Music apps for relaxation: what each one offers for free
Put Rodrigo Pereira
Calm and Headspace combine free installation with paid access to much of the content. The store listing doesn't mean all meditations are unlocked: check the offer displayed in your account. In this guide, the comparison begins with the features accessible without a subscription and the type of break you want to take during the day.
On the other hand, three apps offer guided meditation without requiring a credit card: Insight Timer unlocks hundreds of narrated meditations in Portuguese, Medito has no ads or subscription (it's maintained by a foundation), and Lojong, made in Brazil, offers calm and focus practices in its free plan. I read all six fact sheets and listed what each one unlocks for free in a table below.
This guide is about the day: the 10-minute break between tasks, the minutes before a meeting, the background music for studying. For bedtime, with a timer and nighttime routine, there is... the music app guide for sleep.
Three types of apps, three different breaks.
Searching for "relaxing music" in the store returns three things that look nothing alike. Knowing which one you want will save you from installing the wrong one.
- Continuous sounds (Rain, sea, white noise): They don't demand attention. They serve as background for working and studying. Insight Timer, Medito, and BetterSleep have them.
- Guided meditationA voice guides the session for 3, 5, or 10 minutes. It's the pause itself: you stop what you're doing. Insight Timer, Lojong, Medito, Calm, and Headspace.
- Sound mixerYou create your own soundtrack, with rain at one volume and piano at another. It's the specialty of BetterSleep, formerly Relax Melodies, which changed its name in the store.
Practical rule: continuous sound to keep producing; guided meditation to stop; mixer when you get tired of the pre-recorded sounds.
Five minutes of guided breathing before the meeting.
Guided breathing is the cheapest resource of all: it's available for free in Medito, Calm (the description itself states that some resources are permanently free), and Lojong. What changes in five minutes is what you do with your hands and your attention: instead of scrolling through your feed until the meeting starts, you follow a rhythm.
- Set your phone to Do Not Disturb or activate Focus Mode, explained below.
- Open the breathing exercise and choose the shortest duration, 3 or 5 minutes.
- Headphones in, screen facing down. The app times the inhale and exhale with sound or vibration.
- When you're finished, open the meeting agenda before any other app.
Medito does this better than paid apps for a simple reason: there's no subscription screen in the middle of the process. You choose from 3 to 30 minutes and press play; the listing on the Play Store doesn't include in-app purchases or ads, and the audio continues with the screen off. The weak point is the language: the store lists the app only in English.
Guided meditation, breathing exercises, and background sounds, all free and ad-free.
Guided meditation in Portuguese, free of charge.
Insight Timer: the largest free collection
Insight Timer (10 million downloads, 4.9 rating on Play) works the opposite of Calm: its catalog is open, and the subscription sells convenience. According to its description, the free plan includes hundreds of guided meditations in Portuguese by Portuguese-speaking teachers, thousands of music tracks and ambient sounds, the timer, and practice statistics. The optional subscription unlocks offline listening, repeat mode, fast forward and rewind, and higher quality audio.
For the 10-minute break, the most useful feature is the timer: you choose the duration, a bell at the beginning and end, and a background sound. No voice, no course, no sales screen.
Hundreds of guided meditations in Portuguese, ambient sounds, and a meditation timer are available on the free plan.
Lojong: Made in Brazil, narrated in Portuguese
Lojong is the Brazilian app from the group (1 million downloads, 4.9 rating). All narration is in Portuguese, which solves the problem for those who struggle with the English voices of foreign apps. The app description lists what unlocks upon installation: gratitude journal, guided meditations for calm, focus and well-being, relaxation practices, and introductory mindfulness programs. The Premium version, with in-app purchases ranging from R$6.99 to R$849.90 per item, unlocks all practices, ambient sounds, stories, yoga, and downloads for offline listening. Note from the description itself: the free version contains ads.
Guided meditations 100% in Portuguese, with calm and focus practices in the free plan.
Background noise to help with concentration: rain, coffee, or white noise.
