Comparison

Expand vs Willowave

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

Head to head
About

Expand

Access profound states of expanded awareness with guided meditations and proprietary sound science. Explore topics like relaxation, joy, insight, and sleep to foster meaning, relieve stress, and release unwanted patterns. Discover inner wisdom and joy through active imagination and perception.

Highlights
  • 100+ guided meditations
  • Monroe Sound Science audio technology
  • Multi-day mini-courses
  • Guided reflection and journaling
  • Custom-generated soundscapes
  • Focus on active imagination and perception
Features
Read full description

From the world-renowned Monroe Institute, Expand helps you access deeper states of awareness to reduce stress, improve sleep, and cultivate greater meaning, clarity, and purpose. Powered by Monroe Sound Science, our proprietary audio technology, Expand uses targeted soundwave patterns to support unique states of consciousness and focused inner exploration. Through guided sessions, courses, and immersive sound experiences, you can uncover insight, release unwanted patterns, and reconnect with your inner wisdom. Inside Expand, you’ll find: • 100+ guided meditations and consciousness-expanding exercises • Multi-day mini-courses and structured practice paths • Guided reflection and journaling tools • Custom-generated soundscapes designed for specific brainwave states • Programs for both beginners and experienced practitioners Explore sessions across topics including: • Relaxation & Healing • Joy & Meaning • Insight & Intuition • Sleep & Dreaming • Healthy Relationships • Creativity & Manifestation • Beyond the Physical Unlike typical meditation apps focused only on clearing the mind, Expand encourages active imagination, perception, and intentional practice to help you achieve specific outcomes. About The Monroe Institute The Monroe Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a global leader in the study and practice of expanded consciousness. Founded in the early 1970s as a research and educational organization, Monroe offers transformative learning through the Expand app, virtual programs, and in-person retreats on its 300-acre Virginia campus and in countries worldwide. Subscription Pricing and Terms Expand offers auto-renewing subscription options: • $69.99/year • $11.99/month Payment is charged to your App Store account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged within 24 hours prior to renewal. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Terms of Service: https://info.monroeinstitute.org/expand-app-terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://info.monroeinstitute.org/expand-app-privacy-policy

About

Willowave

This app uses adaptive soundscapes, healing frequencies, and affirmations to help you reprogram your subconscious mind. It guides you through sonic journeys and offers personalized soundscapes to reshape your reality and manifest desired states.

Highlights
  • Adaptive soundscapes
  • Healing frequencies
  • Brainwave entrainment
  • Personalized affirmations
  • Nature ambience
  • Guided sonic journeys
Features
Read full description

Rewire your mind. Reshape your reality. Willowave turns intention into experience through vibration, subconscious reprogramming, and ancestral wisdom. Using adaptive soundscapes that weave together healing frequencies, brainwave entrainment, nature-inspired ambience, and affirmations, Willowave helps you rewire your subconscious, reshaping the reality you manifest for yourself. *Features: -Healing Frequencies: Science-backed tones designed to target specific processes or emotions. Once you choose your frequency, every sound in the app automatically tunes to it for maximum potency. -Brainwave Technology: Shift into Alpha, Theta, or Delta states for focus, meditation, sleep, or deep release. -Affirmations: Rewire your subconscious story by feeding it the truths you want to live. -Nature Ambience: Layer rain, fire, forest, or even a cat’s purr to create a sensory field of safety and peace, allowing your nervous system to relax. -Sonic Journeys: Guided rituals that combine breathwork, toning, and somatic imagery for deep transformation. -Practical Tools: Save your soundscapes, set timers, schedule sessions, and more. This is the alchemy at the heart of Willowave: a proprietary fusion of neuroscience, sound, and subtle magic that speaks to the subconscious in its own language—frequency, rhythm, and truth. *How It Works -Set Your Intention: Tell Willow (your AI guide) how you want to feel, what you’re ready to release, or what you’re calling in. -Receive Your Soundscape: Willow creates a personalized soundscape using healing frequencies, brainwave entrainment, adaptive music, and affirmations crafted to reprogram your subconscious. If you know what you want, you can also manually select your own. -Rewire Your Reality: Your brain treats thought like lived experience, activating the same neural pathways whether you’re remembering, imagining, or affirming. Willow’s affirmations harness this mechanism to rewrite your inner narrative. As your subconscious adopts new beliefs, your brain begins to seek—and create—patterns that confirm them. Reality reorganizes around your story. Every soundscape is an energetic technology, tuning your nervous system and subconscious to the state you desire. Whether you’re seeking clarity, confidence, love, creativity, or peace, Willowave brings it into resonance. *Why It Works Our brain is a pattern-matching engine. It doesn’t perceive reality as it is—it perceives reality as it expects it to be. Every thought, feeling, and sound reshapes the neural architecture that guides your perceptions, behaviors, and choices. Over time, this architecture becomes the scaffolding of your life. Willowave works by shifting that architecture at its root. Through repeated exposure to affirmations delivered in states of openness, Willowave rewires subconscious beliefs—reshaping the lens through which you engage with the world. As your inner story changes, your external reality follows.

Screenshots

Expand4 screens
Willowave4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Willowave at freemium against Expand's subscription. Willowave also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (83% vs 50%). Expand's advantage is ratings volume (301 vs 7). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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. Expand sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and Willowave sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Willowave holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Expand has 301 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Expand's written reviews are positive against 83% of Willowave's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Expand versus Willowave: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExpandWillowave
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (301 ratings)4.3 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews49.7% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings301 — better7
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB77 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTHE MONROE INSTITUTEDawnlight Studios LLC

Customer experience

Expand

All ratings297 ratings
Positive73.4%
Neutral6.1%
Negative20.5%
Written reviews157 reviews
Positive49.7%
Neutral12.1%
Negative38.2%

Willowave

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

Bugs and requests

Expand

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Paid but no play
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Sound shuts off when the iphone goes to sleep

Requested features

4 requests
  • Longer guided meditations
  • What's new section for meditations
  • Ability to turn off background music
  • Monthly charge option

Willowave

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Expand

Subscriptions2
  • Expand Plus Monthly$11.991 Month
  • Expand Plus Yearly$69.991 Year
6 purchases

Willowave

Subscriptions2
  • Willowave Premium Monthly7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Willowave Premium Annual7 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time4
  • Alan Watts Lectures$1.99
  • Grabovoi Numbers$1.99
  • Silas Dubelaar$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Bhikkhu Bodhi$2.99

Questions

Is Expand free?
Expand is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Willowave free?
Willowave is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Expand or Willowave?
Willowave is rated higher. Expand averages 4.0 out of 5 from 301 ratings, while Willowave averages 4.3 from 7 ratings.
Do Expand or Willowave have ads?
Expand shows ads; Willowave does not.
Which is updated more often, Expand or Willowave?
Expand ships an update monthly, and Willowave monthly. Most recently, Expand was updated on November 3, 2026 and Willowave on October 30, 2026.

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