Comparison

Insight Timer vs Sleep Lab

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

Head to head
About

Insight Timer

This app offers a vast library of guided meditations, breathwork exercises, sleep stories, and movement practices from leading wellness experts. It helps users reduce stress, improve sleep, and build healthier routines with daily new content and community features.

Highlights
  • Thousands of guided meditations
  • Breathwork and breathing exercises
  • Sleep meditations and sounds
  • Yoga, Pilates, and movement practices
  • Customizable meditation timer
  • Community groups and features
  • Progress tracking and stats
Features
Read full description

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

About

Sleep Lab

Features
Read full description

Sleep Lab is your tiny night ritual in an app – a softly glowing sound studio that helps you slow down, unclench, and drift into deeper rest. Gently mix healing frequencies, delta waves and warm singing bowls, wrap everything in a dreamy aurora-style background, and let the night finally feel kind again. Instead of scrolling one more time before bed, open Sleep Lab, tap a few tones you love, set a sleep timer, and put the phone aside. The app keeps playing quietly in the background while your mind and body settle. A soothing sound library in your pocket Each sound is carefully chosen to support a different kind of calm: 174 Hz – deep body relaxation after long, exhausting days 285 Hz – gentle comfort for tired muscles and body fatigue 396 Hz – soft support when you’re carrying heavy thoughts or guilt 417 Hz – an “emotional reset” tone for stressful, changing days 432 Hz – heart-calming, grounding, peaceful tuning 528 Hz – often called the “love” frequency, warm and harmonizing 741 Hz – clearing tone for mental clutter and overthinking 783 Hz – very still, high tone for deep inner quiet Delta Waves – slow brainwave patterns linked to deep, restorative sleep Singing Bowl – warm, organic vibrations to gently ground your nervous system Tap any card to start or pause a sound. Mix 2–3 tones together to create your own signature sleep blend. Designed to feel like a premium night space Sleep Lab is not just audio – it’s a full visual experience: Four hand-crafted themes: Aurora, Midnight, Sunset, Ocean Animated, slow-moving gradient background with soft star glows Large, readable labels and smooth buttons that are easy to tap in the dark A compact layout that looks beautiful on both iPhone and iPad Pick the theme that matches your mood and let the screen become a quiet, glowing night lamp. Smart sleep timer & volume control Global volume slider: keep sounds soft and subtle, not overwhelming Quick timer presets: 30m, 60m, 90m, 2h, 3h, 4h, 8h or Off Auto-stop: when the timer ends, the app quietly stops all sounds for you “Stop All” button: one tap to return to silence You can fall asleep without worrying about your phone playing all night. Simple, thoughtful details Works in the background while the screen is off “Now playing” label so you always know which tone you’re listening to Built-in Share App button with a gentle message you can send to friends or family who also struggle with sleep Subscription & Pricing Sleep Lab is free to download. To unlock the full premium experience, we offer an auto-renewing subscription: Monthly: US$1.99 Yearly: US$9.99 (best value) Prices may vary by region. Your Apple ID account will be charged at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://iamspecial.co/sleep-lab/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Important note Sleep Lab is a relaxation and wellness app, not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or sleep disorder. If you have serious or ongoing sleep problems, please talk to a healthcare professional. For everyone who simply needs a gentler way to end the day, Sleep Lab gives you a calm, beautiful space to breathe out, let go, and finally rest. sleep lab app, deep sleep frequencies, solfeggio sleep sounds, delta wave sleep app, calming bedtime sound studio, overthinking relief at night, sleep anxiety calming tones, relaxing sound machine for sleep, healing frequency sleep aid, tinnitus masking sleep sounds, aurora style sleep app

Screenshots

Insight Timer4 screens
Sleep Lab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Insight Timer at weekly against Sleep Lab's every 9 months. Insight Timer also leads on chart position (#15 vs unranked). On price, ads, 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. Insight Timer sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Sleep Lab sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Insight Timer ships an update weekly, Sleep Lab every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Insight Timer versus Sleep Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInsight TimerSleep Lab
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (449K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews70.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings449K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
Best chart rank#15 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size231 MB49 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperInsight Network IncSaurabh Khare

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

Sleep Lab

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

13 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-time9
  • Teacher Donation (XS)$1.99
  • Meditation Course: Single Use$4.99
  • Teacher Donation (S)$4.99
Show 6 more
  • Live Event Ticket$13.99
  • 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
4 purchases

Sleep Lab

Subscriptions4
  • sleeplab_weekly_199$1.997 Days
  • Sleep Lab Monthly Subscriptions$1.991 Month
  • Sleep Lab Yearly Subscriptions$9.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • sleeplab_yearly_2999$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Insight Timer free?
Insight Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sleep Lab free?
Sleep Lab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Insight Timer or Sleep Lab have ads?
Neither Insight Timer nor Sleep Lab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Insight Timer or Sleep Lab?
Insight Timer ships an update weekly, and Sleep Lab every 9 months. Most recently, Insight Timer was updated on November 1, 2026 and Sleep Lab on October 27, 2026.

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