What are the best meditation timer apps for ios?

5

Options
Considered

4

User
Recs.

May 2, 2017

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

5 Options Considered

5 Options Considered	Price	Last Updated
-- i-Qi clock & meditation timer	$1.99	May 2, 2017
-- Samsara \| Meditation and Yoga Timer	Free	May 2, 2017
-- Insight Timer	Free	Mar 30, 2017
-- Apple Watch - Timer App & Alarm App	Free	Mar 30, 2017
-- Self: A Meditation Machine	Free	Mar 30, 2017

i-Qi clock & meditation timer

Top Pro

Gorgeous sounds

The sound engine which emulate the reverberation of the bells is impressive. Multiple strikes overlap, even the sounds of different bells can overlap as well. See More

Top Con

Main screen is a menu

The main screen features a clock that only shows the quarter marks like the cardinal directions, largely useless for actually telling time. At the bottom are the links to playing with the bells, wake up alarm, meditation session presets, and settings. The meditation presets should be the main screen as that is the primary function for the app. Minor gripe/ con. See More

Top Pro

Easy to setup

You choose the bell, when the bell should play, how many times the bell should repeat, the volume by % and optionally you can give the event a name. Set it and forget it. See More

Top Con

Infrequent updates

The app is simple enough that frequent updates are not necessary. However, the fact remains that the developer is not aggressive about improving the app. This is a blessing and a curse. See More

Top Pro

Reliable

While this app does not have the Background App Refresh feature, there have not been instances where the bell did not go off for a meditation session. See More

Top Con

No integration with Health Kit

Top Pro

Can be used as a wake up alarm

For the devout meditator, you can elect to wake up to bells. Two choices are available. The Golden Ratio alarm starts with distantly spaced bell strikes and over time the interval becomes shorter and shorter. Continuous Chimes which is in a fixed interval of your choosing defaulting at 10 seconds between bell strikes. See More

Top Con

No han instrument

A zen instrument comprised of a thick wooden board that is struck by a wooden mallet. It is struck at dawn, dusk and the end of the day. It is used to summon participants to the zendo (meditation hall) for daily zazen (meditation). The pattern of strikes always includes three roll downs. See More

Top Pro

Has reminder function

This app does not feature an explicitly stated "reminder" feature to do meditation session, but the wake-up alarm serves the same function. You can set multiple alarms for throughout the day if you wish. See More

Samsara | Meditation and Yoga Timer

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Easy to use

Top Con

No social features

Top Pro

Stores different types of statistics

Top Pro

Alarm is reliable even if the app is put in the background

Refreshes in the background, few meditation timers have this critical feature. See More

Top Pro

Notifications to remind you to meditate

Insight Timer

Top Con

Several distracting features

It can be harmful to compare or compete in racking up meditation time, or only doing guided meditation. Or fiddling too much with different features and browsing all the teachers, meditators, etc. See More

Top Pro

Contains audio-guided meditations

Top Con

In app purchases

IAPs for bells and guided meditations. See More

Top Pro

You can see who else is meditating at the same time

Top Con

Not very aesthetically pleasing

Top Pro

Simple to use

Apple Watch - Timer App & Alarm App

Add Video or Image

Top Pro

Works without iPhone

Almost entirely functional without iPhone. The only thing that requires the iPhone is renaming the labels for the alarms. This comes in really handy for situations where phones are confiscated or frowned upon in monasteries or temples, retreats etc. See More

Top Con

Must charge daily

With the Phone on Airplane Mode the Apple Watch will easily last all day leaving plenty of buffer room to charge, but still, it will require recharging on a daily basis. For many, the most convenient time to do this is as part of their bedtime or wake-up routine. Sometimes both if the watch is used as a wake-up alarm or sleep tracker. See More

Top Pro

Discreet

Haptic Feedback is as nice as it gets for a discreet but clear and unmistakable alarm for those drowsy moments. See More

Top Con

No bells or whistles

No sounds of bells, no warm up periods, no statistics, no homekit integration. It's the equivalent of a kitchen egg timer except it's strapped to your wrist and it's silent. See More

Top Pro

Dead simple

Timer App: Select from several preset timers, or set a custom amount of time before the timer goes off. Alarm App: Click Add alarm, pick a time you want the alarm to go off and you're done. Optionally you can go back into the alarm if you want it to persist, give it a name (provided an iPhone is connected), or if you want to disable the snooze function or to delete the alarm. From the main screen all you can do is toggle alarms on or off. See More

Self: A Meditation Machine

4 Community Recommendations

Request recommendations from the community

Contributor for 2 years

1.4K

Total
Recs.

342K

Total
Karma

Samsara | Meditation and Yoga Timer

Recommended a year ago

Stores different types of statistics

Alarm is reliable even if the app is put in the background

Contributor for 2 years

1.4K

Total
Recs.

342K

Total
Karma

i-Qi clock & meditation timer

Recommended a year ago

Gorgeous sounds

Contributor for 2 years

47

Total
Recs.

23K

Total
Karma

i-Qi clock & meditation timer

Recommended a year ago

Gorgeous sounds

Can be used as a wake up alarm

Main screen is a menu

Contributor for 6 years

1.5K

Total
Recs.

259K

Total
Karma

Samsara | Meditation and Yoga Timer

Recommended 2 years ago

Stuart hasn’t added their experience, pros or cons to their recommendation.

No highlighted recommendations.

Explore Related Questions

Help millions of people make better decisions.

Each month, over 1.7 million people use Slant to find the best products and share their knowledge. Pick the tags you’re passionate about to get a personalized feed and begin contributing your knowledge.