Background music is a category that no one needs to pay for. The three most commonly used sounds do different things:
- Rain: steady sound, without peaks; it covers street noise without drawing attention. Most commonly used for studying.
- Coffee (or “cafeteria atmosphere”): murmur of voices without intelligible words, dishes, chairs being dragged. For those who thrive with movement around them and freeze in total silence.
- White noiseAll audible frequencies with the same energy, the static of a TV that's off-channel. It masks high-pitched and short sounds, like a colleague's notification or a door slamming. Pink and brown noise are lower-pitched variations, more commonly used at night.
For free: Insight Timer (thousands of tracks and ambient sounds), Medito (rain, ocean, white noise) and Calm (some soundscapes). To create your own mix, there's BetterSleep.
BetterSleep: the mixer that used to be Relax Melodies
BetterSleep (10 million downloads, 4.5 rating) is the app that Ipnos renamed from Relax Melodies. The description mentions over 300 sounds and tracks, a timer to stop the app after a set time, and "smart mixing," which prevents cutoffs when a sound repeats. The free version opens the mixer with some of the sounds; the complete catalog, meditations, and stories are available with a subscription, with in-app purchases ranging from R$ 4.09 to R$ 959.99 per item.
Mixer with over 300 sounds and tracks, timer, and mixes saved as favorites.
Instrumental playlist on Spotify and YouTube Music
Spotify and YouTube Music offer instrumental playlists, but the free experience has limitations. Spotify retains ads and has started offering more on-demand selection in the Free version; check the app's current rules. On YouTube Music, listening to music in the background usually requires Premium. For uninterrupted playback, check for ads, screen lock, and duration before starting.
A comparison of plans, catalogs, and prices for both companies and their competitors can be found on [website/platform name]. Comparison of the best music streaming apps..
Listen without internet
Download is what differentiates the plans in almost all the apps here, from Insight Timer to Spotify; the exception is Medito, whose listing says that any session can be downloaded for free.
To have sound on the bus without using up data, the cheapest option is to play files you already have, and A guide to apps for listening to music offline. It shows which players do this without a subscription.
Calm and Headspace: what the subscription costs
Calm (50 million downloads, 4.5 rating) is honest in its own description: it's free to download and use, has no ads, "some programs and features are permanently free," and the rest is for subscribers. The description doesn't detail which ones; what usually unlocks for free is the breathing exercise and some of the soundscapes. Sleep stories, Masterclasses, and most guided meditations are available through subscriptions, with in-app purchases ranging from R$ 2.52 to R$ 1,499.99 per item.
Headspace (10 million downloads, 4.5 rating) is even more restrictive: without a subscription, you get a sample of the basic course and little else. The listing shows purchases ranging from R$ 15.99 to R$ 399.99 per item. There are over 500 meditations and breathing exercises, but the App Store lists the app only in English.
Comparison: what the free version unlocks in each app
Data from Google Play listings as of September 2026; the annual subscription price changes with promotions, so check the payment screen.
| App | What opens without paying? | In-app purchases (track on Play) | In Portuguese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insight Timer | Hundreds of guided meditations, thousands of tracks and sounds, timer, statistics. | R$ 7.13 to R$ 1,099.99 per item (subscription: offline and convenience) | Yes, with Brazilian teachers. |
| I meditate | Everything: courses, breathing, sounds, download, background audio | None; no advertisements (non-profit foundation) | No; the store only states English. |
| Lojong | Calm and focus meditations, gratitude journal, introductory programs | R$ 6.99 to R$ 849.90 per item; free version with ads. | Yes, all narrated in Portuguese. |
| BetterSleep | Mixer with some of the sounds, timer. | R$ 4.09 to R$ 959.99 per item | Interface in Portuguese |
| Calm | Some programs and features are permanent and ad-free. | R$ 2.52 to R$ 1,499.99 per item | Interface in Portuguese and some of the content |
| Headspace | Sample of the basic course | R$ 15.99 to R$ 399.99 per item | The App Store states it is only in English. |
What your phone already does: Focus mode on Android and Focus mode on iPhone.
