Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Simple Habit Sleep vs Balance

Simple Habit Sleep 4.8★ · Free + IAP · ⚠ stale 60
Winner Balance
Balance 4.9★ · Free + IAP 85

Balance is the superior choice for meditation and sleep, offering a more personalized experience and better customer service, despite both apps having similar pricing and free trial issues.

Full reviews: Simple Habit Sleep · Balance

Balance generally outperforms Simple Habit Sleep due to its personalized meditation programs and more reliable user experience, although both apps face criticism regarding their pricing models and free trial practices. Simple Habit Sleep struggles with significant customer support and technical issues that detract from its content.

Head to head

Features and Content edge: BalanceR2R9R19R21
Simple Habit Sleep Simple Habit Sleep offers a wide variety of meditations, including different speakers and topics, and is praised for helping with anxiety and sleep R2R19. Users appreciate the short, guided meditations and the extensive library R21. However, some find the content repetitive or disagree with certain viewpoints R9.
Balance Balance is highly praised for its personalized meditations, adapting to user needs and goals R62. It offers a wide variety of choices, including singles, training modules, and specific types for stress, sleep, and productivity . Users appreciate the different voices and the ability to choose session lengths R118. Some users, however, wish for more continuous updates and new programs .
Ease of Use and Reliability edge: BalanceR1R4R6R7
Simple Habit Sleep Simple Habit Sleep is described as easy to use by some , with reminders helping consistency . However, many users report significant technical issues, including inability to access content after payment R1R4R12, problems finding playlists R6, screen display issues R7, network problems , and buggy updates affecting search and recommendations . The initial setup can also be long and stressful .
Balance Balance is generally considered easy to follow and intuitive R103R107. Users appreciate its ability to keep track of streaks and skills, which helps maintain consistency . Some users note slow startup times or find the initial process confusing .
Price and Value tieR3R9R10R14
Simple Habit Sleep Simple Habit Sleep is frequently criticized for its high price, with users calling it 'ridiculous' and 'too expensive' R3R10R14. Many users report being charged unexpectedly after free trials . The app is seen as a 'vehicle for selling' with a quick paywall R9R22R26. Some find the free content helpful but limited R10.
Balance Balance also faces criticism for its paywall, with users expressing disappointment that most features require payment after a short trial R71. Some users were unexpectedly charged after free trials R67R73. However, many users who pay for premium or lifetime memberships find it to be excellent value and life-changing R72. Some free content is available and appreciated .
Customer Support edge: BalanceR1R4R12R16
Simple Habit Sleep Simple Habit Sleep receives overwhelming negative feedback regarding its customer support. Users report emailing multiple times with no response R1R4R12R16. Issues include inability to access paid content R1R4R12 and problems with discount codes R16.
Balance Balance has some reports of poor customer service, particularly concerning refund requests after unexpected charges . However, the volume of complaints is significantly lower compared to Simple Habit Sleep, and many users do not mention support issues.
Pick Simple Habit Sleep if

you are looking for a meditation app with a wide variety of speakers and topics, and you are comfortable with the pricing and potential customer service challenges R21.

Pick Balance if

you prefer a highly personalized meditation experience that adapts to your needs, offers consistent guidance, and has a more reliable technical performance, even if it means paying for a subscription R62R107.

Evidence note: Simple Habit Sleep has a high volume of recent negative reviews focused on billing issues and non-existent customer support, which heavily impacts its perceived reliability despite positive feedback on its content. Balance also has some complaints about billing and trials, but they are less frequent and less severe.

