Meditation Studio vs Core Meditation
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Meditation Studio
Reduce stress, ease anxiety, and improve sleep with guided meditations on various topics. Explore collections tailored for specific needs like health, happiness, and kindness, or create your own unguided sessions. Features expert teachers and progress tracking.
- Guided meditations on diverse topics
- Customizable unguided meditations
- Collections for specific life areas
- Courses for deeper practice
- Expert meditation teachers
- Progress tracking and scheduling
- Offline access
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⁃ Featured by Forbes as "Best Health And Fitness Apps Of 2017" ⁃ Featured by Apple as "10 Best Apps of the Year” 2016 ⁃ Featured by TIME as "50 Best Apps of the Year" 2016 ⁃ Recommended by: Refinery 29, Inc., Huffington Post, Well and Good, Greatist, Celebuzz, Yahoo! Beauty, and many more Reduce stress, ease anxiety, improve sleep, and boost confidence; it’s all here. Enjoy guided meditations on topics from happiness to performance, plus meditations custom made for moms, teens, kids and more. ------------------------------- Refinery 29 – "If you're looking to get your Zen on, Meditation Studio is a simple, beautiful way to get guidance." Forbes – "Meditation Studio is a powerful solution to your problems” Greatist – “Meditation Studio. A meditation app you’ll actually use” ------------------------------- COLLECTIONS Each collection is designed to give a specific area of your life some extra love. Got a challenge? We’re here for you. Collections and topics include: Be Healthy: Receive the tools you need to keep your mind and body healthy ◦ Stress, Sleep, Deep Sleep, Calm, Eating, Pain, Fertility Be Awesome: Boost your mood and find your inner awesome ◦ Happiness, Joy, Motivation, Work, Performance, Muse Mindset Talks, Confidence, Focus, Creativity, Life Transitions, Pep Talks Be Kind: Cultivate a sense of forgiveness, compassion, and self-love ◦ Gratitude, Compassion, Grief, Relationships, Leadership Be Curious: Find your perfect fit by exploring different meditation styles ◦ Day to Night, Travel, Outdoors, Mantras, Quick Breaks, Long Breaks, Zen, Singing Bowls Just For: Meditations to meet the needs of specific communities, people, and careers ◦ Moms, Kids, Goodnight Kiddo, Teens, College, Quarterlife, Baseball, Entrepreneurs, Special Occasions, Climate Awareness, First Responders, Veterans COURSES Get step-by-step guidance for a deeper dive into specific meditation topics: ◦ Starter Series, Meditation Essentials, Foundations of Mindfulness, Deepening Your Practice, Sleep Basics, Uncovering Happiness, Mindful Relationships, Mindful Work, Changing Habits FAVORITES Tap the heart icon to mark a meditation as a favorite. Sort by Favorites in Studio, Collection Detail, Teacher Detail and Search Results to quickly access favorite meditations. UNGUIDED Create your own unguided meditations with start, interval and end sounds. Choose silence or background sounds to add to your custom meditation experience. TEACHERS Today’s leading meditation experts. Featuring over 60 teachers including Elisha Goldstein, Chrissy Carter, Michael Apollo, Ashley Turner and more, with a diverse range of styles to explore. STUDIO Build a personalized library of your favorite guided and unguided meditations. Play meditations anytime, anywhere – no internet connection needed. SCHEDULE Track your progress, schedule meditation sessions, and stay focused on your practice. BACKGROUND SOUNDS Choose from calming ambient sounds or original music tracks by tapping the musical note at the bottom of the player. Meditation Studio saves your meditation sessions to your Apple Health App. PRICING & TERMS We offer three auto-renewing subscription options: $7.99 per month $49.99 per year These prices are for U.S. customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. Payment will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hrs prior to the end of the subscription period. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings but refunds will not be provided for any unused portion. Terms & Conditions- https://www.meditationstudioapp.com/terms Privacy Policy- https://www.meditationstudioapp.com/privacy
Core Meditation
Experience immersive meditation with guided vibrations, audio, and lighting. Track your progress with stress-level measurements and biometric data. Access a library of classes and personalized feedback to build inner strength.
