Keep Calm and Build a Meditation App like Headspace

Close your eyes, relax, keep calm and think of nothing... Any meditation seems to start this very way. Today, given the bustle of everyday life and constant stress, meditations are particularly relevant. And mindfulness app development has become quite a popular service.

One may argue endlessly about the benefits and effectiveness of meditations but the fact remains: they’re in high demand right now. Perhaps, it makes sense to provide a supply and build a meditation app like Headspace. If you agree, our tips will be of high assistance to you.

After reading the article, you'll find out the answers to a lot of questions, such as... What is a mindfulness app? How to make your program rank with the top meditation apps? How much does it cost to create the best meditation app? And so on!

Read without postponing!

What is a mindfulness app?

Studies of scientists from leading universities have shown the positive effect of meditations (even the simplest ones) on the human body. Besides, it’s a great way to "release emotional issues", at least for a while. No wonder meditations are gaining popularity.

And one-day mobile developers have realized that people would highly appreciate the opportunity to simplify their meditative practice, to have everything needed at hand, so to say. And what do we always have at hand? Of course, our smartphones or tablets! Therefore, the conclusion was predictable: developers decided it was time to create meditation apps.

So today, meditation doesn’t force you to sit in an uncomfortable position toward the sun and read out strange mantras. It's enough to launch a special mindfulness application on your smartphone and get started!

You can choose whatever you want, but today we offer you to look at Headspace - one of the world's best relaxation meditation apps, an excellent author program ensuring high-quality relaxation and achieving external and internal harmony.

Headspace application

Amazing history

To make an app like Headspace, you should come to know its history which speaks for itself.

Headspace has been created by Andy Puddicombe, the world-famous practitioner in clinical meditation. In 2004, after years of studying meditations as a Buddhist monk, he built an effective system aimed at improving life quality. And his system has become one of the best morning meditation apps (however, the time of day doesn't matter).

How to use Headspace

Headspace contains a free 10-day course on meditation. Each lesson includes several exercises supplemented with clear video and audio tips. In addition, the beautiful infographics show the current progress of the "student" and the number of users who’re taking advantage of Headspace at the moment.

But, of course, forward-looking businessmen who decided to develop meditation apps must envisage options to make a profit. And Headspace’s owners are no exception, therefore, they also made a paid version of their mobile service. 

A paid version provides users with access to hundreds of hours of various meditations. There are individual and series of meditations, and each of them, in turn, offers different topics: health, relationships, and activity. A course of meditations chosen can last from 10 to 30 sessions.

Individual meditations are divided into several types:

• Classic: traditional meditations of various lengths, optionally accompanied by voice instructions.

• On the go: meditations on the move: while walking, running, cooking, etc.

• Sos: short meditations which last only a few minutes. Their goal is to help a person calm down if there is an emergency situation. 

HEADSPACE’s pros:

• Clean application design;

• Easy to use;

• A wide range of meditations of different themes and duration;

• Pleasant instructor’s voice.

As you see, the advantages are impressive and make you think about meditation app development. But there are also disadvantages, though insubstantial.

HEADSPACE’s cons:

• The application is available in English only. But if you’re reading our article, this is clearly not your problem.

• Only 10 introductory meditations are free of charge. However, since you’re interested in making profits through meditation apps like Calm or Headspace, you won't be able to rid your service of the disadvantage in question. You’ll have to find your own way to earn. Though the issue is too important to discuss in a hurry, we should do it later, in more detail.

Alas, the idea of meditation app development isn't new, and Headspace is by no means the only mobile service of such a type. To succeed, you must familiarize yourself with your competitors and take a look at the most popular meditation apps existing on the mobile market.

Meditations lead to mental health, but what about body health? Here you need sports, which means it's time to think about creating a fitness application.

Best mindfulness meditation apps

So, what programs have already joined the top meditation apps?

Among the best apps for sleep meditation, one must highlight Calm which belongs to the market leaders either. The service offers a choice of meditations aimed at managing stress, improving sleep, etc. There are 10-minute programs, which help you get into the spirit of a new day or prepare for bed.

Besides, the app allows setting the duration of meditation and controlling your breathing. It also provides various soothing sounds and audio stories. And, at last, a user can follow his progress through visual statistics and receive reminders (push notifications) on his device.

In Smiling Mind, meditations are grouped into different age categories and themes (sports, meditation at work, and others). Users are also given the opportunity to create joint accounts. In addition, there is a section targeted at meditation instructors.

In general, Smiling Mind can be called a great incentive to develop meditation apps.

Insight Timer, too, belongs to the best mindfulness meditation apps and offers a large collection of meditations in several languages. In total, there are more than eight thousand.

The app has about 1000 musical meditative tracks, a timer with different calls, and a variety of background sounds. Insight Timer keeps statistics of lessons and allows communication with other users around the world. Of course, there are also customizable push notifications.

If you decide to join the ranks of leaders, those who create good meditation apps, examine this competitor too.

‘Stop, Breathe & Think’ includes more than 30 different meditations, a timer, and a breath controller. Meditation sessions are accompanied by instructions and aimed at helping to fight stress, sharpen concentration, and improve sleep.

And if a user would like to access a greater number of guided meditations, he should shell out: other sessions are only available on a paid subscription basis.

Undoubtedly, these mobile programs may engender a desire to follow their example and make an app like Headspace, Calm or another one. And if this is true, it’s important to understand what features your application needs to provide users with.

Meditation apps features

In the meditation app development process, think about creating the following features:

1. Check-in. The feature is inherent in any application. Again, make sure a user spends a minimum of time registering. Simplify the process by integrating personal data from social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

2. User profile. The previous item logically implies the necessity to build a user page containing all the personal information needed. Such a step would be of benefit to both you and users: they have the opportunity to monitor and control their achievements, and you get a tool to analyze their behavior and, accordingly, improve the user experience. Because this is what will lead to your getting to the list of the best meditation apps.

