep Cycles: Shuteye

Shuteye combines the best of both worlds by offering guided sleep meditations along with sleep-tracking features that help you understand your sleep patterns. This lets you see how different meditation techniques affect your sleep quality and how often you wake up during the night. 

This combination is especially valuable for people who want to take a more scientific approach to improving their sleep than just hoping meditation will help. You can experiment with different meditation styles and see which ones lead to better sleep based on real data.

Apps for Holistic Wellbeing

Sometimes you want meditation to complement other wellness practices. Holistic wellness apps recognize that mental wellbeing and physical health are interconnected, so meditation works alongside movement and nutrition. 

Best for Versatility: Apple Fitness+

Apple Fitness+ is the best at integrating mindfulness practices with movement. If you’re already using the platform for workouts, then its meditation features feel like a natural extension of your workout plan rather than a separate commitment.

A study found that the mental wellness of more than three-quarters of participants benefited the most from combining physical activity with mindfulness rather than doing just one, according to Mental Health and Physical Activity. This makes Apple Fitness+ especially valuable for people who want to maximize the mental benefits of their existing routine. 

Best for Holistic Mental Wellbeing: ZenApp

ZenApp takes a comprehensive approach to mental wellness by giving you meditation techniques, along with breathing exercises and practical mental wellbeing tips that help you on your mindfulness journey. Rather than treating meditation as an isolated practice, the app shows you how to integrate mindfulness exercises into your life for better overall wellness in your everyday life.

Choosing the Right App for Your Needs

The best meditation apps for you are those that match your specific goals and lifestyle. Some experienced meditators thrive with highly structured meditation programs that guide them through weeks of progressive lessons, while others prefer the flexibility to choose different meditations based on their needs. Try these tips to find the right meditation app for you:

• Start with your main goal: Choose apps based on what you most want meditation to help with, like better sleep or reduced anxiety. Don’t try to find one app that does everything perfectly.
   
• Consider guided and silent practices: Guided meditations work just as well as silent ones for most people and can be much easier for beginners. Silent apps come with meditation timers to gently bring you back once you're done.
   
• Look for features that help you build a daily meditation practice: The best apps make it easier to start and maintain meditation practices with progress tracking and notifications.
   
• Check for offline accessibility: Apps that let you download content for offline use are more likely to stick, as you can meditate anywhere without worrying about the Wi-Fi password.

Daily Meditation Can Be Simple with the Right Support

Building a sustainable meditation practice is much easier with the right support. Whether you need help winding down for sleep or focusing at work, these apps for meditation can help you find the practice you need to thrive on your meditation journey.

Try a few different apps until you find the one that matches your lifestyle and preferences. With the right tools and guidance, even just a few minutes of daily practice can give you the top benefits of meditation.

You might already have Wellhub through your employee benefits, which includes access to partner apps to help you meditate. Check if you’re eligible and start using apps like Headspace and Meditopia at no extra charge. If you’re not eligible, you can still start a petition to bring Wellhub to your work.

References:

• Gavrilova, L., & Zawadzki, M. J. (2023). Examining How Headspace Impacts Mindfulness Mechanisms Over an 8-Week App-Based Mindfulness Intervention. Mindfulness, 14(9), 2236–2249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02214-4
• Hoge, E. A., Bui, E., Mete, M., Dutton, M. A., Baker, A. W., & Simon, N. M. (2022). Mindfulness-Based stress reduction vs escitalopram for the treatment of adults with anxiety disorders: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 80(1), 13–21. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.3679
• Remskar, M., Western, M., Osborne, E. L., Maynard, O., & Ainsworth, B. (2024). Effects of combining physical activity with mindfulness on mental health and wellbeing: Systematic review of complex interventions. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 26(100575), 100575–100575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2023.100575
• Segal, D. (2021, November 5). What to Know About Meditation to Help You Sleep Better. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/what-to-know-about-meditation-to-help-you-sleep-better