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

Insight Timer vs Balance

Insight Timer 4.9★ · Free + IAP 75
Winner Insight Timer
Balance 4.9★ · Free + IAP 60

Insight Timer offers a vast library of free content and teachers, making it ideal for diverse meditation practices, while Balance excels in personalized, structured programs but faces significant customer service and billing issues.

Full reviews: Insight Timer · Balance

Insight Timer provides an extensive free library of meditations and teachers, though recent updates have introduced frustrating UI changes and forced engagement. Balance offers highly personalized and structured meditation programs, but users report serious problems with billing, customer service, and app functionality after updates.

Head to head

Content Variety & Quality edge: Insight TimerR2R5R11R17
Insight Timer Insight Timer is praised for its vast library of teachers, topics, and meditations, with many users finding stellar content and diverse opportunities for healing and guidance R2R5R11R17. The app offers live yoga, guided meditations, and self-guided timers with various bells and background sounds R47.
Balance Balance is appreciated for its high-quality recordings and a wide variety of choices, including meditation singles, training modules, and sleep meditations . Users also like that the app adapts to their feelings and offers different types of meditations with varying levels of guidance . However, some users feel the content becomes repetitive and lacks depth over time, with nothing new being released .
Ease of Use & User Experience tieR1R4R6R7
Insight Timer Many long-term users find Insight Timer easy to use with fantastic content R8. However, recent updates have introduced significant frustration, with users reporting constant prompts to upgrade, forced surveys, goal setting, and engagement questions every time they open the app, even for paid users R1R4R7R10. There are also complaints about the timer being unreliable, playlists not loading, and difficulty accessing bookmarks or saved content R6R13.
Balance Balance is generally described as simple and easy to use, with personalized options for meditation time and other settings . However, some users report slow startup times and issues with the app freezing or not working after updates . The onboarding process can also be difficult .
Reliability & Performance tieR13R15R24R25
Insight Timer Insight Timer's core timer functionality is reported as unreliable by some, stopping when the screen turns off R13. Users also experience issues with meditation tracks not loading smoothly, playlists not playing, and frequent update requirements that don't guarantee functionality R15. Streak tracking can be easily lost due to UI design R24R25.
Balance Balance users report critical issues with the app freezing or stopping meditations, especially after updates . Some lifetime members cannot advance in plans due to the app quitting . There are also complaints about the app not working at all for paying users R88.
Price & Value edge: Insight TimerR7R10R11R34
Insight Timer Insight Timer offers a robust free version with extensive content, which many users highly appreciate R11R47R53. However, recent updates have made the free experience worse by pushing premium content and forcing engagement R7R10R34. Some paid users also complain about poor premium sound quality and being treated like a 'cash machine' R7.
Balance Balance has a free tier, but many users report that most content is now behind a paywall, even daily meditations that were previously free . There are significant complaints about being charged after cancelling free trials or subscriptions, with no refunds provided R73R82. Some lifetime members feel their membership is pointless as they don't get new content .
Customer Support & Privacy tieR4R8R12R18
Insight Timer Insight Timer users report that customer service did not address issues like forced goal setting R18. The app is also criticized for excessive data collection and push notifications even when opted out R4R8R12.
Balance Balance faces severe criticism for poor customer service, with users unable to get refunds after accidental subscriptions or cancellations, and difficulty contacting support R73R88R100. Privacy concerns are also raised, with the app reportedly tracking users across other platforms, which is seen as morally bankrupt for a wellness app .
Pick Insight Timer if

you value a vast, diverse library of meditation content and teachers, are comfortable with a free tier that has some recent UI annoyances, and want a long-standing app with a strong community R2R11R17.

Pick Balance if

you prefer highly personalized and structured meditation programs with clear, soothing voices and a focus on skill-building, and are willing to pay for a subscription despite reported billing and customer service issues .

Evidence note: Both apps have a significant number of negative recent reviews, particularly regarding user experience changes in Insight Timer and billing/customer service issues in Balance. The lifetime ratings are high for both, but recent sentiment suggests a decline in user satisfaction for different reasons.