3. Introductory course. To make an app like Headspace (the one in demand), you need to foresee all possible eventualities including the chance your user has never experienced the practice of meditation before. That's why Headspace, as we've already mentioned, offers a free introductory course of lessons. We suggest that you do the same and explain to people how to use your service to improve their meditation practice. 

4. Sets of meditation practices. Of course, mindfulness app development necessarily includes the creation of this very feature, and you have to work on it quite well. What should you consider to get the most effective result?

   1. divide meditations into logical groups (such as programs against stress and insomnia, meditations to increase concentration, etc).

   2. offer meditations of varying duration. Busy people can choose short sessions which take no more than a quarter of an hour, and fans of a more thorough approach will meditate much longer.

   3. accompany your meditations with audio tips.

5. Play Button. Pay attention to such a screen if you really mean to create good meditation apps. We’re talking about a call-to-action, the start of the meditation process. What must it include?

   1. a large "Play" button attracting attention and causing a desire to tap it;

   2. a beautiful and restrained background image (perhaps, supplemented with unobtrusive animations);

   3. quality sound accompaniment. Headspace does without it but if you’re willing to succeed and surpass your opponent, we advise you to consider background music - let’s say, the sounds of nature.

6. Discovery List. The feature offers news from the "world of meditative practices" and interesting sessions of mindfulness programs. It isn’t included in the number of mandatory, but it'd be smart of you to supplement the paid functionality with such a Discovery option (if you want your idea of meditation app development to do the trick). A Discovery feature is a great excuse to open your application once again, which means an increase in the level of user activity.

7. Push Notifications. The feature will allow you to stay in contact with your users by keeping them informed. You can send reminders that it's time to start meditation, advise users to visit the Discovery List, and report on various kinds of promotions (for example, decreasing the subscription cost in honor of a specific holiday).

We’ve offered you a shortlist of possible features, and it's up to you to expand it with your own original ideas. We'll move on to the next important issue that'd be of interest to anyone who wants to develop meditation apps.

Interested in efficient development? That way! We know what you need.

The best way to make your meditation app profitable

As you see, the statistics show that Calm and Headspace occupy the first places in the list of leading health apps. Consequently, mindfulness app development can indeed become a profitable business.

Let's explore your “making money” options.

Subscription

As you remember, Headspace offers 10 free lessons and insists on a subscription if you want more:

• $12.99 per month

• $94.99 per year

The service adopts a good approach by offering customers to learn about the app's benefits before they decide to make further use. It's better than demanding money from the beginning: after all, how can the user be sure your application is worth paying for? 

Built-in purchases

Such purchases are another way to earn money for those who decided to build a meditation app like Headspace. Its essence is simple: you create a free application and supplement it with interesting paid parts: a special set of meditations, cool sound effects, amazing animations, etc.

In-app ads

Those who managed to create meditation apps in high demand would be able to attract the attention of advertisers. The latter wouldn't mind promoting their products and services with the help of popular programs. And a program owner gets another source of profit.

We advise you to combine several methods of making a profit. Only then you’ll reach the maximum possible earnings.

How much does it cost to make an app like Headspace?

Apps like Headspace and their cost... What are we to say in this respect? What budget should you prepare to create a mobile service of the sort?

In fact, the price depends on the developers' rate and the time these experts spend on building calm meditation apps.

In general, the mindfulness app development lasts for several months and costs 20-30K (at a rate of $35 per hour).

A few words about meditation app development

If you’re interested in the creation of the best relaxation meditation apps, you should take into account some important points, because this is your only chance to succeed.

#1. Clarifying the idea

Of course, the idea is quite simple: to make an app like Headspace. However, it’s not enough! To surpass your competitors, you have to decide what exactly you’re going to offer your users. There are many options: meditation apps aimed at beginners and experienced practitioners, programs focused on schools of meditation, etc.

#2. The right approach to UI/UX

To build a meditation app like Headspace is to create a program, which should help users with anxiety. And we think you understand that the correct design plays a major role in this case. What's good for a music application or fitness service doesn’t work when it comes to meditation apps like Calm or Headspace. 

Three rules of UI/UX design for the best yoga and meditation apps:

1. No bright colors! Choose a neutral palette, pastel shades.

2. Be careful with the details and avoid overloaded patterns.

3. Add some movement. Believe us, unpretentious unobtrusive animation will do you good.

#3. Choice of platforms

Ideally, your app for mindfulness and meditation should be compatible with all operating systems. Of course, it will increase the cost of mobile development. Therefore, if you have a limited budget, you can start by creating only an iOS (or Android) app. Later, you can improve your service so that it’ll work on another platform as well.

#4. MVP model

One more way to save money on meditation app development is to create an application with minimal functionality, the so-called MVP model. This is much cheaper and, in general, more effective: you can analyze user behavior and add the features which they really want to get.

The MVP model should include such features as registration, an introductory course, and a small set of the most important meditations (say, against stress and insomnia).

#5. Gamification

A successful application is a service that solves some user problems and captivates him with the usage process. In other words, a person should enjoy using your program, and it doesn’t matter which area we are talking about: medicine, tourism, yoga or meditation practices.

That's why the best meditation apps provide users with a certain game element. You, too, must consider the factor of gaming in the mindfulness app development process.

Summary

Are you looking for qualified developers able to create good meditation apps? Keep calm and consider them found. 

Agilie team would be happy to provide you with the top-level service ensured by our huge experience and high-skilled expertise. We’re ready to discuss your idea for meditation app development and offer the best ways to bring it to life. You don’t have to spend extra money, time, and effort: we’re going to take care of the most important things ourselves.

Let’s get started!