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Ten Percent Happier is a popular meditation app created by news anchor Dan Harris. It offers guided meditations and courses primarily for beginners looking to build a meditation habit. But there are other meditation apps that may be more cost-effective and still fit your wellness goals.
Read on to learn about the best mindfulness and meditation app alternatives, including their costs, unique features, and pros and cons to find the option that suits your needs.
1. Insight Timer
If you’re on the search for a free alternative to Ten Percent Happier, Insight Timer could be the right fit. Insight Timer boasts one of the highest retention rates when it comes to active users — with more time spent on the app than any of the other meditation apps combined.
The app features over 200,000 free meditation tracks with 80+ new ones added daily, making it the largest collection of meditation resources on the market. Additionally, using Insight Timer means gaining access to over 18,000 leading meditation experts (whether through guided sessions, advanced courses, or live events). Take advantage of the guided sessions for mindfulness, stress, and anxiety, or join one of Insight Timer’s 25,000+ groups.
Insight Timer’s goal is to share the beneficial impacts of meditation with as many people as possible worldwide, which is why almost all meditation content on the app is completely free!
Insight Timer features
Insight Timer offers a user-friendly layout, allowing you to choose guided meditations, meditation timers, breathwork sessions, playlists, and more as soon as you open the app. From the home page, you can:
- log your feelings and mood
- listen to curated meditations
- set a custom meditation timer
- revisit favorite meditations or bookmarks
- play healing soundscapes and frequencies
- read inspirational quotes
- participate in live events
- join meditation challenges
- perform breathing exercises
- complete a yoga session
Looking for a specific meditation? The search function makes it easy to find the right track, whether for sleep, stress, or concentration.
For even more support, join interest-based groups and communities to connect with like-minded individuals — something other apps like Ten Percent Happier don’t offer.
Insight Timer pros and cons
Pros include:
- 200+ topic pages with tracks, courses, and playlists based on interest
- customizable meditation timer with different settings and sounds
- 200,000+ free meditation tracks
- access to thousands of community groups
- almost all features are completely free
- meditation resources for meditators of all levels
- free, expert-led live events and workshops
Cons include:
- may feel overwhelmed by so many meditation and group options
- offline listening is a premium feature
Insight Timer cost
Almost all of Insight Timer’s content and features are available for free. This includes thousands of meditation tracks, workshops, courses, groups, and more.
There is a premium version available for $60 per year. This subscription offers additional features such as access to advanced courses, offline listening, and an enhanced audio player (with options like repeat mode, fast forward, and rewind).
Achieve greater mental health and well-being with Insight Timer’s 200,000+ meditations. Receive guidance from 18,000 of the world’s top meditation experts, immerse yourself in the Insight Timer community, or set custom meditation timers for even more flexibility. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced meditator, there are countless avenues to build or deepen your meditation practice.
Community reviews
See what Insight Timer users have to say about the app’s many benefits and features:
“This is an amazing app if you’re looking to get into or even out of your own head. There is so much free content I don’t feel like I need the subscription to get a good experience. I’m able to save my favorite meditations and coaches. I can join live yoga sessions and meditations and there is an extensive library of recordings to help get into a different headspace. It also tracks mood and usage over time. I’ve tried many apps to try to get this experience and this was the best so far!!”
Danielle Chapman
“I used the free version of this app for over a year. I finally purchased the premium in order to support the teachers as well as access courses. The app is easy to use, and as long as I remember to bookmark courses and meditations that I’m interested in, I can typically find them again. The search and filters are functional and allow me to look for meditations that resonate with me. I feel like user reviews and instructor comments are an extremely important part of this community.”
Dara Ross
2. Headspace
Headspace was started by Andy Puddicombe (a former Buddhist monk) and Rich Pierson to help people access the benefits of mindfulness and meditation. The app features guided meditations for relieving stress, managing anxiety, improving sleep, and enhancing focus. Aimed mostly at beginners, Headspace offers an approachable way to build a meditation habit with its animations and short sessions.
Users can either opt for Headspace’s suggested daily routine, which features morning, afternoon, and evening activities or use the Explore tab to find interest-based exercises.
