Insight Timer vs Meditation Studio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Insight Timer
Access a vast library of guided meditations, breathwork, sleep stories, and yoga practices from world-renowned teachers. Build healthy routines, reduce stress, and improve sleep with daily new free content and a customizable meditation timer.
- Thousands of guided meditations
- Breathwork and breathing exercises
- Sleep meditations and sounds
- Yoga, Pilates, and movement
- Customizable meditation timer
- Progress tracking and statistics
- Community groups
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The world’s most popular wellness app. * Apps of the Year Winner - TIME magazine and Women's Health * * More time is spent on Insight Timer than on all other wellbeing apps combined * * Happiest App in the World - Tristan Harris * Explore meditation, breathwork, sleep, yoga, Pilates, mindfulness, music, and more, with guidance from the world’s leading wellness teachers, meditation experts, neuroscientists, psychologists, and instructors. Join millions using Insight Timer to sleep better, reduce stress and anxiety, find focus, build healthy routines, move, stretch, and make more time for everyday wellbeing. With 100+ new free guided practices added daily, Insight Timer offers something for every part of your wellness journey. Whether you’re new to meditation or building a broader self-care routine, discover practices for mind and body that fit your day. FREE FEATURES: Thousands of guided meditations and mindfulness practices Breathwork and breathing exercises for relaxation, focus, and stress relief Yoga, Pilates, stretching, and movement practices Sleep meditations, sleep music, white noise, and ambient sounds Short meditation practices for mornings, evenings, and moments throughout your day The world’s most popular meditation Timer Follow your favorite teachers Community groups and features Stats and milestones for tracking your progress Integration with Apple Health Mindful Minutes Browse popular wellness topics, including: Sleep and deep rest Insomnia and better sleep Anxiety and stress relief Recovery & Addiction Support Trauma support ADHD and focus Mornings and daily routines Self-care and relaxation Mindfulness and meditation Breathwork Yoga Pilates Movement and stretching Manifesting and personal growth Self-love and compassion And much more. Explore content for every part of your day and life, including dedicated experiences for women and parents, as well as challenges and courses to support your routine. Learn from leading teachers, experts, and musicians, including: Tara Brach, Ph.D, founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington Mark Williams, Emeritus Professor at Oxford University Jack Kornfield, co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein Gil Fronsdal, Ph.D., at Stanford University Sadhguru Mooji Moby Sarah Blondin, Mary Maddux, Ajahn Achalo, Melissa Ambrosini, Bodhipaksa, Jonathan Lehmann, Jennifer Piercy, Bethany Auriel-Hagan, Kate James and many more. Explore practices and techniques, including: Secular Mindfulness Buddhist Mindfulness Zen Insight Meditation Vipassana MBSR Walking Meditation Breathing Meditation Kundalini Yoga Breathwork and breathing exercises Pilates Movement and exercise And many more. Join community groups for: Beginners Poetry Atheism Christianity Hinduism Transcendental Meditation And many more. PAID FEATURE - INSIGHT PREMIUM MEDITATION We have one optional in-app subscription. * Insight Courses * Listen offline (download guided meditations to your device) * Advanced Player (Repeat mode, Fast forward and Rewind, Pick-up where you left off) * High-Quality audio The subscription is available annually for US$59.99/year, or monthly for US$9.99/month. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account upon purchase confirmation and will automatically renew at the end of each term unless auto-renewal is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings, but refunds will not be provided for unused portions of the term. Prices and currency will vary by location. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription, where applicable. The subscription will renew at the same cost. If you have questions, visit: https://help.insighttimer.com Privacy Policy - https://insighttimer.com/legal/privacy-policy Terms and Conditions - https://insighttimer.com/legal/terms-of-service
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
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Insight Timer at weekly against Meditation Studio's monthly. Insight Timer also leads on ratings volume (449K vs 9K) and chart position (#15 vs unranked). Meditation Studio's advantage is review sentiment (79% vs 70%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Insight Timer sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Meditation Studio sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 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 — 4.9 for Insight Timer against 4.8 for Meditation Studio. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Insight Timer has 449K ratings behind it against 9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Insight Timer's written reviews are positive against 79% of Meditation Studio's.
Insight Timer ships an update weekly, Meditation Studio monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Insight Timer | Meditation Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (449K ratings) — better | 4.8 (9K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews | 79.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 449K — better | 9K |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #15 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 232 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Insight Network Inc | InteraXon |
Customer experience
Insight Timer
Meditation Studio
User reviews
Insight Timer
From 449K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💤 Great for sleep and relaxation
- 🌍 Diverse range of teachers and content
- 🕰️ Customizable timer with bells/chimes
- 🆓 Generous free content
- 🧠 Helps with anxiety, stress, and mental health
Room to improve
- 🤖 Overly commercialized with constant upselling
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with mandatory account creation
- 🔀 Confusing and cluttered user interface
- 🐛 Bugs, crashes, and technical issues
- 🔒 Paywall blocking access to core features
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
Bugs and requests
Insight Timer
Reported bugs
4 issues- Timer frequently pausing or shutting down during use
- Inconsistent tracking of meditation streaks and progress
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Inability to leave reviews for meditations
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to sort/filter bookmarked meditations
- Option to disable opening quotes and mood check-ins
- Improved offline functionality and caching
- More customization options for the timer
- Better community features and social integration
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
In-app purchases
Insight Timer
- Insight Premium Meditation$9.991 Month
- Insight Premium Meditation7 Days trial2 variants$59.991 Year
- Insight Premium Meditation1 Month trial$59.991 Year
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- MemberPlus Family7 Days trial$89.991 Year
- Teacher Donation (XS)$1.99
- Live Event Ticket$3.49
- Teacher Donation (S)$4.99
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- Teacher Donation (M)$19.99
- Teacher Donation (L)$49.99
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
Questions
Is Insight Timer free?
Is Meditation Studio free?
Which has better reviews, Insight Timer or Meditation Studio?
Do Insight Timer or Meditation Studio have ads?
Which is updated more often, Insight Timer or Meditation Studio?
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