People leave Headspace over the bill, over the shape of the product, or over where their data goes. The page we read leaves the annual price blank, the app now sits beside coaching and therapy services, and its privacy policy says information is stored in the US. Alternatives range from free apps run by foundations to single-teacher subscriptions.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderShort answer: The first three alternatives to Headspace in our meditation apps ranking are Medito, Plum Village App and Smiling Mind. Where a category has smaller vendors worth recommending, they occupy the first three places and the big brands come below them. Choose Medito if you want a free, account-less app from a Dutch foundation. Every one of the 10 products below comes from Best Meditation Apps in 2026, with a note on how it departs from Headspace.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Headspace's subscription page promises a 14-day trial and says the annual plan renews automatically each year, but the amount rendered as a blank value when we fetched it. Monthly, student, family and gift plans are linked rather than priced there. You learn the real cost at the end of the trial, so check the store listing first.
The home page lists exercises and sleep content next to coaching, online therapy that accepts insurance, employer programmes and an AI companion called Ebb. Coaching is described as an add-on to a subscription. Someone who wanted a timer and a few guided sessions is paying for a catalogue built for a much wider audience.
The privacy policy states that personal information is stored within the US, and that the company relies on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework for transfers. It also says text typed into support chat may be kept and used for business purposes. European users who prefer a European foundation or a non-commercial operator have reason to look elsewhere.
| Alternative | Headquarters | Free option | Pricing model | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medito | Netherlands | Yes | Published | you want a free, account-less app from a Dutch foundation | #1 |
| Plum Village App | Not stated by the vendor | Yes | Published | you want a contemplative practice rather than a wellness product | #3 |
| Smiling Mind | Australia | Yes | Published | you are choosing for a school, a family or children | #2 |
| Insight Timer | Not stated by the vendor | Yes | Published | you want a huge free library and will browse for yourself | #4 |
| Waking Up | Not stated by the vendor | No free tier | See profile | you want one teacher's course and a way to ask for free access | #6 |
| Happier Meditation | Not stated by the vendor | No free tier | See profile | you prefer structured teacher courses over a bare catalogue | #5 |
| Balance | Not stated by the vendor | No free tier | See profile | you would rather be handed a daily session than choose one | #8 |
| Oak | Not stated by the vendor | No free tier | See profile | you use an iPhone and mainly want breathing exercises | #11 |
| Breethe | Not stated by the vendor | No free tier | See profile | you want sleep stories, sounds and hypnotherapy in one app | #10 |
| Aura | Not stated by the vendor | Yes | Published | personalised sleep and meditation matter and you accept US processing | #9 |
Netherlands · Published
Stichting Medito is a registered Dutch foundation, and the app needs no account. Every meditation, course and sleep story is offered at no charge, and the code is published under the AGPL licence. Donations and volunteers fund it, and the foundation says fewer than one per cent of users give, so continuity rests on goodwill.
Switch from Headspace if you want a free, account-less app from a Dutch foundation.
Not stated by the vendor · Published
This app carries the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and his monastic community: guided meditations, deep relaxations, practice songs, chants and recorded Dharma talks. The site calls it free and links a donation page. The material is openly Buddhist, which helps a spiritual practice and may jar if you only want secular stress relief.
Switch from Headspace if you want a contemplative practice rather than a wellness product.
More on Plum Village App: ranked 3 of 11 in meditation apps →
Australia · Published
Smiling Mind is an Australian not-for-profit with an address in Collingwood, Victoria. It calls its app free and says earnings go back into its mission. Beyond the app it runs lessons for primary schools and a family programme, so the catalogue leans towards children, parents and classrooms rather than adult courses.
Switch from Headspace if you are choosing for a school, a family or children.
Check Smiling Mind in the ranked list (2 out of 11, meditation apps) →
Not stated by the vendor · Published
Insight Network Inc. runs a large audio catalogue that it describes as free, with a Member Plus link next to it. The home page gives no price for that tier. It quotes two track counts, 250,000 and 370,000, so judge size by trying the search yourself. Teachers include psychologists and spiritual leaders.
Switch from Headspace if you want a huge free library and will browse for yourself.
Check Insight Timer in the ranked list (4 out of 11, meditation apps) →
Not stated by the vendor · See profile
Waking Up, LLC sells annual access after a seven-day trial, with a money-back guarantee and cancellation in account settings. Anyone who cannot afford it may ask for a scholarship or free membership. The price appears only after login, and the terms point to California law.