Headspace features
Headspace divides its content into four main categories: meditate, sleep, move, and music. Features include:
- short meditation sessions
- animations and video content
- kid-friendly meditations
- “SOS” sessions for immediate stress relief
- suggested daily meditation routines
- sleepcasts (soundtracks) and guided sleep exercises
- yoga and cardio tutorials
Headspace pros and cons
Pros include:
- user-friendly layout
- downloadable meditations that work offline
- structured meditation programs (great for beginners)
- offers podcasts and tutorial videos
- free trial available before subscription
Cons include:
- requires a premium subscription
- no meditations longer than 30 minutes
- too simple for advanced meditators
- doesn’t offer community or group features
Headspace cost
Headspace has multiple subscription plans. The monthly plan costs $12.99, and the annual plan costs $69.99. They also offer a family plan that costs $19.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
3. Calm
The Calm app is known for its focus on sleep, featuring sleep-specific meditations, stories, and background music for adults and children. Calm also offers mindfulness courses, breathing exercises, and mood check-ins.
While Calm has many attractive features, the app’s lack of guidance makes it difficult to build a daily meditation routine. Instead, the app is better utilized as a way to explore mindfulness and meditation options.
Calm features
The Calm app has many features geared toward relaxation and sleep, including:
- guided bedtime meditations
- celebrity-narrated sleep stories
- meditation courses and programs
- breathing exercises
- yoga sessions
- soundscapes and background music
- sleep timers and progress tracking
Calm pros and cons
Pros include:
- variety of content like meditations, sleep stories, and music
- several free meditation courses
- free seven-day trial before the subscription
- kids’ content based on age categories
- 30-day meditation program to support beginners
- downloadable content for offline use
Cons include:
- lack of meditation topics outside of sleep
- most content requires a subscription
- doesn’t have community features
- free version frequently pushes users to upgrade
Calm cost
Calm offers a monthly plan for $14.99, an annual plan for $69.99, and a lifetime access plan for $399.99. Additionally, Calm offers an annual family plan for $99.99. New users can try all premium features for free with the seven-day trial.
Some free content is available on Calm but is very limited compared to other apps, like Insight Timer. So if you want to explore the app fully and with all of its features, signing up for a monthly, annual, or lifetime plan is best.
4. Buddhify
Buddhify is a meditation app for Android and iOS. It has over 200 guided meditations for different activities and moods presented on a colorful wheel. It also features content for kids, a timer for solo meditation, and customizable options. The app is $4.99 for Apple and $2.99 for Android, with a $30 yearly membership.
5. Gaia
Gaia is a mobile app for meditation, relaxation, and personal growth. It offers guided meditations, calming music, breathing exercises, and inspiring videos. Gaia’s sound healing options include binaural beats, isochronic tones, and Solfeggio frequencies. The app is available on smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs. While there is a free version available, you’ll need a premium membership to unlock all the features.
6. Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind is a free mindfulness app from Australia that started for kids and schools but now offers programs for adults. Available on Android and iOS, the app includes mindfulness meditations for sleep, stress, anxiety, and more. It’s easy to use, with a simple interface and progress tracking and reminder features.
7. Aura Health
Aura Health helps users improve mental health and emotional well-being. It offers meditations, coaching, breathwork, stories, music, and hypnosis tracks. Free users can access a single three-minute session a day for one week, but you need to upgrade to a premium subscription for unlimited access.
8. Balance
Balance is a personalized meditation app that offers customized daily sessions and 10-day plans. You can pick your preferred teacher’s voice, select session durations, and connect the app to Apple Health to track meditation time. Balance has a one-year free trial, so you have plenty of time to determine if it’s the right fit for you.
The best free alternative to Ten Percent Happier: Insight Timer
Overall, Insight Timer stands out as the best mindfulness and meditation app for its accessible features and holistic approach. With the most free content of any app, users can access over 200,000 meditations, 25,000+ groups, and countless meditation topic pages. Whether you prefer to set a custom meditation timer with background music or play guided sessions from renowned experts, Insight Timer has something for every meditator’s needs.
Download Insight Timer today in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Learn from top meditation teachers worldwide and begin your journey to better well-being for free.
Alternatives to Ten Percent Happier FAQs
Is there a free version of Ten Percent Happier?
There is a free seven-day trial available for Ten Percent Happier. Afterward, the membership fee is $99.99 per year.
Are there any 100% free meditation apps?
Free meditation apps include Insight Timer, Smiling Mind, and Medito. Insight Timer offers the most robust selection of free content and features, with over 200,000 guided meditations.
What are some affordable alternatives to the Ten Percent Happier app for mindfulness and meditation?
Insight Timer and Headspace are more affordable options than Ten Percent Happier. While Headspace offers a free basic course for seven days, you’ll need to subscribe once the trial is over. The cost is $12.99 for a monthly plan and $69.99 for an annual one. Insight Timer, on the other hand, offers almost all of its content and features for free indefinitely!