- Guided meditation with dynamic vibrations
- Breath training techniques
- Stress-level and biometric tracking
- Progress measurement (Calm, Focus, Training)
- Meditation library with expert instructors
- Ambient and musical soundscapes
- Integration with Apple HealthKit
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Core helps you build your inner strength with the most immersive meditation experience out there. This is meditation you can feel, guided by dynamic vibrations, audio and lighting. Connect your Core Meditation Trainer with the app, drop in, and go. Together with the Trainer, the Core app will track your personal progress using stress-level measurements and other biometric data insights. DIVE INTO OUR MEDITATION LIBRARY - Learn new Breath Training techniques, then practice them on your own with Core's guiding vibrations. - Unwind with longer guided classes, or jump into a short 3-minute session — whatever fits your schedule. - Meditations guided by our expert instructors cover a variety of topics, geared towards all experience levels. - Pick a vibration pattern, choose a duration, and drop into one of Core's original ambient and musical soundscapes. Your Core Meditation Trainer pulses alongside your sessions. Depending on the type of meditation, the vibrations will guide you in learning Breath Training techniques, or serve as a gentle reminder to help focus your attention and anchor you in the present. MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS No more wondering whether meditation is actually working for you or not. With the Core Meditation Trainer connected to your app, you can see how meditation is directly affecting your body through several different metrics: - Training - Track your consistency over time. Making meditation a part of your regular routine helps train your brain to respond to it, and unlocks numerous health benefits. - Calm - Calm is represented by the dominance of your parasympathetic nervous system. We measure this based on your heart rate and its variability over time (HRV). With practice, you can train yourself to reach a Calm state more quickly. - Focus - Some techniques get you energized, priming your mind and activating your senses into a highly responsive state. Core measures how much time you spend in a Focused state by the pattern of your heart rhythm. After each meditation, Core will show you how Calm and Focused you were. Long-term historical graphs lets you see how your resilience to stress is changing over time, and track your progress with daily streaks. Core will also integrate with Apple HealthKit to share Mindful Minutes and read data to improve the accuracy of your biometric insights. DEEPEN YOUR PRACTICE WITH CORE PREMIUM Go Premium to access our always-growing library of on-demand meditation classes. New sessions are added daily by our team of expert instructors, so you never get bored. Follow along with your favorite instructors to stay inspired and centered. All new users automatically receive a free 2-week trial of our premium content. After that, Core offers two auto-renewing subscription plans: $9.99 per month $69.99 for one year (that's less than $6 a month) The subscription will automatically renew unless turned off in your iTunes Account Settings at least 24 hours before the current period ends. You can go to your iTunes Account settings to manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew. Your iTunes Account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. If you subscribe before your free trial ends, the rest of your free trial period will be forfeited as soon as your purchase is confirmed. Read our privacy policy here: [https://www.hellocore.com/privacy](https://www.hellocore.com/privacy) Read our terms and conditions here: [https://www.hellocore.com/terms](https://www.hellocore.com/terms)
Screenshots
Verdict
Meditation Studio and Core Meditation both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 79% of Meditation Studio's written reviews are positive against 61% of Core Meditation's. Meditation Studio also leads on ratings volume (9K vs 1.9K) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Meditation Studio sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Core Meditation sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Meditation Studio against 4.8 for Core Meditation. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9K and 1.9K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Meditation Studio's written reviews are positive against 61% of Core Meditation's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Meditation Studio | Core Meditation |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (9K ratings) | 4.8 (1.9K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 79.1% of reviews — better | 61.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9K — better | 1.9K |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 65 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | InteraXon | Hyper Ice, Inc |
Customer experience
Meditation Studio
Core Meditation
User reviews
Meditation Studio
From 9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Variety of meditation options
- 🕰️ Short meditations for busy schedules
- 🎨 Customizable background sounds
- 💻 Offline access to meditations
- 🧘♀️ Helpful for anxiety, sleep, and relaxation
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes or freezes
- 🔒 Locked content after subscription change
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🔍 Lack of search/sort functionality
- 🔊 Meditations too fast-paced
Core Meditation
From 1.9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🧘♀️ Helps with meditation and focus
- 📊 Provides useful biofeedback and data
- 🎯 Effective for beginners and experienced users
- 🤖 High-quality guided meditations
- 🔋 Consistent and reliable performance
Room to improve
- 🔌 Connectivity and network issues
- 💰 Expensive device and subscription
- 🤖 Inconsistent or limited app functionality
- 🔍 Lack of search and customization options
- 🕰️ Occasional performance problems or freezes
Bugs and requests
Meditation Studio
Reported bugs
3 issues- Meditations not playing after download
- Inability to access content on multiple devices
- Incompatibility issues with iPad landscape mode
Requested features
6 requests- Playlist feature to play multiple meditations in a row
- More long-form (30+ minute) meditation options
- Ability to customize meditations (e.g. add own background music)
- Integration with fitness trackers or Apple Health
- Dark mode or night theme
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- Progress tracking and streaks
Core Meditation
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inability to cancel subscription
- Trouble with device pairing and connectivity
- Inaccurate or unreliable biometric tracking
Requested features
5 requests- Offline meditation content availability
- Apple Watch app integration
- Expanded search and filtering options
- Longer meditation session durations
- More personalization and customization
In-app purchases
Meditation Studio
- Meditation Studio Monthly$3.991 Month
- Meditation Studio Monthly$7.991 Month
- Meditation Studio Quarterly$17.993 Months
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- Meditation Studio Yearly$23.991 Year
- Meditation Studio - Yearly1 Year trial$49.991 Year
Core Meditation
- Monthly Core Subscription$9.991 Month
- Annual Core Subscription$69.991 Year
Questions
Is Meditation Studio free?
Is Core Meditation free?
Which has better reviews, Meditation Studio or Core Meditation?
Do Meditation Studio or Core Meditation have ads?
Which is updated more often, Meditation Studio or Core Meditation?
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