Buddhify App Review 2024: Pros & Cons, Cost, & Who It’s Right For

Key Takeaways

• Buddhify’s pricing works a little differently than most apps. You must pay an upfront cost of $4.99 for Apple users and $2.99 for Android users, then an additional $30.00 annual membership fee.
• Buddhify’s meditation library is arranged on a color wheel, making it a more unique filtering tool than other apps. Users have expressed mixed reviews on the color wheel.
• The app includes mindfulness and meditation exercises for kids.
• Buddhify offers quick meditations that are less than ten minutes long.

How to Sign Up for The Buddhify App

Visit the Buddhify website to sign up for a subscription.

What Is Buddhify?

Buddhify is a meditation app that features a unique meditation library organized on a brightly colored wheel. Each colored wedge on the wheel represents a specific meditation topic, and there are nine wheels you can switch to, like kids, sleep, and work. Buddhify has an upfront cost of $4.99 for Apple and $2.99 for Android. Annual memberships cost $30.00.

The Buddhify website says that this app is for on-the-go meditation, which made me think the app would feature a lot of walking meditations. And while the app does feature some walking meditations, the on-the-go aspect of the app is centered around how short the meditations are. A large majority of the meditations are under 12 minutes, which makes them ideal to complete from anywhere. While other apps, like Headspace or Calm, feature longer meditations that require you to be somewhere rather calm and quiet, Buddhify imagines you are somewhere busy, like the train, at work, or on a break in your car.

Buddhify’s meditation wheel definitely makes this meditation app stand out from other meditation apps we have reviewed, but the choice is an odd one. Initially, you would think that the color wheel would spin and choose a meditation topic for you. Rather, the wheel is stationary and you are in charge of selecting which meditation topic you want to explore. You can customize the wheel to feature meditation topics of your choice, but there are no filter options or search functions in this library. There is the option to save your favorite meditation sessions, which saves you time from hunting from wheel to wheel for your favorites. Due to these factors, plus the small-sized meditation library, Buddhify earns 2 out of 5 stars in the “Variety of Meditations & Volume of Content” category on our scoring criteria for meditation apps.

The nine wheels you can switch between are:

• Default: The preloaded, basic meditation wheel that comes with the app.
• Kids: Has basic meditations and mindfulness for kids.
• Tough Time: Features meditations that emphasize dealing with difficult emotions, like stress, anger, fear, and pain.
• Sleep Issues: Teaches you how to create a good night’s sleep through daytime meditations. There are no sleep stories featured in Buddhify, like in Headspace, or Calm.
• Working Hard: Provides various meditations to do while at work, after work, or traveling for work.
• Social Animal: Features meditations you can do alone or with someone else.
• Mindful Ninja: Offers meditations that you can do while moving your body, like walking, working, or lifting weights at the gym.
• All New: Features the newest meditation sections that Buddhify has to offer.
• Classic: This is the original meditation wheel when Buddhify first launched.

Each wheel includes five wedges in a light blue color which represents additional content. Some of the additional content is only available if you pay for a premium subscription. However, the “Foundations” wedge and “Give” wedge are available when you purchase the app. The “Foundations” wedge features about a dozen short articles about meditation with an option to save them to read again in the future. The “Give” wedge allows you to send a friend a meditation via email or text message. Your friend can tap the link sent and listen to a chosen meditation topic for free.

The three premium sections of the Buddhify app are:

• Formal: A wheel that contains 18 new meditations and are presented as short training courses.
• Together: This section features video courses, themes, popular meditations, and stories from the community. Content is updated weekly in this section.
• Transmission: A truly interesting and unique feature – this section allows you to record popular meditations in your voice and share them with people you know.

Who May Want an Alternative to the Buddhify App?

While Buddhify is great for certain people, there are features that it lacks. For those who want free meditation content, are looking to combine mindfulness and exercise, and those wanting a more traditional meditation library will need to seek an alternative.

Free Meditations

Buddhify requires you to pay an upfront cost in order to use the app, which is one reason they earned 3 out of 5 stars in the “Cost & Free Trial” category of our scoring criteria. This can be frustrating for many who want to be able to download an app and begin meditating immediately. A great alternative to Buddhify is Insight Timer. With Insight Timer, you can download, sign up, and begin meditating at no cost. There are 1,000’s of free meditation sessions available with Insight Timer and there is something for every type of meditator.

You can learn about this meditation app by reading our in-depth review of Insight Timer.

Mindfulness + Exercise

There are several meditation apps that feature meditation and exercise, like yoga, but unfortunately, Buddhify is not one of them. The lack of these features earned Buddhify 2.5 out of 5 stars in our “Extra Features & Resources” category on our scoring criteria. A really great alternative for those seeking to combine their meditation practice with more exercise would be Alo Moves. This yoga app features workouts like barre, HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), pilates, and strength training. You will also have access to a decent-sized meditation and mindfulness library!

To learn how to start a meditation and exercise routine, please read our comprehensive review of Alo Moves.

