Alternatives to Headspace for personal development and decisions

Headspace is a meditation app, so the first question is whether you still want meditation or want help with something else, such as a decision. Use these steps to sort the options.

1. 1Name the job. Meditation apps train attention and calm. Coaching tools help you think through a specific choice, such as a job change or a hard conversation.
2. 2Check the format. Options include guided audio sessions, lessons and conversations, or a two-way chat or voice coach.
3. 3Look at the method. Elevat3 is built on cognitive and behavioral coaching methods. Waking Up draws on neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology.
4. 4Compare price and trial terms. Lifestack lists Headspace at $12.99/month, and Waking Up offers a 7 day free trial before its annual subscription.
5. 5Match the topic to your life. Elevat3 covers career, goals, relationships, and time management. Waking Up covers topics such as anxiety, life transitions, and sleep.
6. 6Ask who pays. If you want coaching through an employer, note that Elevat3 is being developed for use by organizations.

Prices and trials change, so check each company's own site before you decide.

Waking Up fits people who want to understand their own mind. It combines meditation training with insights from neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology. It offers a month-long Introductory Course for beginners and lessons from 100+ teachers, including meditators, scientists and philosophers. Its private forum has 50,000+ members across 26 countries. Waking Up takes a secular approach, so no beliefs are required.

Elevat3 fits people who want to talk a decision through. It offers a choice of coach personalities and a focus on stress, relationships, career decisions, confidence and momentum. It is a coaching product rather than a meditation library, so someone who wants a daily sitting practice will get more from Waking Up.

The two do different jobs. Waking Up is about training how you relate to your thoughts. Elevat3 is about working through a particular question with a coach that responds to you. Some people will want both, and neither one replaces the other.

Lifestack says Headspace's price is high and its content can feel generic after a while. If that matches your experience, a cheaper or deeper meditation app may be enough. If your real problem is a stuck decision rather than a lack of calm, a coaching tool is a better test than another meditation library.

Start with the last time you felt stuck. If the trouble was racing thoughts or poor sleep, try a meditation app with a free trial. If it was a choice you kept circling, such as whether to leave a job or how to raise something with a partner, try a coaching tool and see whether it helps you reach a decision. Give each option a week of real use before you pay for a year.

It is a good alternative if you want more depth. It pairs guided practice with lessons and conversations that explain how the mind works. It is still a meditation app, so it will not walk you through a specific career or relationship decision.

Not as a like for like swap. Meditation trains attention, while a coach like Elevat3 helps you think through a situation by chat or voice. Choose based on whether you want a practice or a conversation.

Yes, in two ways. It offers a 7 day free trial, and it offers a free membership to anyone who can't afford a subscription through a scholarship request.

BetterUp is often named as an alternative to Headspace. Check its own site for current features and pricing, and compare it against the steps above.

Elevat3 is being developed for use by organizations, so employer offerings are an area it is expanding into. Today it is aimed mainly at individuals looking for personal development and coaching support.