Waking Up: Meditation & Wisdom

Waking Up LLC

In-app purchases

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
Daily Quotes—a spark of insight each day
Daily Wisdom—brief lessons that shift perspective
Moment—short reflections when you need them most
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 [e-mail].

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 [e-mail] for a full refund.

Ratings and reviews

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!

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.

I really wanted to like this app but the guided meditations move way too quickly and I don't find them useful. There isn't enough time to ease into it for me. It would be nice if you could choose to lengthen the duration like you can with Headspace. The lessons, however, are quite interesting and digestible. Until there's an option to change the pace of the meditations I'll be sticking to Headspace.

What’s new

Reflections is now called Daily Wisdom. New name, same feature: short, curated insights, handpicked from content across the app. Plus now you can filter what appears in your feed.