Discover the top meditation apps for 2026. From the effortless mindfulness of Mindful Glimpses to the neuroscience-backed Healthy Minds .
Best Meditation App Review 2026: Mindful Glimpses, Healthy Minds & The Way
Expert Insight on Meditation Apps
Hi, I’m a meditation teacher who shares what I learn as I continue my own journey. I’ve been teaching meditation online and in my community for about 5 years, and I’ve also hosted meditation app reviews during that time. In total, I’ve reviewed 35-40 meditation apps, and now I only mention the ones I truly recommend.
Top Pick: Mindful Glimpses
This year, my top meditation app is Mindful Glimpses. I really like Mindful Glimpses because it’s so simple. While many meditation apps offer massive content libraries to entertain, I’m concerned these can lead to a thin practice.
It’s made by Loch Kelly, who has synthesized his own effortless mindfulness approach with IFS, which is a modern-day psychotherapy. The app is very direct, and I really like the design because it’s uncomplicated. The idea behind Mindful Glimpses is to provide an approach that lets you do short practices many times.
You can use these meditations while doing daily activities, such as preparing food or gardening.
There are programs for exploring internal family systems and for rest and sleep, including courses with calming music and no instructions. The app also offers an eyes-open meditation program that supports integration into daily life.
The Best Free App: Healthy Minds
Healthy Minds is very beautiful, very kind, and dreamy, calming, with the blues coming through. There’s a donation button because Healthy Minds is completely free. It’s also a non-profit, and the founder has done pioneering work in the neuroscience of mindfulness and meditation.
They’ve got the pictures of monks and brain scans and things like this, and they’re sort of missionaries about enhancing well-being worldwide. I think the time and energy have really gone into how they present and teach mindfulness and meditation in their “My Path” section.
You’ve got foundations, awareness, connection, insight, and purpose. Wonderfully, they also have a sort of learn, practice, alternating presentation of their meditation, which means they first teach you the concept, and then you do a little more practice.
You can change speakers, the voice that is doing the mindfulness and meditation, which matters a lot when these voices are really setting the frequency for your mindfulness.
Honorable Mention: The Way
My final honorable mention for my annual app review is The Way. The Way is a Zen app that teaches a style of meditation. Henry Shukman is an authorized teacher, so you’re getting authentic teachings.
The Way is integrating its app with the rest of the Henry Shukman ecosystem, so it has a community feature that lets you connect with WhatsApp groups in different countries. They have these levels where you do your lessons, and you move from one level to another, and then you move to a retreat island.
Each retreat island has its own kind of art, which makes exploring them all the more exciting. That inspiration keeps me eager to reach the next level.
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