Meditation is an ancient practice now backed by modern science as a way to reduce stress, manage anxiety, and boost mindfulness. It’s not a magic wand, but simply giving yourself permission to slow down for a few minutes each day can make a real difference. And, naturally, there’s no shortage of iPhone apps promising to help.
The problem is that many of them immediately shove expensive subscriptions in your face, which feels counterproductive for something meant to lower your stress levels and improve your well-being. So this roundup instead focuses on four distinct apps that give you genuinely useful meditation tools, without taking anything from your bank account.
Meditation Timer: Mindful
- Best for a simple, focused timer
This app has gone by a few names over the years, including EZ Meditation Timer. What hasn’t changed is its calm, minimalist approach. The main screen invites you to set a timer – anything up to an hour – choose an optional background sound, and tap a satisfyingly large Start button. After a brief warm-up, you’re left with a clean, distraction-free timer.
The app tracks your sessions, compiling a simple “heat map” that shows days you’ve meditated, which sits below your current streak and total meditation time. You can also set a daily reminder, turn off the screen while meditating, and have a bell sound play when a session ends.
This is the only app here with an in-app purchase, but it’s a single $2/£2 unlock for extra background sounds and data export if you want to move progress between devices. Even without paying, though, Mindful is a straightforward, effective timer and tracker that’s ideal for aiding unguided meditation.
Oak
- Best for quick access to key techniques
Oak expands on the basics without becoming overwhelming. The Home screen is split between three clear sections: Meditate, Breathe, and Sleep. Meditation sessions include mindful, loving-kindness, and unguided options, all with custom durations and background audio. The breathing tools provide several techniques to aid calmness and boost alertness. And the sleep section focuses on relaxing sounds and gentle guidance to help you drift off. These all work very well.
Basic progress tracking is built in, with badges unlocked as you log more sessions. There’s also a global counter, showing how many people are using Oak right now, and how many breaths have been taken today – a small but oddly grounding touch. It’s also great how recent exercises appear as shortcuts on the Home screen, for immediate access.
If there’s any criticism, it’s that Oak’s once-beautiful design could do with a touch of TLC on modern devices. But there’s no doubting its effectiveness if you want an approachable app that provides rapid access to proven relaxation techniques.
Smiling Mind
- Best for tailored meditations and routines
First impressions of Smiling Mind aren’t ideal as you’re faced with a barrage of options and pathways to follow. But that complexity exists for a reason: this app avoids a one-size-fits-all model, instead allowing you to tailor meditations to specific goals. It even includes content designed specifically for children.
Filters let you quickly narrow options down, although the best approach is perhaps to experiment. Should a specific exercise click, you can mark it as a favorite, or add it to a daily routine with a tap of the sun button. This flexibility extends elsewhere, from background audio choices to subtitles for the hard of hearing. There’s also mood tracking, which you can cross-reference with recorded mental fitness sessions.
What’s most impressive is that Smiling Mind feels like a full-fat premium meditation app, but without locked content, ads, or subscriptions. That it’s entirely free is remarkable, and so if you find it useful, do consider donating to support its ongoing development.
MindShift CBT
- Best for anxiety
Anxiety is very much its own beast, distinct from everyday stress. And while the other apps here can help you unwind, MindShift is explicitly designed to help manage anxious thoughts and behaviors. That means it sits slightly outside the usual meditation-app mold, functioning more as a toolkit, but it earns a place here.
Alongside mood tracking, goal lists, coping cards, and a thought journal, MindShift includes a Chill Zone. This area houses familiar meditation techniques like tense-and-release, along with visualizations aimed at navigating anxiety-triggering situations. These sessions are all short and cannot be customized, but they work well enough.
The relatively rigid nature of MindShift’s output means it’s unlikely to replace a full meditation app. But it works well as a complementary tool – something you reach for when anxiety spikes, rather than as part of a daily meditation routine. On that basis, if you suffer from anxiety, it’s well worth having on your iPhone.