Frequently asked

Is Simple Habit Sleep truly free?
Simple Habit Sleep offers some free content and introductory sessions, but most meditations and features are behind a paywall, with users reporting that free trials are very limited R9R10R22R26.
Does Balance offer a free trial?
Balance offers free trials, with some users reporting a 7-day trial and others mentioning a free one-year membership promotion R71R72. However, many users experienced automatic charges after the trial ended without sufficient warning R67R73.
What are the common complaints about Simple Habit Sleep?
Common complaints about Simple Habit Sleep include unexpected charges after free trials , non-responsive customer support R1R4R12R16, and technical issues like inability to access content or app bugs R1R4R6R7.
Is Balance good for beginners in meditation?
Yes, Balance is highly recommended for beginners, as it breaks down meditation into simple, bite-sized skills R62R103R107 and gradually introduces different types of meditation R118.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R2] Simple Habit Sleep 5/5 · GB Excellent: Really excellent app. Help through difficult times and more when you’re feeling ok.
  2. [R9] Simple Habit Sleep 3/5 · GB Mixed feelings: Some of the pieces are good, and have been helpful; one or two, however, are based on a viewpoint about thoughts with which I totally disagree. That's easy to handle, though, just skip the session. My main complaint is that (like all other meditation apps I've tried) this app is a vehicle for selling: after a couple of introductory sessions you bump into the paywall. Boom! That
  3. [R19] Simple Habit Sleep 5/5 · GB Why I love simple habit 💕: The reason why I love simple habit is because of how relaxing it is and how the meditation and yoga can suit You’re needs! I hope this helps 💕
  4. [R21] Simple Habit Sleep 4/5 · GB Very good app: I have been meditating for 8 years now so have tried many apps and i have to say this is one of the best of them, i love the exstensive and varied library that comes with this app, you can find something for any thing that you need. The only reason i have given 4 stars and not 5 is because i think the session length times should be no less than 10 minutes and ive found that alot of
  5. [R1] Simple Habit Sleep 1/5 · GB Can’t access content after paid for lifetime membership and no customer support help: I paid for lifetime membership £299 for the simplehabit, and now they suddenly closed my account and I can no longer access to what I paid for. I emailed customer support three times and no response at all. It seems that once they took your money, they don’t care about you anymore and can do whatever they like to
  6. [R4] Simple Habit Sleep 1/5 · GB Subscribed and can’t access anything. No one will get back to me: Previously used it and loved it. Renewed this year and can’t access anything. Asked for assistance 5 times and no one gets back to me.
  7. [R6] Simple Habit Sleep 3/5 · GB Review: I don’t want to rate it or anything like that but whenever I add something to my playlist to listen, I can’t find the playlist. Where is the playlist?
  8. [R7] Simple Habit Sleep 1/5 · GB Doesn't fit on my screen: I have an 15 pro max and everything is zoomed in and in useable. Icons are squashed and everything, I have no idea how you got approved on the store.
  9. [R3] Simple Habit Sleep 3/5 · GB Nice but too expensive: Maybe I prefere Simple Habit to Headspace but not a price… I would never pay that money for app like this.
  10. [R10] Simple Habit Sleep 2/5 · GB Cost?: It would be great to add more free sessions, there are a lot already, but for some of them you can only listen to the first two or three in the series which is really irritating. The expense of the premium is ridiculous and honestly not worth it, it is a good app, but not good enough to be charging that.
  11. [R14] Simple Habit Sleep 1/5 · GB £90: Lol u trippin?
  12. [R12] Simple Habit Sleep 1/5 · GB Do not purchase this app: I purchased this sleep app two days ago and downloaded the app. The app does not recognise my email or password, so I cannot use or access in any way. I have emailed Simple Habit several times but have had no response. My anxiety and sleeping issues have multiplied on account of this situation. They have taken my money and I am now having to inform my bank that this is fr
  13. [R16] Simple Habit Sleep 1/5 · GB CUSTOMER SERVICE SO DISAPPOINTING: After months of trying to purchase premium with a discount code I was given, still I cannot access this. I have been told numerous times this would be solved soon but as I say, it’s been months and I have no premium. I thought this app was amazing but with so many things only being accessible with premium the experience is now pretty poor.
  14. [R22] Simple Habit Sleep 1/5 · GB Gutted: Loved the app at first; then it told me I had listened to my 3 free sessions! Cannot afford the shockingly expensive premium so deleted it.
  15. [R26] Simple Habit Sleep 1/5 · GB Very disappointed: I’ve been using this app for free for many years now, and now it has changed so that you need to pay to unlock all meditations. I am really disappointed as I can not afford to pay to continue to use this app, and it has been of great use to me over the years. Such a shame it’s owners are prioritising monetary gain over peoples well-being and access to meditations.
  16. [R67] Balance 1/5 · US Horrible: I never used this app. I seen an ad for it on Snapchat and I just answered some questions and that was it and then it showed me like very little information about me, but that’s all it said I needed to do so from there on forward I will start realizing that I’m getting build like $70 and it’s saying balance app balance app balance app every month and I could never figure it out until jus
  17. [R71] Balance 1/5 · GB No Year Free Trial: TikTok advertises as a year free subscription. Downloaded the app and was offered a 7 day free trial. Used it, thinking maybe at the end it would active the year, but no. Now I’m just being given options to pay monthly, yearly or forever. Shame because i enjoyed the 7 days.
  18. [R72] Balance 5/5 · US love love love: loved the 1 ye free access deal they had years ago. absolutely LOVE Leah’s voice. instantly calming and relaxing. gr8 meditation app.
  19. [R73] Balance 1/5 · GB Took money and don’t have access: I have had the app since January 2025, it is now March. Yes I had the free trail last year and it automatically charged me this year. But I have no access to anything and the app keeps telling me that I should pay again. I have tried to call my bank to get a refund but they said Balance were justified in taking the fee. I said okay and looked to use the app bu
  20. [R62] Balance 5/5 · US Begin your journey here!: The absolute best meditation app I have ever seen. It changed my life! The foundations courses are simple, practical, and effective skill based introductions to and development of mindfulness. The guided meditations are tailored to me based on my needs. They have really put together something meaningful here.
  21. [R103] Balance 5/5 · US Awesome app!: This app is amazing! It takes the intimidation out of meditation by breaking it down into simple, bite-sized skills that actually make sense
  22. [R107] Balance 5/5 · US Made meditation easy: I’ve struggled to understand how to meditate and stay focused. Balance breaks the process down simply with easy to follow instructions, helping me learn meditation techniques and their benefits. I’ve noticed I always feel better after using the app, and I have felt overall calmer when I am continuing to practice.
  23. [R118] Balance 5/5 · GB Best meditation app out there!: I’ve tried meditating for a long time that’s never worked. But this app has helped me actually meditate and be present in the moment. The voices are great and relaxing and you can choose between how long you want to meditate for the day. I also like how it starts you out really easily and then gradually works you up to different types of meditation depending on what

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store