Comparison

Inner Explorer CLASSROOM vs UCLA Mindful

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Inner Explorer CLASSROOM

This app offers guided mindfulness practices for teachers, students, and families, based on the MBSR protocol. It aims to reduce stress, improve academic performance, and enhance self-regulation skills with culturally intentional audio sessions.

Highlights
  • 180 audio-guided mindfulness practices
  • Four age-appropriate programs
  • Counselor and Educator Wellbeing Series
  • Spanish language practices
  • Tune In feature for parents
  • Cross-platform progress syncing
Features
Read full description

The best mindfulness program designed for teachers, students, and families. Our app features 180 audio-guided mindfulness practices designed for four age groups, from Early Learning through 12th grade. Inner Explorer’s model is based on the renowned Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) protocol, which has been proven to reduce stress, enhance academic performance, and improve self-regulation skills. Our practices are narrated by diverse ethnic backgrounds, making them culturally intentional and accessible to all. Additionally, the Early Learning and Elementary programs are available in Spanish, and have been approved by CASEL as an “SEL-Related Approach.” With Inner Explorer, mindfulness can be incorporated into any part of the day. Whether you’re a teacher looking to enhance student readiness to learn, a student hoping to improve impulse control, or a family wanting to lead a healthier, happier life, Inner Explorer has something for everyone. Our daily mindfulness practice has been proven to reduce perceived stress by 43%, enhance student readiness to learn, lower behavioral issues by up to 60%, and improve impulse control, among many other benefits. App Features: * Four age-appropriate programs to choose from: Early Learning-1st Grade, Elementary, Middle and High School * 180 audio practices per program, 5 minutes in length for Early Learning-1st Grade, 10 minutes for Elementary, Middle and High School (including 2 minutes of journaling) * Counselor Series Targeted practices were created to support Counselors in their individual or small group work with students. * Educator Wellbeing Series Designed specifically for educators to use whenever they choose to reduce their stress and feel appreciated. * Shorter Transition and Sound audio practice options * Spanish practices available for Early Learning - Elementary programs (Middle School coming soon) * Our app features an exclusive Tune In feature that allows you to invite parents and caregivers to listen in real-time to the mindfulness practices taking place in your classroom. This feature provides transparency and bridges the gap between school and home, giving families a deeper insight into their child's mindfulness practice. * Experience mindfulness on any device with Inner Explorer Classroom App's specially designed iPad and mobile versions. Enjoy a seamless experience across all platforms, with your progress synced automatically. Whether you're at home, at school, or on the go, you can continue your mindfulness practice without missing a beat. Testimonial: “Our whole community really loves IE! I include information in my weekly newsletter also and the parents are very excited about it. It is so easy for teachers to use and the students are very engaged in the audios and sessions.” Lindsey Keener, Principal, SF Public Montessori The Inner Explorer Classroom App can be downloaded free of cost, and new users will have access to 21 tracks out of 180 to practice mindfulness as a part of their initial experience. The app also offers monthly and yearly subscriptions to gain access to all 180 practices per program. Monthly subscriptions are available for $19.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are available for $199.99 per year. Subscription prices vary for users outside of the United States due to Apple's currency conversion rates. Monthly and yearly subscriptions will renew automatically 24 hours before the end of the chosen period and will be charged to the user's iTunes account. Users can turn off the auto-renewal at any time through their iTunes account settings, but refunds are not provided for unused portions of the current paid period. TERMS OF USE: https://innerexplorer.com/term.html PRIVACY POLICY: https://innerexplorer.com/privacy.html Download Inner Explorer Classroom App today, and start your journey to a happier, healthier life!

About

UCLA Mindful

Practice mindfulness meditation with guided sessions and educational content from UCLA Health. Learn to manage stress, reduce anxiety, and cultivate positive emotions through regular practice. Explore various meditation types, informative videos, and weekly recordings to enhance your well-being.