Switch from Headspace if you want one teacher's course and a way to ask for free access.
Waking Up review, listed at 6 of 11 meditation apps products →
Not stated by the vendor · See profile
Happier Meditation, Inc. is the app once sold as Ten Percent Happier, and the old address redirects to it. Courses led by teachers sit beside a library of over 500 meditations, tuned through a monthly check-in. A free meditations page exists, though the subscription amount is withheld until the trial begins.
Switch from Headspace if you prefer structured teacher courses over a bare catalogue.
More on Happier Meditation: ranked 5 of 11 in meditation apps →
Not stated by the vendor · See profile
Balance is made by The Mind Company, the maker of Elevate and Spark. You answer daily questions about goals and obstacles, and the app assembles a session from an audio library of thousands of files. Terms allow free trials, but no price is shown, and a built-to-order session is harder to repeat.
Switch from Headspace if you would rather be handed a daily session than choose one.
Where Balance stands: place 8 of 11 in the meditation apps ranking →
Not stated by the vendor · See profile
Nyllon LLC publishes Oak, which concentrates on breathing exercises and meditation sessions and says over a million people have joined. The old oakmeditation.com address redirects to oak.spa. Only iOS is listed, with no price or plan details on the site, so terms sit in the App Store listing.
Switch from Headspace if you use an iPhone and mainly want breathing exercises.
Check Oak in the ranked list (11 out of 11, meditation apps) →
Not stated by the vendor · See profile
Breethe bundles meditation, hypnotherapy, stories, music and sounds for iOS and Android, claims 18 million downloads, and can generate a session for the moment you are in. The home page names no company country, trial terms or price, only a footer Subscription link, so read the store page before paying.
Switch from Headspace if you want sleep stories, sounds and hypnotherapy in one app.
#10 out of 11 meditation apps products: read the Breethe review →
Not stated by the vendor · Published
Aura says more than eight million people use it and offers the site in seven languages. Its privacy policy says it uses Anthropic's Claude service for personalised recommendations, and that data may be stored and processed in the United States or elsewhere. The page names no company country or price.
Switch from Headspace if personalised sleep and meditation matter and you accept US processing.
Aura holds rank 9 among 11 entries in our meditation apps guide →
Medito: A Dutch foundation offers everything at no charge, and the code is open under the AGPL licence.
Smiling Mind: The Australian not-for-profit runs a primary school programme and a family programme beside its free app.
Waking Up: Annual access follows a seven-day trial, and the site invites scholarship or free membership requests.
Plum Village App: Guided meditations, chants and Dharma talks from Thich Nhat Hanh's community, offered free with a donation page.
Happier Meditation: Courses sit beside over 500 meditations; the price is shown only once the trial starts.
Headspace remains a sound choice if you want one subscription that covers guided meditation, sleep content and, when needed, coaching or insured therapy from the same company. Employers can also buy it through organisational programmes. If you are content with US storage and the price is acceptable after the 14-day trial, nothing here forces you out.
Before cancelling, list the sessions you return to. The app holds courses, sleepcasts and music, and few alternatives mirror all three. A free app may cover your daily sit while a second one handles sleep.
Headspace says the annual plan renews automatically and can be cancelled at any time. If you subscribed through an app store, cancellation usually runs through that store, so confirm where your billing sits before the trial or renewal date passes.
The subscription page we read promised a 14-day trial but showed the annual price as a blank value. Monthly, student, family and gift plans are linked from it. Check the live page or your app store listing for the amount.
Medito, Smiling Mind and the Plum Village App all describe themselves as free, and Insight Timer offers a free library beside a Member Plus tier. Medito needs no account and publishes its code.
Medito is run by Stichting Medito, a Dutch foundation. Smiling Mind is Australian. Most other vendors in this list state no country on the pages we read, so check the company details yourself.
Its privacy policy says personal information is stored within the US and that it complies with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework for transfers from Europe.
Its site lists online therapy that accepts insurance and coaching as an add-on to a subscription. Availability by location is not given on the page we read.
Headspace is on Apple and Android devices. Breethe lists iOS and Android. Oak lists iOS only on its site.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed 6 November 2026. How we review.