More Traditional Meditation Library

While the unique color wheel library in Buddhify truly makes it stand out from other meditation apps, there are some that may not enjoy this type of setup. In fact, the color wheel is one reason Buddhify earned 2 out of 5 stars in the “Interface Design & User Experience” category on our scoring criteria. For those seeking a more traditional, line-by-line menu format meditation library, apps like Headspace or Calm would be an ideal alternative.

Headspace and Calm have different key features, so it’s highly recommended to read reviews of each app to help you decide which one is best for you.

What Users Are Saying About Buddhify?

The Buddhify App has 4.8 stars from 5.8K reviews in the Apple App Store and 3.8 stars from 3.35K reviews in the Google Play Store.  While most people found Buddhify to have great meditations that complimented their other meditations apps, there were some that had frustrations and difficulties using the app.

Great Compliment to Use With Other Meditation Apps

Several users said that Buddhify was a great app to use in addition to other meditation apps, like Headspace. They said that Buddhify supports their meditation practice when they cannot sit somewhere for longer than ten minutes. And this is absolutely true – Buddhify has many, many meditations that can be done quickly and from almost anywhere.

Consistent App Issues

A very common theme from 2019 to this year is that the app crashes or takes a long time to load. Many users remarked that the app would crash while downloading a new wheel, not startup, or that the sound quality was off in some way. While I never experienced any major issues with the app, I did notice that when downloading and switching to a new wheel, not all of the meditations would download. This is another reason why Buddhify earned 2 out of 5 stars in the “Interface Design & User Experience” category on our scoring criteria.

Downloading Wheels is a Chore

While a lot of users commented they loved the novel and unique meditation wheels, there were almost an equal amount of users that found it to be frustrating. The biggest complaint about the meditation wheels was that you have to download each wheel individually, which takes up some time. You also have to remember to switch between different wheels depending on your meditation intention and area of focus.

Communication Difficulties With Company

A more rare complaint, but one worthy of note, was that some users had a hard time getting a hold of anyone at Buddhify. This mostly concerned wanting refunds for the app or for their membership. People said that when they emailed the company, they never heard back from them. When people did get responses to their complaints in the app store, it did seem like a genuine person answering them rather than a bot. This fairly average level of customer service earned Buddhify 3 out of 5 stars in that category on our scoring criteria.

Buddhify App Key Features

Buddhify requires an upfront app cost, but afterward, you can begin meditating right away. The nine multi-colored meditation wheels provide a unique library experience. For those who want to explore the app even more, an optional premium membership is available for $30 annually.

How To Get Started With Buddhify App

Getting started with the Buddhify app is as simple as finding the app in the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. You will pay the upfront cost and then download the app. Once in the app, you can create an account by inputting your email address and creating a password. Then simply choose your first meditation topic and select a session to try!

The Color Wheel

The color wheel is how Buddhify organizes its library. The wheel looks exactly like a prize spinning wheel from a carnival or something like that.  Oddly enough, the Buddhify color wheel does not spin, despite the fact that the design looks like it should turn, rotate, or spin in some way. Each colored wedge in the wheel has a meditation topic written on it. When you tap the wedge, it will fan open into four to six stand-alone meditation sessions.

There is no function to search for meditations on these colored wheels and the wheel makes the app feel gimmicky. While it makes the app stand out from other meditation apps, it is not one that I want to go back to often because of how odd I find the wheel to be. You are able to save your favorite meditations and you can access these easily in the drag-up menu at the bottom of the app. The color wheels are one big reason why Buddhify earned only 2 out of 5 stars in the “Interface Design & User Experience” on our scoring criteria, it is not the best way to experience a meditation library from a user stand point.

Types of Meditations

Buddhify features several of the most popular types of meditation you would expect to see in a meditation app. The “Meditation 101” wedge in the default wheel teaches the six mindfulness techniques you need to know and practice for meditating, which did earn Buddhify 3 out of 5 stars for the “Mindfulness” category on our scoring criteria. If this wedge had been labeled something more clearly and precisely, Buddhify would have been awarded more points. Depending on which wheel you set as active, you can find meditations for stress, anger, fear, sleep issues, work, and kid’s content.

As mentioned before, the meditation library is set up quite differently than other meditation apps. The color wheel is how you will find all the meditations you may want, and you will need to switch between the various wheels to find the content you want. Unfortunately, there is no search function to find meditations by topic, but there is a save function so you can easily access your favorite meditations in the future. You can also edit the wheel you have active to include other meditation topics you like best. With that being said, the Buddhify meditation library is very small compared to other small meditation apps, like Balance. There is repeating content throughout all of the wheels also, which means Buddhify earned only 2 out of 5 stars in the “Variety of Meditations & Volume of Content” category on our scoring criteria.

In the Buddhify app, I was mainly interested in seeing what the walking meditations were like. I did all of them and found some of them to be very interesting! My particular favorite in the “Walking 1” wedge of the default meditation wheel was a meditation session called “Zap”. This walking meditation begins similarly to other walking meditations, where you are asked to focus on how your feet feel hitting the pavement, what your arms are doing, and what you can see and hear around you. The unique aspect of the “Zap” meditation is you are asked to look at people around you and send them positive affirmations. Thinking that I was sending someone a good thought when they may be having a bad day made me smile.

