The best Aya alternatives: apps like Aya, and who each one suits

We make Solulu, one of the apps on this page.

What Aya is, in one minute

Aya plays you a short recording of your “dream self.” She describes your life as if your wishes have already come true.

Aya: Manifest Your Dream Self is made by Lit Apps, a studio that also makes other apps. First you answer a long set of questions about your life, your people and the life you dream of. Aya calls this a 28-step intake. Then Aya writes and voices short audios from your future self’s point of view.

Its App Store page also lists affirmations in your dream self’s voice. There are short routines for waking up and winding down, a vision board and daily gratitude. Its library adds playlists, subliminals and sleep stories. Subliminals are affirmations hidden under music.

Aya has 4.8 stars from 3,216 ratings on the App Store and 4.6 stars on Google Play.

The practice behind the app has its own name, the Aya method. It spread on TikTok. People who love Aya say it helps them picture what they want, and that the questions feel thoughtful. Your next app should keep that personal feeling.

Why people look for an Aya alternative

Most people who leave Aya still like the idea of hearing their future self. They leave because the app gets in the way. Two complaints come up most.

The long intake before you can listen. You pour your feelings into many personal questions before the first audio plays. Many people find that a letdown.
No looping. Stories play in short parts and then stop. So you cannot leave one playing in the background or as you fall asleep.

Others leave because they want to see the life they are manifesting, not only hear about it. The table further down shows which alternative fits each reason.

What to look for in an Aya alternative

Aya does some things well. It is about your future self, it feels personal, and you use it every day. The best replacement keeps those things and fixes the reason you left.

Manifesting brings what you want into your real life. You get clear on the wish, believe it is coming and keep coming back to it. Methods differ in how they do that.

Aya’s dream self comes from the Law of Assumption. In the Law of Assumption, you hold the life you want as already done, until it feels real and familiar. Neville Goddard called this living in the end. What you assume and feel to be true hardens into fact. The dream-self idea is a modern, gentle version of it.

Three things help an app do that well:

It is about you. It uses your name, your people and, ideally, your face.
It does the hard part for you. Picturing the scene a voice describes is the hardest part. The best tool makes it easier.
You actually keep using it. It takes a few minutes at the same times every day. And each session plays from start to finish.

The best Aya alternatives

Here are six options, with who each one suits. Solulu is first because it fits most people leaving Aya. The reasons are below.

1. Solulu: see your dream self instead of hearing her

Solulu is an iPhone app that makes mind movies of the life you want, with you in the scenes. A mind movie is a short video of that life. You describe the life you want and add your photos. You can also add photos of your SP (your specific person), places, outfits, pets and things you want.

Each mind movie has a calm kaleidoscope opening, scenes of you living that life, affirmations and music. You get up to three new mind movies each week as your goals grow.

Best for: anyone who loved the dream-self idea but wanted to see her, not just hear about her.
Not for: Android users, since it is iPhone only. Also not for anyone who wants audio for a walk or a commute.

2. Stella: the closest like-for-like

Stella is the app most like Aya. First it asks you a long set of questions. Then it writes personal audio stories about your goals, told as if they are already happening. A voice reads them over soft sounds like rain or a café.

Best for: people who want another future-self voice and a full story. It works on iPhone and Android.
Rating: 4.7 stars from 5,300 ratings on the App Store.
Know first: a common complaint is the long, personal intake before you can listen, just like Aya. Another is that its pictures show other women, not you. See the best Stella alternatives.

3. Innertune: audio that loops

Innertune plays spoken affirmations on a loop over background beats. It has a library of 77,000 affirmations. With the paid version you can record affirmations in your own voice.

Best for: people who left Aya because it would not loop. It plays while you sleep or work.
Free version: yes.
Rating: 4.8 stars from 12,000 ratings on the App Store.
Know first: it gives you affirmations, not a story about your life. A common complaint is crashes and lost recordings after updates.

4. ThinkUp: your dream self in your own voice

ThinkUp lets you pick or write affirmations. You record them in your own voice and loop them over music.

Best for: people who want to be their own dream-self voice.
Free version: yes.
Rating: 4.7 stars from 7,500 ratings on the App Store.
Know first: it has had no feature update in over a year. And you write and record everything yourself.

5. I am: free lines through the day

I am shows short “I am” affirmations through the day. They appear on your Lock Screen, in widgets, on Apple Watch and in reminders. It has 4.8 stars from 735,000 ratings on the App Store.

Best for: a free, easy habit while you decide what to do next.
Free version: yes, with ads.
Know first: it is text, with no future-self voice. A common complaint is reminders you cannot turn off.