Frequently asked

Is Insight Timer truly free?
Yes, Insight Timer offers a substantial amount of free content including many teachers and topics, making it a valuable tool without a subscription R11R47R53.
Does Balance offer a free trial?
Balance offers free trials, but users frequently report issues with automatic renewals and being charged even after cancelling, with difficulty obtaining refunds R82R94R102R114.
What are the main complaints about Insight Timer?
The main complaints about Insight Timer revolve around recent updates that introduce excessive prompts, forced surveys, goal setting, and upgrade solicitations, which disrupt the meditation experience and make the app less calming R1R4R7R12.
Are there issues with Balance's customer service?
Yes, Balance has significant complaints regarding poor customer service, with users reporting difficulty contacting support, inability to get refunds for unwanted charges, and lack of resolution for app functionality issues R73R88R100R120.

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] Insight Timer 5/5 · US Why?: I have used IT for several years and have a committed practice. The app has helped me connect with and learn from a variety of teachers, several of them truly stellar.
  2. [R5] Insight Timer 5/5 · US Love Insight Timer: I’m there are so many beneficial opportunities with Insight Timer; everyone should use it!
  3. [R11] Insight Timer 5/5 · US Thankful: What a great tool --the free version is filled with every you could imagine. So many teachers and topics . Very grateful to have this tool for my journey
  4. [R17] Insight Timer 5/5 · US Best healing partner: I have relied on Insight Timer for years to help me through life‘s challenges. There’s always a tool, a teacher , a meditation available to me anytime I need it. The quality of instructors that I follow is really impressive. I don’t know what I would do without this app.
  5. [R1] Insight Timer 1/5 · US What happened?: I’ve had this app since 2016, and never had this problem, but it’s been ongoing for months now snd hasn’t been fixed so now adjusting my review. Every time I open the app, it thinks it’s my first time logging in and had me go through the long I take questions every single time. Which has actually steered me away to not use this platform anymore. So developers, this is something to
  6. [R4] Insight Timer 2/5 · US Destroying values: This app is a great tool, I just wish they would start living by the values they are trying to help people worth. Their goal is to help people live a better life yet they push push notifications even when I said no. It has happened twice. They make you go thought a survey when you come back, I don’t believe it is to be helpful, I see it as just another way for them to get more i
  7. [R6] Insight Timer 3/5 · US Was 5 stars: They got rid of the option to have your daily intention automatically repeat for a day, a week, a month. That’s gone now.
  8. [R7] Insight Timer 2/5 · US Keeps getting worse: More prompts to upgrade, and poor premium content. The premium sounds are poor quality so I started to use brain.fm. Then the timer would be unreliable when I used 3rd party audio. Now they’ve added so many prompts to upgrade I’ve decide to uninstall and find something else entirely. I have 900 hours of meditation history on this app and it’s so bad now I’d rather lose it t
  9. [R13] Insight Timer 2/5 · US Meditation timer does not work: I really want to like this app and have been using it for months, but at this point, I have to stop because the core functionality, the meditation timer, simply does not work. it has a tendency to turn stop timing when the screen turns off. Which means that it's just unreliable. That's a pity, and I hope the team finds a way to sort this out, as it's been happening
  10. [R15] Insight Timer 3/5 · US Kind of Always need update: It sucks that an app that’s supposed to relieve anxiety…. Gives me so much anxiety when it needs to be updated which feels very often and even when it’s updated there’s no guarantee it will work; Even uninstall and reinstall a joke. If there’s another more reliable free source point me in that direction
  11. [R24] Insight Timer 3/5 · US Increasingly annoying changes: The app has been changing a lot lately. It pushes a lot more Pro content, it tries to feed me videos and courses, and there is an uptick in AI. It’s frustrating that the section categories keep changing inexplicably. Wish it would let me set a bedtime to roll over the daily tracker. My job keeps me out late so I go to bed around midnight. If I’m even a few minutes l
  12. [R25] Insight Timer 1/5 · US Way too easy to lose a streak: I was tapping to get into the actual app interface since it shows a quote in the splash screen, and it bypassed the ability to repair my streak and I lost my 200 day streak. So disappointing. Make it so that people have to tap an X to close the repair streak screen. I’m so upset that I spent 200 days building up this streak only for it to be lost because I tapped one
