Compare Waking Up and Headspace: Which App is the Best?

Waking Up delivers an exceptionally rich feature set that goes far beyond typical meditation apps. The 28-day introductory course alone represents substantial value, systematically building both your practice skills and conceptual understanding of what meditation actually does to consciousness. We completed the full course and found it transformative—not because it promised stress relief or productivity gains, but because it fundamentally shifted how we relate to our own thoughts.

The daily meditation library is vast and thoughtfully curated. Sam Harris guides most sessions, with his calm, intellectually rigorous approach that appeals to skeptics and science-minded practitioners. Beyond Harris, you'll find teachings from Joseph Goldstein (Vipassana master), Henry Shukman (Zen teacher), Adyashanti (nondual awareness), and Diana Winston (mindfulness). Each teacher brings distinct techniques and philosophical perspectives, creating genuine depth rather than superficial variety.

Where Waking Up truly excels is its theory content. The conversations feature interviews with Yuval Noah Harari on consciousness, Michael Pollan on psychedelics, and Cal Newport on attention—topics you won't find in Headspace or Calm. The "Life" section covers practical applications: Stoicism, relationship mindfulness, sleep science, and productivity. These aren't afterthoughts; they're substantial talks that contextualize meditation within broader questions of how to live well.

The Moments feature provides quick mindfulness reminders—short reflections perfect for busy days when a full session isn't feasible. The meditation timer works well for unguided practice, though it lacks some customization options found in dedicated timer apps. Community features allow discussion with other practitioners, which adds a social dimension often missing from solitary practice. We rate features at 9.3 out of 10—comprehensive and intellectually ambitious, with only minor gaps in customization and organizational tools.

Waking Up generally performs well in daily use, with smooth navigation, reliable audio playback, and reasonable loading times. The app launches quickly, and sessions begin playing without frustrating delays. Audio quality is consistently excellent across all content, with clear voice recordings and pleasant ambient sounds for the meditation timer.

Battery consumption is reasonable for an audio app—comparable to music streaming services. The app doesn't drain battery excessively during playback or idle in the background, which is important for daily users. We tested across multiple sessions and found no unusual battery impact. Storage requirements are modest, with the app itself taking up minimal space and allowing you to manage downloaded content for offline use.

However, performance issues appear in specific areas that deserve attention. The playback progress bug mentioned in several reviews is a real problem: the app sometimes fails to remember where you left off in longer talks or courses, forcing you to manually locate your position. This breaks the seamless experience and creates unnecessary friction when you're trying to maintain a consistent practice.

Login and authentication problems affected multiple users, particularly on Android devices with Google sign-in. While not universal, these issues are frustrating when they occur—meditation practice requires consistency, and technical barriers that prevent access undermine that consistency. The app would benefit from more robust error handling and clearer troubleshooting guidance when authentication fails. Despite these issues, the core meditation experience performs reliably once you're in a session. We rate performance at 8.3—solid in most areas, with specific bugs that need addressing to reach excellence.

Waking Up's design prioritizes clarity and calm aesthetics over flashy animations or gamification. The interface uses clean typography, generous whitespace, and a restrained color palette that reinforces the contemplative purpose of the app. Navigation is logical: Daily, Practice, Theory, and Life sections are clearly delineated, making it easy to find what you're looking for.

The home screen presents your daily meditation prominently, with quick access to the meditation timer, moments, and daily quotes. This focused design encourages consistent practice without overwhelming you with options. Progress tracking is subtle—you can see your meditation streak and completed sessions, but it doesn't employ the aggressive streak maintenance tactics of gamified apps.

We appreciated the thoughtful details: sessions display their duration upfront, teachers are clearly identified with brief bios, and the audio player interface is clean and functional. The sleep content section offers a peaceful browsing experience with previews and descriptions that help you choose appropriate content for bedtime.

However, the design isn't without limitations. Some users reported that the library feels harder to navigate than it should be, especially when searching for specific topics or teachers. The community features feel somewhat bolted on rather than integrated into the core experience. Compared to Balance's more modern, personalized interface or Calm's visually lush design, Waking Up feels more utilitarian. We rate design at 8.7—professionally executed and appropriate for the content, but not exceptional or innovative.

