I established a meditation habit at some point in 2018 and used Headspace at first but cancelled because it is too expensive for me. Then I went with Calm and really liked it. I not only used the meditation content but also soundscapes and sleep stories etc. However, after my first paid year, I didn‘t renew the subscription. Unfortunately, This also affected my meditation habit which came to a halt.
Now I want to start again and ponder if I should renew my Calm subscription. I also found out about the Waking Up app which has a nice group feature but also costs twice as much as Calm.
What are your experiences? What is your favorite app and what are you willing to pay for thoughtful meditation content? Do you know of any free alternatives or interesting youtube channels?
Let me say right up front that I don’t meditate and have no desire to start but I have no issue with anyone who does. I wanted to state that clearly so that my next comments are taken in proper context.
Why does anyone need to spend money for an app to meditate? Monks and others have meditated for centuries without an app. Why can’t one just learn to meditate without involving tech and more expense? I would assume that with a little effort and thought, reading a few good books on the issue and consistent practice would suffice. My questions are honest ones, not rhetorical. Somehow, to this non-meditator, dependence on an app and an iPhone to meditate seems ironic somehow. Again, my comments are not in anyway critical, just my initial thoughts.
I would say monks have meditated for centuries without apps, but WITH other monks/teachers showing them how to do it, helping to lead them along that journey. That is what the app does.
I use Headspace and absolutely love it. Having a guided meditation is really freeing. But don’t be mistaken, I use the things I learn through the app when I meditate and can’t have my phone with me to do so. So it’s not all or nothing.
These are some very valid questions and thoughts! My answer is the following: I am willing to pay money for something if it offers value to me I cannot get otherwise (or if the alternative is too time-consuming, hard etc.). That‘s why I pay a monthly fee for the gym. Could I do a nice workout in the park right next to my flat? Of course. Do I want to do it there, even when it is dark, raining, snowing or the sun is burning? No. Therefore I pay.
Same thing with meditation. I know how to look things up on the internet, how to find a channel on YouTube etc. And I am pretty sure that all the knowledge about meditation etc. is out there for free. But I like it very much to just open an app, choose a meditation and listen to it. Or to listen to a nice sleep story when I try to find sleep. I am willing to pay money for the ease of access and curation.
I was about to post the same question, with a little different background. I only started in summer 2019 and was using the Aware Meditation App, for which I have a (free) lifetime Premium account. Today that App got an update saying that they will discontinue this App and work on another instead. That App requires a new account with 2FA via SMS enabled, but I don’t want to give them my phone number. In fact, I could not, even if I wanted to, since only a few countries are supported in the input dialog and mine is not.
I fell of the bandwagon late spring / early winter 2019 and want to re-enforce this habit in 2020, but I’m not ready for an expensive subscription (yet?). I first want to see whether I can make it a (valuable) habit again. A reasonable single In-App purchase would be acceptable at this time though.
I understand that completely! One unrelated and unsolicited thought for you regarding the gym membership. I bought a good treadmill for when it is rainy, cold, dark etc. Most days I run outside but when the conditions are bad I use the treadmill. This saves me both time and money–it is much faster to change and run at home than going to the gym, cheaper too. Of course, this requires enough room in the house for the treadmill. I don’t like the cheap treadmills sold in stores so I got a good used gym quality treadmill. They are much more durable. Just a thought for what it is worth. Saving money on the gym membership would provide money for the meditation app. Ha!
This would indeed be a good idea but I‘m more on the weightlifting side of the gym continuum. And buying barbells for home is not very practical at all (and quite expensive, too), so you‘re stuck with bodyweight exercises. And I do them from time to time but usually I prefer to do my routine with weights and machines. So I guess I have to save the money somewhere else.
My bad, I should have considered weightlifting, swimming, etc. Running is my primary exercise so a treadmill is easy. I agree, dumbbells are expensive and hard to deal with at home.
Just in case it’s of interest: Calm can get expensive, but last year when I checked the in-app subscription options in iOS rather than going online, I found a year’s premium membership for $19.99.
