Waking Up: Meditation & Wisdom

In-app purchases
4.7
41.3K reviews
1M+
Downloads
Content rating
Everyone
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About this app

Recognized as a 2025 Pick by NYT Wirecutter
Thousands worldwide call Waking Up life-changing. Whether you want better sleep, more clarity, or deeper meditation, Waking Up is your complete guide.

What’s Inside
- Introductory Course—28-day program that has transformed thousands
- Daily Meditation with Sam Harris
- Moments—short reflections when you need them most
- Daily Quote—a spark of insight each day
- Reflections—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—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, and more
- Q&As—Sam Harris with Joseph Goldstein, Adyashanti, Henry Shukman, Jack Kornfield, Loch Kelly

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.

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
“Waking Up is the most important meditation guide I’ve ever used.” —Peter Attia, MD
“If you’ve had trouble getting into meditation, this app is your answer!” —Susan Cain, best-selling author

Free for Anyone Who Can’t Afford It
We never want money to be the reason someone can’t benefit.

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
Sep 29, 2025

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
40.6K reviews
Heather Eady
September 8, 2025
I'm unsurprised that longtime meditators find this app's intro course so powerful. Sam dives into some advanced techniques. If you are a beginner or intermediate meditator, like me, you will probably be frustrated by the sessions about "having no head" and Sam's assertion that the self is an illusion. Overall, I like that the app focuses on the theory behind meditation and is less commercial than other apps. I'll keep using it for a year and see if my opinion changes.
2 people found this review helpful
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Carter Robison
June 29, 2024
Great app with a lot of wisdom in it! It has changed my mindset and introduced me to meditation. I like how the introduction is, it makes it easier not to get lost or overwhelmed by the content. One think the could work on is the search feature. I feel like I can never find things on the topics I want, even if I know they are there. On top of that it pulls up what I have already listened to first which is fine but most of the time it is unrelated to what I am searching for.
47 people found this review helpful
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A Google user
March 9, 2019
If you want to build a discipline around meditation, this is a good place to start. Try to make it a regular habit, and give it enough time to take hold. Don't give up after a few sessions. There are 50 meditations that you should go through in order. The narrator is better to my ears than those of other apps (headspace for example), as he is not attempting to influence your mood simply by the tone of his voice, or over affected presentation. This is a high quality guided experience, exactly what you are looking for.
20 people found this review helpful
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What’s new

Tomorrow starts tonight.
We’ve introduced a new Sleep section in the app, found on the home screen:
Sleep Talks—drift off while listening to calming lessons and background sounds
Guided Sleep Meditations—structured practices for deep and restorative rest
Rest deeply. Begin again tomorrow.
This version also includes bug fixes and behind-the-scenes improvements to ensure your experience is smooth and reliable.