Hit download on the best yoga apps if you want to level up your practice on the go or at home.
Whether you're fine-tuning your skills or bedding down for a slow-paced yin class on one of the best yoga mats, a yoga app worth its salt will have you flexing and flowing your way to a stronger yoga practice from home or wherever you happen to be.
But with so many of the best yoga apps to choose from, how do you know which is right for you? We've rounded up our favorite options, including recommendations from experienced yoga teachers, some of the best workout apps that pull double duty, and others to suit advanced yogis or beginners.
Quick list
Down Dog creates new vinyasa yoga sequences each time you want to exercise. You can choose the level of difficulty, pace and time of the workout and follow along to visual guides and short instructional videos. The app is free, but a premium subscription is available that unlocks more routines.
Daily Yoga has a large library of classes and poses to choose from, with video demonstrations and music for you to practice with. Many of the programs are available for free, and you only need to dip into your wallet for advanced practice modules and poses.
The Underbelly is an inclusive, fun community aimed at making yoga accessible to everyone. There are over 200 classes, including beginner-friendly routines, meditation sessions and monthly live streams, all led in an approachable way that makes yoga accommodating to everyone.
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Alo Moves offers more than 4,000 sessions and classes from over 70 different world-class yoga instructors, offering everything from Vinyasa and Ashtanga to more modern-focused classes. Subscriptions are required but you also get a free two-week trial and can download sessions to use offline.
The Glo app offers a wealth of online yoga, meditation and Pilates classes focused on mind and body. Led by world-class teachers for all levels, this is the place to go if you're after a more holistic approach that blends yoga, meditation, and moving mindfulness practices.
Busy lives calls for an app that allows your yoga practice to suit your schedule, which is why 5-minute Yoga rakes in stellar reviews for its quick and easy daily sessions. These are ideal if you're short on time, but also as a quick way to bring your focus to your body when you need a moment of calm.
Asana Rebel is the best workout app if you like to keep your training varied. There's plenty of yoga, alongside high-intensity workouts, cardio sessions, muscle-building routines, and meditations. It's less focused on a 'pure' yoga experience, but if you're into cross training, this is the yoga app for you.
Best yoga app overall
Down Dog is the top rated yoga app for a reason. You can create new Vinyasa yoga sequences each time you want to exercise, and choose the level of difficulty, pace and time of the workout, and the app will generate a new sequence for you,
Each routine comes with clear instructions and musical accompaniment. The app is free to use, but a premium subscription offers users a first opportunity to use new features, extra content and helps support the developer.
The app is beginner-friendly and offers everything from Vinyasa and Hatha to restorative sessions like Yin. And if there's a niggle somewhere in your body, you can use Boost Mode to dial into specific body parts.
As it's available on Android and iOS, you can sync between devices with your account. Plus, you can make adjustments to transition speeds or hold length to give you the pace you're looking for. You can even "like" and "exclude" poses to further tailor your experience.
Best value yoga app
Daily Yoga rounded out 2023 as the Apple App Store's top yoga app, with an online community of over 60 million people worldwide, you can tap into anything from chair yoga to wall Pilates and somatic workouts.
Daily Yoga also offers guided meditations and support for health data tracking and wearables. For more advanced modules and poses though, you'll need to subscribe to the app.
You can sign up for guided yoga classes and weight loss challenges that are beginner-friendly, with weekly new classes available for those who need to mix things up, and a Smart Coach feature that creates a schedule for you.
Download classes offline to practice anywhere you like and track your progress across several devices. Daily Yoga even integrates with HealthKit (Apple Health), so you can export your metrics.
It's worth noting that members have a few grumbles. The app has been reported as "buggy" and members have found the amount of free content reduced with ad content affecting the user experience.
- Sign up at Daily Yoga
- Download Daily Yoga: Android | iPhone
Best yoga app for beginners
The Underbelly is the best yoga app for beginners, as it helps you find your place in a sometimes intimidating world of wellness. The app was developed by yoga instructor Jessamyn Stanley, who is spreading body positivity through her yoga and meditation app and is the kind of person you'd love to be friends with.
Sessions teach flexibility, self-love and holistic wellness, plus you have access to guided yoga classes and the space to create your journey and schedule. We love the meditation and breathwork playlists, and the focus is on finding your flow using themes like Air, Earth and Fire to feel good first.
But on a more practical level, there are over 200 classes for you to choose from and a monthly live streamed class so you can practice simultaneously with others. Plus, you get an expansive collection of meditations and mindfulness practices to complement your moving practice.
It's a more inclusive, diverse space that's ideal for beginners and advanced practitioners looking to explore yoga through a different perspective.
- Sign up at The Underbelly
- Download The Underbelly: Android | iPhone
Best yoga app for iPhone
Alo Moves, the virtual workout app from clothing brand Alo Yoga, is one of the best yoga apps for iPhone, with more than 4,000 streamable classes led by over 70 different instructors. And can even download sessions to use offline when traveling.
