Apps for winding down after a loud day: Endel, Headspace, Finch and free options

What makes a good app for winding down?

The right app is the one you will open when you are frazzled, which usually means it asks very little of you. Check these before you pay.

• Voice or no voice. Guided sessions, as in Headspace, talk to you. Soundscapes, as in Endel, do not. Audiobooks talk, but not about you. If being told to notice your breath makes you want to throw the phone, go for sound or story.
• Length, in minutes. Short beats good. Headspace has many sessions that last only a few minutes, and Endel simply runs until you stop it.
• Price model. Endel has a free tier, with Premium from £2.99 a month to £59.99 a year. Headspace is £9.99 a month or £49.99 a year. Finch is free, with an optional Finch Plus upgrade. Insight Timer is free, with an optional paid tier. Calm is £12.99 a month or £69.99 a year.
• How much it nags. Streaks and daily reminders suit some people and make others feel told off. Check you can turn them off.
• What your phone needs. Endel and Calm need iOS 18 or later on iPhone; Headspace and Finch need iOS 15.6 or later.
• Screen off. Sound apps can run with the phone face down in another room, which is the whole point after a day of screens.

What if you can't stand guided meditation?

Use sound without words, or a story, instead. Plenty of people find being talked through breathing the opposite of restful.

• Sound without words. Endel generates soundscapes that change slowly, so there is no loop to notice and no lyrics to follow. The Yogasleep Dohm Uno does the same job without a phone: a real fan inside makes a steady whoosh.
• A story. An audiobook gives your head something to follow that is not your own day. A book you have heard before is easier to drift in and out of, since you cannot lose the plot. Audible Premium is about £8.99 a month for one book to keep plus a catalogue to stream.
• Company. A familiar podcast can do the same job. 1800 Seconds on Autism, a BBC show from autistic hosts Robyn Steward and Jamie Knight, is funny, half an hour long and free.

If money is tight: which wind-down apps are free?

Endel's free tier, Finch and Insight Timer cost nothing, and podcasts are free.

Endel's free version gives you the core soundscapes; Premium adds modes such as Study and Hibernation. Finch is free to download and use, with breathing exercises, journaling prompts and mood check-ins. Insight Timer is the largest free library: its App Store listing says it has thousands of free guided meditations, music tracks and ambient sounds, and adds more than 80 new free guided meditations a day.

Your phone may already do some of this. Most phones have a bedtime or wind-down setting that dims the screen and holds back notifications in the evening. Switching it on costs nothing.

Can you wind down without your phone?

Yes: put the sound on something that is not a phone, and put the phone somewhere else.

A white noise machine such as the Dohm Uno has no screen and no notifications, so nothing lights up while you are trying to switch off. A smart speaker playing an audiobook does the same. If you do use an app, start it, turn the screen off and leave the phone across the room, so you are not tempted to check one more thing.

How do you make a wind-down habit stick?

Pick one thing, attach it to something you already do, and make starting it take one tap.

A wind-down that needs choosing every night rarely happens. Choose one app or one sound and give it a fixed trigger: the kettle going on after dinner, getting into bed, the front door shutting behind you. Put the app on your home screen, or set the Dohm Uno on the bedside table so it only needs a switch. If you are paying for a subscription, give it two weeks before judging it. Then cancel what you are not using.

Things to know

• These are wellbeing apps, not medical services. If you are finding evenings hard for more than a few weeks, your GP is the right place to start.
• Subscriptions renew. Headspace says its annual plan renews automatically each year. Set a reminder a few days before the renewal date if you are not sure you will keep it.
• Free trials are short. Some App Store reviewers say Headspace offers little to try without paying, so use the trial fully.
• Age ratings. Finch is rated 9+ on the UK App Store, if you are choosing for a child.
• We have not tested these apps side by side. Prices and features are from the UK App Store listings and Headspace's own site on 11 September 2026.