Insight Timer vs Flowly
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Insight Timer
Access thousands of guided meditations, music tracks, and talks from world-renowned experts to calm your mind, reduce anxiety, and improve sleep. Daily new content is added, catering to both beginners and experienced practitioners.
- Thousands of guided meditations
- Music tracks and ambient sounds
- Meditation timer
- Community discussion groups
- Progress tracking
- Offline listening (premium)
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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
Flowly
This app offers a 12-week virtual reality program designed to help individuals manage chronic pain and anxiety. It combines biofeedback, VR training, and expert coaching to guide users from pain to a state of flow.
- 12-week curated program
- VR nervous system training
- HR sensor integration
- Flowly Coaching sessions
- Virtual support groups (Bubbles)
- Expert-led workshops
- 2D breathwork guides
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Chronic pain sucks. Our team felt this firsthand, and enlisted a world class team of pain experts to design a 12-week curated program designed to take you from pain state, to flow state “Flowly helps manage not only the physical aspects of living with pain and anxiety, but also offers invaluable support to overcome the mental challenges that come along with it.” -Dr. Aman Mahajan, Chair of Perioperative Medicine at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center “Flowly’s virtual worlds help users reclaim a sense of calm and safety at the emotional and physical level, thus allowing them to reduce activation in their nervous system and pain in their body.” -Pierre Etienne-Vannier, Mind-Body Practitioner *How Does It Work?* Flowly’s Healing from Pain Program is a curated 12-week program with new lessons, daily trainings, and access to a coach included Weeks 1-4: Building the Foundation In your first week, you will receive a Kit that includes a VR headset and a HR sensor so you can engage in your daily VR nervous system training. You will also schedule your first of three Flowly Coaching sessions to set your goals for the program, design your Flowly routine moving forward, and answer any questions you might have Weeks 5-8: Cultivating Intrinsic Brain-Body Regulation Engage in trainings that utilize your nervous system to take control of various psychological and emotional aspects of your chronic pain experience. All while discovering new environments and tools to create physical safety. Meet with your Flowly coach for your second session to check in on progress and goals Weeks 9-12: Establishing Enduring Practice Reinforcing all the training you have accomplished so far, we will put together all the tools and learnings into a daily ritual that best fits your life now, but most importantly, your life and dreams moving forward. You will also meet with your coach for your last session to wrap up your program and establish your steps moving forward All throughout the program, you will have access to: * Bubbles: virtual small support groups where heroes can connect with one another and engage in activities to do with improving their health * Workshops: with health experts and specialists on specific educational health topics * Tools: 2D breathwork guides, educational articles, and more in the Resources tab in-app * Forum: a community forum where heroes can share their experiences and questions After 3 months you will have the opportunity to go into “Maintenance Mode” with continued access to the program content, new VR worlds and experiences, and other in-app resources. *Can This Actually Work?* Flowly marries two powerful approaches: biofeedback for relaxation training and Virtual Reality. There are 1,000+ studies dedicated to both therapies for pain. Flowly itself is partnered with UPMC and USC for studies with a grant awarded by the National Institute of Health. Dr. Robert Tien, the former Chair of Neuroradiology at Duke, says this, “Flowly’s experiences help enhance a user’s Vagus Nerve function, which plays a crucial role in preventing inflammation, increasing heart resilience, and treating symptoms of chronic pain and anxiety. Flowly is fun and accessible, but ultimately, can seriously improve overall life quality with consistent use” *Subscription Pricing and Terms* Healing from Pain Program - Program Fee - $474.99 - Maintenance Fee - $4.99/month Standard Flowly Subscription - Change My Life Membership - $44.99/month or $239.99/year - Community Membership - $4.99/month or $59.99/year Your subscription will automatically renew unless turned off in your iTunes Account Settings at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Subscriptions will be charged to your iTunes account. For more information, see our terms at https://www.flowly.world/terms-of-service and privacy policy at https://www.flowly.world/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Insight Timer at 449K against Flowly's 407. Insight Timer also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). Flowly's advantage is review sentiment (85% vs 70%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 12 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Flowly sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Insight Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Insight Timer has 449K ratings behind it against 407, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 70% of Insight Timer's written reviews are positive against 85% of Flowly's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Insight Timer ships an update weekly, Flowly monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Insight Timer | Flowly |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (449K ratings) — better | 4.6 (407 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews | 85.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 449K — better | 407 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #15 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 230 MB | 432 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Insight Network Inc | Tamade LLC |
Customer experience
Insight Timer
Flowly
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
Flowly
From 407 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💤 Helps with sleep and insomnia
- 🧘♀️ Effective for anxiety and stress relief
- 🚀 Immersive VR experience
- 📊 Provides biometric data and feedback
- 🤝 Responsive and helpful customer support
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🤕 Issues with heart rate sensor and connectivity
- 🤓 Steep learning curve for some users
- 🤖 Concerns about overly corporate/cult-like language
- 🔍 Lack of free trial or demo version
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
Flowly
Reported bugs
2 issues- App crashes when entering billing information
- Incompatibility issues with certain phone models and VR headsets
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to walk around in VR worlds instead of just sitting
- Integration with Apple Health and other fitness trackers
- More diverse range of VR environments and experiences
- Offline mode for VR sessions
- Customizable breathing patterns and pacing
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
- Meditation Course: Single Use$4.99
- Teacher Donation (S)$4.99
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- Meditation Course: Multi Use$19.99
- Truth Anxiety course – Own$19.99
- Teacher Donation (M)$19.99
- Teacher Donation (L)$49.99
- Teacher Donation (XL)$99.99
Flowly
- Community Membership Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Flowly Journey Maintenance3 Months trial$4.991 Month
- Flowly Basic Monthly$9.991 Month
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- Flowly Basic Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Community Membership Yearly$39.991 Year
- Flowly Pro Monthly$44.991 Month
- Flowly Pro Monthly1 Month trial$44.991 Month
- Flowly Basic Yearly$59.991 Year
- Flowly Pro Yearly$239.991 Year
- Flowly Family Plan$349.991 Year
- Healing from Pain Program$1000.00