There are beginner-friendly programs for if you're just getting started, either for the first time or after a while away from a regular practice. And to help you progress, Alo Moves also has a substantial library of more advanced classes too.
Some people do find that the instructors move pretty quickly between poses, so if you don't feel you've quite got the technique nailed down, it's worth rewinding the class to practice the bits where you need a bit more time.
You can access thousands of videos, including vinyasa, Ashtanga, Kundalini and Yin, plus Barre, Pilates, core workouts, HIIT, strength and cardio. And if that's not enough, there's even a wealth of guided meditation and breathwork practices to try.
Best yoga app for wellbeing
If your wellbeing is as important as your physical yoga practice, Glo "isn't just an app; it's a gateway to feeling more connected and centered," according to the team. In practice, this means a varied library of yoga, Pilates, meditation and mindfulness sessions.
Like most of the apps we've listed, you'll have access to a variety of classes, including meditations, energizing flows and strengthening workouts, live classes and a personalized library on-demand. But Glo also allows you to curate your wellness journey with an option to save your favorites and track your progress.
There's access to globally recognized teachers teaching fundamentals and more advanced classes, and you can download sessions to do in your own time offline. If networking is more your thing, access a huge Glo community and connect more deeply to your practice.
Many people love the pre-natal and post-natal offerings and the superstar teachers, that we think maybe even rival the Peloton team, but some users think the in-app experience needs work, and the cost is higher than other apps of its kind.
Best yoga app for on-the-go
If you're pushed for time, 5-Minute Yoga is the ideal option to get some movement into your day. It does what it says on the tin — 5-minute yoga routines. Sessions are created from a library of illustrated poses with detailed instructions, along with a timer.
And you can select music from your library to play for each session. It's more basic than other apps in the guide, but it's also affordable and suited to on-the-go individuals who need a quick yoga fix in the day.
But because there's less guidance, it's not a great option for beginners. Although there are written instructions, most people will benefit from a more structured guided class, at least initially.
The app is free to use, but some content is locked behind a $4.99/month subscription. Users love how simple and easy it is to use, and credit the short sessions with improving motivation and consistency. Sounds good to us.
- Sign up at 5-Minute Yoga
- Download 5-Minute Yoga: Android | iPhone
Best yoga app for fitness
If you're after the physical benefits of yoga and see the practice as a complement to regular exercise, then Asana Rebel is the best yoga app for you. Yoga is at the center, but it's really a lot more like the reverse of Chris Hemsworth's workout app, Centr.
Centr is focused on muscle-building, but has nutrition, mindfulness and yoga content. Asana Rebel places yoga centrally, but there's almost as much focus on high-intensity HIIT workouts, strength sessions, and cardio exercise.
That's not a bad thing — but if you're after a more typical yoga experience, then you'd be better off looking at apps like Down Dog or Glo. But if you do want an all-in-one app built around yoga practice, Asana Rebel is a great option.
There are daily challenges, the data syncs to Apple Health for you to keep track of your progress, and there are more than 100 different workout routines and tutorials designed by yoga and fitness experts. You can even filter by goals, duration, intensity, or style and preview before you press play.
- Sign up at Asana Rebel
- Download Asana Rebel: Android | iPhone
Best yoga app alternatives
If mindfulness is your thing, we also love the Headspace and Calm apps for developing a meditation or breathwork practice, which can be found in our best relaxation apps guide. Both also have gentle movement programs, but the focus is on a more still mindfulness practice.
From the best workout apps guide, we're currently loving the Centr app, created by Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth. It's full of workouts, yoga, nutrition advice and breathwork activities, all driven by Hemsworth and his knowledgeable team, so if you're after a versatile option, that's the one to go for.
FAQs
How many days a week should you do yoga?
How many times you practice yoga each week will vary depending on your goals, but since it's not as intense as, say, a dumbbell workout, you don't need as much downtime to recover between sessions.
So, in theory, you could do yoga every day, especially if you dip into all the different types of yoga to keep your practice varied and interesting. That way, you could do a faster flow session one day, and a calming yin the next.
But if you're just starting out, it's best to ease yourself in. It can take a while to get used to the exact postures you need to adopt in each pose, and it's best to focus on getting the technique right before jumping into too many classes each week.
Is it best to do yoga in the morning or evening?
When planning out your weekly schedule, it's best to be realistic — the best time to practice yoga is when it fits into your life. If that's the morning, great! Or if you prefer to roll out a mat after work, that's also fine.
Whether one is 'better' really depends on the style of yoga you enjoy and what you want to get out of it. Some people find that the mindfulness boost first thing in the morning helps them stay focused and present throughout the day.
Meanwhile, restorative or yin sessions are generally designed to get you calm, rested and ready to sleep. So these are less suited to morning practice. Ultimately. there's no right or wrong, just what works for your schedule, mind and body.
