Comparison

Insight Timer vs CalmCanvas

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Thousands of guided meditations
  • Music tracks and ambient sounds
  • Meditation timer
  • Community discussion groups
  • Progress tracking
  • Offline listening (premium)
Features
Read full description

* Apps of the Year Winner - TIME magazine and Womens Health * * More time is spent meditating on Insight Timer than all other meditation apps * * Happiest App in the World - Tristan Harris * The number 1 free meditation app. Guided meditations and talks led by the world's top meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and teachers from Stanford, Harvard, the University of Oxford and more. Music tracks from world-renowned artists. Join millions learning to meditate on Insight Timer to help calm the mind, reduce anxiety, manage stress, sleep deeply and improve happiness. With 80+ new free guided meditations added daily, more meditation is practiced on Insight Timer than anywhere else. Great for both beginners and experienced practitioners. FREE FEATURES: * Thousands of guided meditations * Select by time for short meditations when on the go, helping you to build a simple daily habit * Thousands of music tracks and ambient sounds to calm the mind, focus, sleep better and relax * The world's most popular meditation Timer * Follow your favourite teachers * Thousands of discussion groups and community features * Stats and milestones for tracking your progress * Integration with Apple Health Mindful Minutes Browse popular topics including: * Sleep deeply * Dealing with Anxiety and Reducing Stress * Getting through Recovery and Addictions * Self-love and Compassion * Focus and Concentration * Leadership * Better Relationships * Loving-Kindness * And much more.. Join leading meditation teachers and musicians including: * Tara Brach, Ph.D, founder of Insight Meditation Community of Washington * Mark Williams, Emeritus Professor at Oxford University * Jack Kornfield, Dartmouth, co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society alongside fellow Insight Timer teachers Sharon Salzberg, and Joseph Goldstein of Columbia * Gil Fronsdal, Ph.D. at Stanford University * Ram Das aka Dr Richard Alpert, Doctorate at Stanford and Harvard University teacher * Sadhguru, Indian yogi, founder of non-profit Isha Foundation * Mooji, disciple of Papaji, and devotee of the master Ramana Maharshi * Moby, international recording artist, DJ, record producer, singer, songwriter * As well as Sarah Blondin, Mary Maddux, Ajahn Achalo, Melissa Ambrosini, Bodhipaksa, Jonathan Lehmann, Jennifer Piercy, Bethany Auriel-Hagan, Kate James and many more.. Practice the following meditation types: * Secular Mindfulness * Buddhist Mindfulness * Zen * Insight Meditation * Vipassana * MBSR * Walking Meditation * Breathing Meditation * Kundalini Yoga * Metta * Advaita Vedanta * 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 through your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase, and will automatically renew at the end of each term unless auto-renew 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 any questions, please reach out to us over here: https://help.insighttimer.com Privacy Policy - https://insighttimer.com/legal/privacy-policy Terms and Conditions - https://insighttimer.com/legal/terms-of-service

About

CalmCanvas

This app offers a collection of ambient music and nature sounds designed for meditation, relaxation, and sleep. Users can combine multiple sounds to create personalized soundscapes for activities like yoga, study, or breathing exercises.

Highlights
  • Ambient nature recordings
  • Relaxing sounds for focus
  • Music for yoga and breathing
  • Positive energy music
  • Customizable soundscapes
  • Aids deep sleep and relaxation
Features
Read full description

CalmCanvas is a free meditation and relaxation music app. You can play nice background music and ambient for meditation, breathing practice, yoga practice, sleep meditation or study. You can choose to play multiple sounds and music at the same time and create the unique sound effect that you like. FEATURES: - Ambient nature recordings and relaxing sounds. - Focus music help you practice concentration, yoga and breathing. - Positive energy music set the mood for exercise and boosts your motivation. - Create a unique sound effect by playing multiple sounds and music at the same time. - Help you reach deep sleep and relax

Screenshots

Insight Timer4 screens
CalmCanvas3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Insight Timer at none against CalmCanvas's shown. Insight Timer also leads on ratings volume (447K vs 149) and chart position (#15 vs unranked). CalmCanvas's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 70%). On price, rating, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Insight Timer sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and CalmCanvas sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Insight Timer against 4.8 for CalmCanvas. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Insight Timer has 447K ratings behind it against 149, 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 100% of CalmCanvas's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Insight Timer ships an update weekly, CalmCanvas every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Insight Timer versus CalmCanvas: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInsight TimerCalmCanvas
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (447K ratings) — better4.8 (149 ratings)
Positive reviews70.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings447K — better149
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#15 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size243 MB184 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperInsight Network IncAPPS BAY LIMITED

Customer experience

Insight Timer

All ratings446,623 ratings
Positive98.2%
Neutral1.0%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews2,819 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral7.0%
Negative23.1%

CalmCanvas

All ratings149 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral3.4%
Negative0.7%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

CalmCanvas

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Insight Timer

Subscriptions4
  • Insight Premium Meditation$9.991 Month
  • Insight Premium Meditation7 Days trial2 variants$59.991 Year
  • Insight Premium Meditation1 Month trial$59.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • MemberPlus Family7 Days trial$89.991 Year
One-time8
  • Teacher Donation (XS)$1.99
  • Meditation Course: Single Use$4.99
  • Teacher Donation (S)$4.99
Show 5 more
  • 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
1 purchases

CalmCanvas

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Insight Timer free?
Insight Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CalmCanvas free?
CalmCanvas is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Insight Timer or CalmCanvas?
Insight Timer is rated higher. Insight Timer averages 4.9 out of 5 from 447K ratings, while CalmCanvas averages 4.8 from 149 ratings.
Do Insight Timer or CalmCanvas have ads?
CalmCanvas shows ads; Insight Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Insight Timer or CalmCanvas?
Insight Timer ships an update weekly, and CalmCanvas every 10 days. Most recently, Insight Timer was updated on September 24, 2026 and CalmCanvas on August 5, 2026.

Other comparisons