  13. [R10] Insight Timer 2/5 · US Used to be far better: Originally downloaded this app about ten years ago and it was wonderful back then. I found about four meditations for anti-anxiety and sleep that I have gone back to repeatedly. However, two days ago I went back to this app after an unintended hiatus, and it pressured me to make an account, tried to coax me into paying for it, and WHAT REALLY DISAPPOINTS me is that I haven’t
  14. [R34] Insight Timer 1/5 · US Dead to me: I’ll admit, I don’t use this app enough. So when I decided to get back on the bandwagon and reached for my “simple meditation timer” I was floored at what this app has become. This thing is a mess now. Just shilling and selling a subscription like every other app, to the detriment of the experience. It’s the OPPOSITE of calming. I JUST WANT A TIMER. I think at this point I’m going
  15. [R8] Insight Timer 5/5 · US Stop the distracting engagement and data collection in the app: This is one of my favorite apps. I’ve spent many hours rejuvenating, relaxing, healing and seeking guidance. It’s easy to use and has fantastic content and teachers. I don’t use the app anymore, because of the questions and engagement that are forced upon users. In meditation, I’m looking for a clear mind, safety, and detachment fro
  16. [R12] Insight Timer 3/5 · US So many questions: I used to love this app. The meditation tracks are great. I don’t use it every single morning and therefore every time I come back, they want me to spend a couple of minutes answering a bunch of questions rather than just being able to start using the app. I just want to use the timer and listen to the tracks, I don’t need to set goals or specify intentions or any of whatever ot
  17. [R18] Insight Timer 3/5 · US FORCED activities you can’t skip!: If you go back to meditating after a long time away, it makes you answer 18,000 questions forces you to set goals and will not give you any opt out options to skip. I notified customer service about it. They did nothing. I went back k after time away, It did the same thing again. This is a new feature they have added. I had to go into my preferences and delete a
  18. [R47] Insight Timer 5/5 · US Life changing: I tell people about this app all the time. I mostly only use the timer but love the guided meditations, music and lessons. Thank you for staying free. Making it easily accessible for anyone to start. 😄
  19. [R53] Insight Timer 5/5 · US The best: Insight Timer is the best meditation app available. Enjoy 100’s of free options and enjoy.
  20. [R82] Balance 1/5 · US Vile service and scammy: They gave me a free year, so I signed up. I don't recall it ever saying it was a free trial which now trying to tell me it was got no notification from Apple or this company that it was going to renew. Used it twice didn't like it. They refused to refund me "because I'm outside the refund window" but holding somebody hostage to a product. They didn't really want in the
  21. [R94] Balance 1/5 · US Do Not Download!: I received a year free trial for this app and I signed up for it. I cancelled my subscription a week before the trial ended and they have still attempted to charge my card multiple times for $69.99! I would not recommend this trial to anyone!
  22. [R102] Balance 1/5 · GB Cancelled renewal - payment taken anyway - careful of free trial: I tried the free trial of Balance Premium and although the app was clearly well built, I didn’t use it enough to justify renewing. I cancelled ahead of renewal date and received an e-mail saying sorry to see you cancel - but payment was taken anyway. It’s hard to believe that this company doesn’t have its subscriptions and payments
  23. [R114] 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.
  24. [R73] Balance 2/5 · US Poor customer service: This is not a criticism of the app itself but the customer service. I downloaded and subscribed to this app by accident. I thought it was another app that a friend recommended. When I realized it was the wrong app I canceled and requested a refund. This was all within 10 minutes but they rejected my refund itself.
  25. [R88] Balance 1/5 · US Contacting the App: The free trial worked, but as soon as you pay the app stops working. Not to mention it is impossible to get any support regarding anything. Not even troubleshooting. Yes, some suggestions exist. But if the app doesn’t work. You just lost all your money on nothing.
  26. [R100] Balance 1/5 · GB Charged me £65 even though I cancelled: I cancelled my Balance Mind and Meditation subscription well before the renewal date, yet the app still charged me £64.99. That is unacceptable. I then tried to contact support to request a refund and could not find clear contact details or a working support route in the app. The billing process lacks transparency and the support experience is poor. I expect
  27. [R120] Balance 1/5 · GB Poor customer service: I had this app for a while as a promotion for a free but has never actually used it. And because I didn’t use it I haven’t checked the subscription renewal date. Only realised my mistake after founding that full year subscription amount was taken from my account. On the day of payment I have emailed customer service asking to cancel subscription and refund the money as I did

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