Insight Timer is the App I use to time and track my meditation sessions. You can choose which bell/sound you’d like to start and end your meditation, see your statistics which can encourage consistency, and at the end of each session you’ll know how many others around the world using the App just meditated. You can then choose whether or not to interact with anyone in the Insight Timer community. It also features free guided meditations by: Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg and many more amazing teachers. (Free, fee for advanced version)

HeadSpace App –

Headspace- Billing itself as “your very own personal trainer, here to help you train your mind,” Headspace will teach you the basics of meditations, provided you surrender ten minutes of your day. If you opt into the program, it offers you a tracking page for your progress, a buddy system designed to help you motivate your friends, reminders for staying on track, and a wide range of recordings for different moods and lifestyles. (Foundation Level 10- free, subscription based after)

The Mindfulness App lets you create your own guided meditations—customizing how long and what type you want to do that day. It also has a convenient reminder function, to help maintain your practice throughout the day. ($4.99)

Buddhify- Seriously user-friendly, Buddhify is for those looking to get something specific out of a guided meditation. The app contains custom recordings for fifteen possible scenarios from your day, including “feeling stressed,” “difficult emotions,” “going to sleep,” “travel,” and “walking in the city.” Want to gauge your progress? It stores stats and presents graphs to track your activity. (fee)

Stop, Breathe & Think- This app offers a solid sampling of the basics of meditation, featuring a range of exercises at varying lengths (mindfulness meditation, loving-kindness meditation, the body scan practice), ideal for short practices at work and longer sessions at home. This app contains an emotional component that asks you to input how you feel, mentally and physically comprehensively, and then suggests a variety of meditation practices based on your response. The look and feel of the app is very accessible, with plain-English explanations of what meditation is and how to do it, and with a bit of humor weaved into the whole project. (Free, in-app purchases)

Calm offers a free seven-day course of guided meditation exercises. Once you pay for the extended version, the available sessions include a 21-day program for general well-being, and a week-long series focusing on helping you get better sleep. There are also individual sessions lasting between two and 20 minutes, and “unguided” sessions using music and nature sounds. (monthly subscription after free 7- day course) Smiling Mind- Developed by a team of psychologists working with a non-profit. Its playlists contain a variety of guided Mindfulness meditations, such as a guided Body Scan, a Breathing Exercise, Mindful Listening Exercises and a Daily Guide. Offers a pre and post evaluation option to see if your mood changes with practice. (Free)