This is where Waking Up becomes contentious. At roughly $120 per year (or more for monthly subscriptions), it's positioned as a premium product competing with Headspace and Calm at the high end of the meditation app market. The question becomes: does the content justify this premium pricing?

For users genuinely engaged with the intellectual and philosophical dimensions of meditation, the answer is often yes. The combination of rigorous practice instruction, expert teachers, and deep theoretical content creates a comprehensive meditation education that would cost far more if pursued through books, courses, and retreats separately. The conversations alone—featuring world-class thinkers discussing consciousness, ethics, and human flourishing—provide value beyond simple meditation guidance. Many reviews called it "life-changing" and "worth more than a streaming service," suggesting that engaged users find significant value.

However, the value proposition weakens considerably if you're primarily seeking guided meditations for stress relief or sleep improvement. In that case, Insight Timer offers thousands of free guided meditations, Balance provides personalized guidance at similar pricing, and Medito delivers quality content completely free as a nonprofit. Waking Up's theoretical depth becomes less relevant if you won't engage with it.

The trial confusion and credit card requirement create bad first impressions that undermine perceived value. When users feel pressured into subscriptions before adequately sampling the approach, it breeds resentment even if they'd ultimately appreciate the content. The free scholarship program for those who can't afford it is admirable but poorly promoted—many users who complained about cost likely qualify but don't know the option exists. We rate value for money at 7.8—genuinely valuable for the right audience, but expensive and poorly positioned for casual users.

Getting started with Waking Up is straightforward once you overcome the trial and account creation process. The introductory course guides you step-by-step, with clear instructions and a natural progression that builds your understanding gradually. Sam Harris explains concepts thoroughly without being patronizing, striking a good balance for both beginners and experienced meditators returning to refresh their practice.

Daily meditations are easy to access—just tap the featured session on your home screen and begin. The app remembers your progress in courses and series, automatically queuing the next session when you return. Audio quality is excellent, with Harris's voice clear and easy to follow. The meditation timer is simple to configure, with options for interval bells and ambient sounds that help maintain focus.

We found the theory content easy to browse by topic or teacher, though the sheer volume can feel overwhelming initially. The search function works adequately but could be more robust—finding specific talks or teachers sometimes requires more scrolling than we'd prefer. Bookmarking and organizing favorite content isn't as intuitive as in some competitors.

The biggest ease-of-use issue comes from technical bugs rather than design. Several reviews mention playback progress not persisting correctly, forcing users to scrub through sessions to find where they left off. Login problems affected some users, particularly with Google authentication on Android devices. These friction points, while not universal, significantly impact the experience when they occur. Despite these issues, the core meditation experience remains smooth and uncluttered. We rate ease of use at 8.5—generally intuitive with some technical rough edges that need polishing.

Waking Up requires an account to use the service, which means your meditation data is stored on their servers rather than exclusively on your device. The app's privacy policy is reasonably transparent about data collection: they gather usage information, meditation history, and standard device identifiers to provide the service and improve the experience.

Importantly, we found no evidence of aggressive data harvesting or third-party advertising networks. The subscription model means the business doesn't rely on selling user data or attention to advertisers, which aligns incentives better than ad-supported alternatives. Your meditation content, listening history, and notes remain private and aren't shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

The account requirement does mean you're trusting Waking Up LLC with personal information including email, payment details (through app stores), and meditation habits. For practitioners seeking maximum privacy, Insight Timer offers optional account-free usage, and Medito collects minimal data as a nonprofit. Waking Up falls into a middle ground—not exceptionally privacy-focused, but not exploitative either.

Security measures appear standard: HTTPS encryption for data transmission, secure payment processing through Apple and Google's systems, and the option to delete your account and data upon request. The persistent login issues some users experienced suggest room for improvement in authentication systems, though these seem more like bugs than security vulnerabilities. We rate security and privacy at 8.5—adequate protection with clear business practices, but requiring trust in a for-profit company's data stewardship.