Two native features solve half the problem of the pause: silencing the interrupting element and turning off the sound at the end of the timer.
- Android, Focus ModeSettings, Digital wellbeing and parental controls, Focus mode. You choose which apps are paused and for how long; their icons turn gray until finished. The name varies by manufacturer; searching for "focus" in Settings will find it.
- Android timerThe Clock app has a timer, but not for music; use the timer in the sound app (Insight Timer and BetterSleep have them).
- iPhone, FocusSettings, Focus, Work (or Do Not Disturb). You can allow only certain people and apps and schedule them by time.
- iPhone, timer that stops the musicIn the Clock app, under the Timer tab, tap "When End" and choose "Stop Playing." Any audio will stop when the timer is up. This is the trick to prevent a 10-minute pause from turning into 40.
The 10-minute break, step by step.
A routine that fits between two tasks without anyone noticing you've left:
- Activate Focus Mode (Android) or Focus Work Mode (iPhone) for 15 minutes.
- Choose: 10-minute guided meditation (Insight Timer or Lojong) or just background music with a 10-minute timer.
- Headphones, even in an empty room: let others know you're unavailable.
- Phone face down; audio continues in the apps mentioned here, except for the free YouTube Music app.
- The sound has stopped, the pause is over. Go back to the task you were doing, not to the feed.
Doing it once a day becomes routine. The app organizes the break; if the fatigue has been building for weeks, and not just from an afternoon, then a consultation is the answer. a guide to apps for taking care of your mental health It explains where an app can help and when it's time to seek a professional.
How do these apps make money?
- Annual subscription with trial period (Calm, Headspace, BetterSleep, Lojong Premium, Insight Timer subscription): the trial automatically becomes a charge at the end, and the annual plan is the most pushed because the company receives payment all at once.
- AdvertsLojong is available for free, and Spotify and YouTube Music are available on the free plan. The announcement before the meditation shows the price of the "free" option.
- FoundationMedito is maintained by the non-profit Medito Foundation; therefore, it has no subscription or advertising.
If you joined a trial and don't want to be charged, cancel before it ends. On Android: Google Play app, profile picture, Payments & subscriptions, Subscriptions; Google explains the path in [link to Google Play app]. Cancel, pause, or change a subscription on Google Play.. On iPhone: Settings, your name, Subscriptions. Canceling the trial keeps access until the end date.
Common mistakes when choosing
- Install the most popular one and discover the subscription in the third session. Look for the "in-app purchases" section on the page before downloading.
- Expecting the app to solve weeks of stress. It organizes ten minutes; the rest is sleep, work, and, if it persists, a doctor's appointment.
- Let the music play without a timer and turn the pause into an hour. Use the timer in the app, or "Stop Playing" on iPhone.
- Download the unlocked "premium" APK of Calm or Headspace. There are no updates or control over what comes bundled outside of the app store.
Common questions
Which meditation app is truly free, without a subscription?
Medito: its listing on the Play Store shows no in-app purchases or ads, and the description says "no subscriptions." Insight Timer comes in second: free catalog, subscription only for offline use, and convenient features.
Do Calm and Headspace have free versions?
They have a layer: Calm keeps some programs and resources permanently free, and Headspace releases a sample of the basic course. The bulk of the content on both is for subscribers.
Which one has narrated meditation in Portuguese?
Lojong (all in Portuguese, made in Brazil) and Insight Timer (hundreds of meditations by teachers who speak Portuguese, according to the listing). Medito and Headspace appear in the store listed only in English.
Does the sound of rain help with studying?
It helps as cover: constant sound masks the irregular noise of the street and the house. It doesn't "increase concentration"; it removes auditory distractions from the way. If the surrounding noise is conversation, the sound of a coffee shop usually provides better cover than the rain.
First step today: install Insight Timer or Lojong, set a 10-minute timer with a rain sound, and activate Focus Mode. When the bell rings, you'll know if this break fits into your routine.