Another interesting meditation that stuck out to me was the gratitude meditation in the “Growing the Lovely” wedge of the default meditation wheel. This asked me to choose someone that I felt an immediate and instant need to thank. Then the meditation went on to ask for gratitude towards those who created the meditation, the app, and for the people who keep the company going. Admittedly, I felt this was a little distracting and self-serving of the app. During this portion of the meditation, the guide also said “umm” and “uhh” a few times which made it sound unrehearsed and I became distracted.

Premium Membership Content

The premium membership of the Buddhify app costs $30, but it is optional and you do not need to sign up for it to access the meditation color wheels.

The three additional sections are:

• Formal: A wheel that contains 18 new meditations and are presented as short training courses.
• Together: This section features video courses, themes, popular meditations, and stories from the community. Content is updated weekly in this section.
• Transmission: A truly interesting and unique feature – this section allows you to record popular meditations in your voice and share with people you know.

Admittedly, I was hesitant to pay for these additional content areas, as I felt they did not appeal to me as a meditator. It did seem like a shame that the “Formal” wedge of the wheel would be locked behind a paywall since this would be most useful to those new to meditation. Similarly, there are other meditation apps, like Insight Timer, that have a community space for sharing, which are included in the cost of the app subscription. Lastly, I highly doubt anyone would want to hear my voice as a meditation guide, even though I think it is a really cool and unique feature to have in the app.

Although a premium membership was not worth it to me, I can see great value and benefits for those who really want a unique experience that differs from other meditation apps they may have tried in the past. The Buddhify app does give a sense of freedom in choice and personalization, which would be awesome for those needing that type of support.

Buddhify Vs Competitors

While Buddhify features the basics of mindfulness, a uniquely formatted library, and a lot of freedom to choose, it doesn’t fare well when compared to Headspace or Calm. Both Headspace and Calm feature larger, easy to navigate libraries and full meditation courses to truly build your practice.

Buddhify Vs Headspace

Buddhify and Headspace are both meditation apps that can teach you the basic mindfulness techniques to be successful in meditation, but that is almost all they have in common. Buddhify, while featuring an interesting and unique library system, has much more free choice and very little structure. Once you pay the upfront fee, there are no meditation courses for you to complete and you can pick and choose what you want to listen to. Headspace was rated 4.5 out of 5 stars overall from our independent review, offers much more structure, and all meditation courses offered build upon each other to create a cohesive learning experience. With Headspace, you can also search for specific meditations, which you are unable to do with the Buddhify library.

While Headspace is free to download and you can look around the entire app, you will ultimately have to pay for a subscription. Buddhify is an upfront, one-time cost and gives you access to nine meditation wheels once you pay. However, the meditation library in the Buddhify app is much smaller compared to Headspace, and the monthly cost of Headspace gives you a lot of meditation content plus extra features.

To learn more about how you can get started building a meditation practice, read our in-depth review of Headspace.

Buddhify Vs Calm

Buddhify and Calm are very similar in how much freedom you have to pick and choose which meditation sessions you want to complete. Buddhify’s meditation wheels do bring a level of organization that, at first glance, Calm seems to be missing. However, Calm was rated 4 out of 5 stars overall in our independent review and you are able to search for meditations based on topic or meditation guide, as well as save your favorite meditations. You cannot search for meditations in the Buddhify app, but you can save your favorite meditations.

Calm is not only free to download but there is free content available without purchasing a subscription. You cannot even download the Buddhify app without first paying an upfront, one-time fee. With a Calm subscription, you are definitely getting a bigger, more diverse meditation library that is not only for adults but for kids as well. Calm by far beats out Buddhify on several points while also offering the freedom to pick and choose which meditations to complete.

To learn all about their meditation library, read our in-depth review of Calm.

Final Verdict

Overall, I felt somewhat satisfied with the Buddhify app – there are aspects I found to be really enjoyable, like the walking meditations, and some aspects that I felt were fairly confusing. Initially, I was really excited to try out the meditation wheels, but after spending a couple of weeks with the app I became frustrated with it in general.

Not only are the wheels difficult to explain to others, but I also don’t feel they are the best way to organize a meditation library. Plus the meditation library is very small when compared to other meditation apps. Additionally, I was disappointed to pay an upfront cost for a meditation app that I wasn’t sure I was going to like. For all of these reasons, it is reasonable that Buddhify earned 3 out of 5 stars overall on our scoring criteria for meditation apps.

History of Buddhify App

Buddhify was founded in 2011 by Rohan Gunatillake and the company is based in Glasgow. ¹ Gunatillake has been training in mindful meditation since 2003 and one of his main goals was to figure out how to integrate mindfulness into his day-to-day life. ² Buddhify has been partnered with the development company Level Up since 2014. ³ Buddhify launched their premium membership in 2018, which began offering additional meditation content in addition to their existing content.

For Further Reading

• Meditation for Depression
• Meditation for Anxiety
• Meditation for Anger
• Best Meditation Apps