Highlights
  • Guided basic meditations
  • Wellness meditations for health conditions
  • Informative videos on mindfulness
  • Weekly live/virtual meditation recordings
  • Talks on mindfulness topics
  • Customizable meditation timer
Features
Read full description

With this easy-to-use app, you can practice mindfulness meditation anywhere, anytime with the guidance of UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health. Scientific research shows mindfulness can help manage stress-related physical conditions, reduce anxiety and depression, and cultivate positive emotions. Mindfulness is paying attention to our present moment experiences with openness and curiosity and a willingness to be with our experience. Through regular practice, taught through this app, you can develop a meditation practice and learn to bring more mindfulness into your daily life. This app offers: • Basic Meditations for getting started in multiple languages. Languages include Arabic, Armenian, Cantonese, Farsi, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Mixteco, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, American Sign Language • Wellness Meditations for people suffering from challenging health conditions • Informative videos exploring how to get started, supportive meditation postures, and the science of mindfulness • Weekly recordings from our live and virtual drop-in meditations -- a 30-minute meditation on different themes you can search for and bookmark • Talks on mindfulness-related topics • A timer to meditate on your own • A list of our current events and classes that you can add to your calendar UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health, is dedicated to advancing mindfulness education to promote individual and cultural well-being and resilience world-wide. Our mission is to provide innovative, evidence-based mindfulness programs that empower individuals and institutions to manage stress, enhance health, and cultivate inner and outer peace. Through educational programs, we strive to inspire transformative growth and contribute to a culture of compassion and wellness for all. Due to UCLA Mindful’s mission of radical accessibility, this app is entirely free to use. Disclaimer: These meditations are for educational purposes and are not clinical treatments.

Screenshots

Inner Explorer CLASSROOM4 screens
UCLA Mindful4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: UCLA Mindful at 4.5 against Inner Explorer CLASSROOM's 3.8. UCLA Mindful also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (77% vs 56%). Inner Explorer CLASSROOM's advantage is update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Inner Explorer CLASSROOM sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. UCLA Mindful asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

UCLA Mindful holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: UCLA Mindful has 172 ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Inner Explorer CLASSROOM's written reviews are positive against 77% of UCLA Mindful's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Inner Explorer CLASSROOM ships an update every 4 weeks, UCLA Mindful every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Inner Explorer CLASSROOM versus UCLA Mindful: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInner Explorer CLASSROOMUCLA Mindful
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (29 ratings)4.5 (172 ratings) — better
Positive reviews55.6% of reviews76.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings29172 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size164 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInner Explorer Inc.UCLA Health

Customer experience

Inner Explorer CLASSROOM

All ratings29 ratings
Positive69.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative31.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive55.6%
Neutral11.1%
Negative33.3%

UCLA Mindful

All ratings172 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral0.6%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive76.7%
Neutral5.0%
Negative18.3%

Bugs and requests

Inner Explorer CLASSROOM

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

UCLA Mindful

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • 🐛 Loop repeat did not replay when screen is locked
  • 🐛 Audio stops when iPhone screen locks/turns off
  • 🐛 Back button disappears on search podcast tab
  • 🐛 Search in previous podcast is slow to respond
  • 🐛 Custom timer doesn't work as intended
Show 1 more
  • 🐛 Meditations won't load (show 0 time)

Requested features

6 requests
  • Offline access/downloadable sessions
  • More voice diversity (ethnicity and gender)
  • Add to Apple Health for tracking mindful minutes
  • Improve pausing points for Vietnamese meditations
  • Remove the ding at the end of tracks
Show 1 more
  • Wider selection of UCLA courses/Diana Winston meditations

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Inner Explorer CLASSROOM

Subscriptions2
  • Classroom Monthly Plan$19.991 Month
  • Classroom Yearly Plan$199.991 Year
None

UCLA Mindful

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Inner Explorer CLASSROOM free?
Inner Explorer CLASSROOM is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is UCLA Mindful free?
UCLA Mindful is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Inner Explorer CLASSROOM or UCLA Mindful?
UCLA Mindful is rated higher. Inner Explorer CLASSROOM averages 3.8 out of 5 from 29 ratings, while UCLA Mindful averages 4.5 from 172 ratings.
Do Inner Explorer CLASSROOM or UCLA Mindful have ads?
Neither Inner Explorer CLASSROOM nor UCLA Mindful shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Inner Explorer CLASSROOM or UCLA Mindful?
Inner Explorer CLASSROOM ships an update every 4 weeks, and UCLA Mindful every 3 months. Most recently, Inner Explorer CLASSROOM was updated on October 11, 2026 and UCLA Mindful on October 12, 2026.

Other comparisons