It’s all very puzzling, because there are lots of options under in-app purchases, at different prices. But last year’s $19.99 seems to have gotten me access to everything, and this year’s renewal at that rate seems to have worked.
Late to the party, but here’s another vote for Insight Timer. I’ve been using it for years and years, and I like it. I never paid for the subscription and still find it to be valuable. If you want guided meditations, there’s loads that are free, and if you simply want a timer to help you track your progress, it’s pretty nice. Recommended.
I just had to check this and what can I say… I am flabbergasted! I went to the subscriptions section of the Appstore app, opened the entry for Calm and was presented with 15ish different options, some for a month, some for the whole year. The cheapest annual subscription would be 32,99€ the most expensive 105€ (!!).
I (obviously) chose the cheapest option and now have a subscription for Calm for the whole upcoming year for 33€. In the app directly I would‘ve gotten it for 36€ and some days ago they sent me an „offer“ for around 50$ for the year („25% off“ lmao).
What is happening here? Shouldn‘t they offer one price for everyone? And why am I able to choose the cheapest option from within the subscription section in the appstore app?
Usually in December and January Calm offer discounts; last January Calm offered a year for US $44.99 (25% off), and a month ago they offered lifetime memberships for $159.99 (60% off).
Also FYI: educators around the world are (or at least used to be( eligible for a free lifetime Calm account to use personally or in the classroom.
Hi there, I’m a trained mindfulness teacher for the 8 week courses (MBSR/MBCT) in the UK and I’d say that in starting out it’s very hard to ‘learn’ meditation without either a teacher, class or an app for most people. Although it is very simple in some ways, it’s also very tricky and it can be super challenging to explore the mind without some structure and support. Some people are ‘naturally mindful’ and find it easy (I’m definitely not one of them!) so we all take our different paths and some guidance and support is useful for most people. The mind is a hard taskmaster and remembering the qualities of compassion, ease, non-striving and acceptance can be pretty tough, especially if you’re a very driven person ordinarily. I’ve done all kinds of training and had a mindfulness practice for years, like some others here, but I still use the apps at times too - especially when times are tough.
The 8 week secular courses (which are the most well-evidenced in terms of research) are a more intensive thing and mostly taught in person. For a really excellent ‘mini version’ of an 8 week course the book ‘Mindfulness Finding Peace in a Frantic World’ is what I’d recommend. We use it in the NHS here in the UK and it is showing some good outcomes for self-help. It takes you through a programme with some ‘book learning’ aswell as the mindfulness and meditation practices in a CD/MP3 download that accompanies the book. It’s very readable and entirely secular with lots of info from cognitive psychology.
For Apps my vote is also for Insight Timer - it’s been around years and has a massive online community who practice all kinds of meditation, yoga etc. It only recently got monetised but has a massive amount of free content from great teachers like Tara Brach, Bangor University Teachers, Vidyamala Burch, Jack Kornfield, Bodhipaska, Sharon Salzberg etc. Some are secular teachers, some are from buddhist perspective. You can listen to guided practices or just use the timer. It also has capacity to form little groups so you can chat with friends who are also using the app. Peer support is one of the best ways to keep yourself going. I like the way you can switch on a setting and see how many people have been meditating at the same times as you around the world, and even connect with people if you’d like to. I don’t have the subscription as there’s so much free content on there, but as far as I know it’s backed by people who really understand meditation, and similar practices, so it feels less commercial than many of the apps to me. It used to be very clunky to be honest but these days it’s pretty slick. The only problem is similar to most of the apps- too much choice!
It’s great to see this thread and the sharing of resources- thank you for starting the discussion
And buying barbells for home is not very practical at all (and quite expensive, too), so you‘re stuck with bodyweight exercises. And I do them from time to time but usually I prefer to do my routine with weights and machines. So I guess I have to save the money somewhere else. 
Running is my primary exercise so a treadmill is easy. I agree, dumbbells are expensive and hard to deal with at home.
