Waking Up: Meditation & Wisdom

4.7
41.6K reviews
Content rating
Rated for 3+
1M+
Downloads
Content rating
Rated for 3+
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About this app

About this app
A Life-Changing Approach to Mindfulness—Learn More than Basic Relaxation Methods

Recognized as a 2025 Pick by NYT Wirecutter

Featured as a 2026 pick for the App Store “App of the Day”

Thousands worldwide call Waking Up life changing. Whether you want better sleep, more clarity, or deeper meditation, Waking Up is your complete guide.

Testimonials

“Waking Up has led to my most consistent meditation practice. Family and staff also use it because it’s such a powerful tool.” —Andrew Huberman, neuroscientist

“Waking Up is a critical part of my daily practice. It’s my go-to for presence, peace, and well-being.” —Rich Roll, athlete & author

“If you’ve had trouble getting into meditation, this app is your answer!” —Susan Cain, best-selling author

What’s Inside

• Introductory Course—a transformative 28-day program, for both beginners and experienced meditators
• Daily Meditations—regular guided sessions with Sam Harris
• Moments—short reflections when you need them most
• Daily Quotes—a spark of insight each day
• Reflections—brief lessons that shift perspective
• Sleep—talks and meditations to help you rest
• Meditation Timer—customize your own sessions
• A vast library of meditations, theory sessions, life courses, conversations, and Q&As
• Community—connect with members to discuss meditation, philosophy, psychedelics, and more

Why Waking Up Stands Out

Unlike conventional meditation apps, Waking Up blends practice with theory—so you not only learn to meditate but also understand how it transforms your mind. It’s meditation, science, and timeless wisdom in one place.

Topics & Techniques

Our library combines contemplative traditions with modern science, offering tools for both practice and understanding. Techniques include mindfulness (Vipassana), Loving-Kindness, body scans, yoga nidra, and nondual awareness practices from Dzogchen, Zen, and Advaita Vedanta. Topics span neuroscience, psychology, Stoicism, ethics, psychedelics, productivity, and happiness.

Content & Teachers

Created by neuroscientist and best-selling author Sam Harris, Waking Up features leading voices in meditation, philosophy, and psychology.

• Practice—Vipassana, Zen, Dzogchen, Advaita Vedanta (Joseph Goldstein, Diana Winston, Adyashanti, Henry Shukman, Richard Lang)
• Theory—the philosophy and science of consciousness, ethics, and well-being (Alan Watts, Charlotte Joko Beck, Joan Tollifson, James Low, Douglas Harding)
• Life—mindfulness in relationships, productivity, Stoicism, and more (David Whyte, Oliver Burkeman, Matthew Walker, Amanda Knox, Donald Robertson, Bob Waldinger)
• Conversations—Sam Harris with Yuval Noah Harari, Michael Pollan, Morgan Housel, Roland Griffiths, Cal Newport, Shinzen Young
• Q&As—Sam Harris with Joseph Goldstein, Adyashanti, Henry Shukman, Jack Kornfield, Loch Kelly

And many more subjects and teachers.

Created by Sam Harris

Neuroscientist and best-selling author Sam Harris built Waking Up as the resource he wished he’d had when he began meditating 30 years ago. Every practice, course, and teacher is chosen for its power to change lives.

Free for Anyone Who Can’t Afford It

We never want money to be the reason someone can’t benefit from our app. To learn about our scholarship program, reach out to support@wakingup.com.

Subscriptions renew unless auto-renew is disabled 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage in Apple account settings. Payment charged to your Apple account.

Terms: https://wakingup.com/terms-of-service/

Privacy: https://wakingup.com/privacy-policy/

Satisfaction guarantee: Email support@wakingup.com for a full refund.
Updated on
Jun 19, 2026

Data safety

Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.
No data shared with third parties
Learn more about how developers declare sharing
This app may collect these data types
Location, Personal info and 4 others
Data is encrypted in transit
You can request that data be deleted

Ratings and reviews

4.7
40.9K reviews
The Matt
July 5, 2026
Everything was going good. Was on day 7 of the intro course and was looking forward to completing it. Then the email came -- I was about to be charged $150 for the year. I signed up monthly. I emailed support thinking it would be an ez fix, but they canceled my subscription (WTH), then told me to sign up again at $20 a month when the price was $13 just a few days prior. That's just dishonest and shady!
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Waking Up LLC
July 5, 2026
We understand your frustration, and we truly apologize for the inconvenience you've experienced. We received your email and are currently reviewing it. We'll do our best to help you with your concern.
Anya K
May 6, 2026
Best meditation technique I've come across over the years - the fact that the daily meditations change up every day really helps my brain not get bored with the same process, which in the past had felt like a chore after a while with other meditation techniques where it was one set process. The large library of discussions, conversations, and podcasts is also great to have on hand.
6 people found this review helpful
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Levi Caelan Selby
June 20, 2026
I have always believed I can't do meditation because my mind is busy and unsettled, I have physical pain and trauma issues. Waking Up has shown me in a brief time that I don't have to 'do' anything but just 'be' and notice being. It is unlike anything I have tried before and is already having an effect on my over activated autonomic nervous system. I would recommend it to anyone, whatever your past meditation experience.
1 person found this review helpful
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What’s new

We’ve added several new ways to personalize your listening experience. You can now add a brief interlude between tracks in autoplay, customize any meditation before it begins, and set one background sound for Practice sessions and a different one for Theory and Life. We’ve also redesigned the Meditation Timer with more functionality, and added two new bells to open and close your sessions.