6. Free: the Aya method with a voice memo

You do not need the app to do the Aya method. Write a short script of your life as your dream self would tell it. Record it in a calm voice with your phone’s voice memo app. Listen when you wake up and before you sleep.

Best for: anyone who loves the practice but would rather not use an app. Our guide to the Aya method shows how.
Know first: you write every word yourself. And you still have to picture what you hear.

Aya and its alternatives, side by side

Solulu is the only option here that shows you yourself living the scene. The others give you a voice or words.

App	What you get	You in it	Works without a strong imagination	Platforms
Solulu	Mind movies of your future, with you in the scenes, a few minutes at set times	Yes, your own face	Yes, you watch the scene	iPhone
Aya	Dream-self audio, affirmations, playlists, subliminals. Stories do not loop	No, audio and text	Partly, you picture the story	iPhone, iPad, Android, web library
Stella	Personal audio stories, no loop	No, pictures of other people	Partly, you picture the story	iPhone, Android
Innertune	Spoken affirmations that loop	No, audio only	Yes, but words only	iPhone, Mac, Android
ThinkUp	Affirmations in your own voice, on a loop	Your voice, not your face	Yes, but words only	iPhone, Mac, Apple Watch, Android
I am	Text affirmations and widgets	No, text only	Yes, but words only	iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Android
Your own voice memo	Your script, your voice	Your voice	Partly, you picture the story	Any phone

Where Aya is still the better choice

Aya is a good app for some people. Here is who.

You love to listen. On a walk, on the bus or lying in the dark with your eyes closed, a voice works where a screen does not.
The words are written for you. Some people never know what to say to themselves. For them, a voice that says it is a relief.
More kinds of audio. Aya has playlists, subliminals and sleep stories in one app.
Android and the web. Aya is on Google Play and has a web library. Solulu is iPhone only.

Why Solulu is the best Aya alternative: four reasons

For most people, Solulu is the better choice. The same four reasons apply every time.

1. You see yourself living it

Aya gives you a voice describing your life. Stella does the same. Innertune and ThinkUp give you spoken lines, and I am gives you text.

Solulu shows you your own face already living the scene. A voice does not tell you that you wake up next to your person. Instead, you see yourself waking up next to them. It feels like a memory, not a wish. And what feels done in your mind is what shows up in your life.

Research supports this. A well known study took place the night before the 2004 US election. Voters who pictured themselves voting, as if they watched from the outside, were more likely to really vote. Seeing yourself do something is powerful. It helps you know you are someone who does it. Hearing about yourself is one step further away.

2. It does not depend on your imagination

Say your dream self says “I walk into my office and everyone smiles.” You still have to make that office in your head. If you picture things easily, that is lovely.

Many people do not. Some cannot make pictures in their mind at all. This is called aphantasia. For them, the words just go past and no picture appears. With Solulu the scene is in front of you, so all your energy goes into feeling it.

3. It never goes stale

Most practices repeat the same words, audio or pictures every day. After a few weeks, your mind gets used to them and the feeling fades. The Solulu method makes refreshing part of the practice, and Solulu keeps making new mind movies of you as your story moves on. So what you watch never goes stale.

4. It is easy to keep doing

Aya and Solulu take about the same time. Both fit into a few minutes when you wake up and before you sleep. The difference is what gets in the way.

Aya stories play in short parts and then stop. With Solulu you open a mind movie and watch it from start to finish. The opening, your scenes, the affirmations and the music come in one piece.

You also get new mind movies each week as your goals grow. So what you watch keeps up with what you want. Aya gives you audio. Solulu gives you up to three new mind movies each week, with your own face in every scene.

How to switch from Aya

Cancel through the store you paid with. Then bring your dream self with you as scenes.

Cancel Aya first

Apple or Google bills you for Aya, so you cancel through them. Deleting the app or your Aya account does not cancel the subscription.

On iPhone: open Settings and tap your name. Tap Subscriptions, tap Aya, then tap Cancel Subscription.
On Android: open the Play Store and tap your profile. Tap Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions. Select Aya and tap Cancel.
Do it in time. Cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. You keep Premium until the end of the period you paid for.

For a refund, ask Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com. On Android, ask Google through your Play order history. Our guide on how to cancel a manifestation app subscription has every app’s steps in one place.

Turn your dream self’s words into scenes

Before you cancel, open the audio you loved most. Read its text and copy out the moments that gave you chills.

Then turn each one into a scene. A scene is one moment, with you inside it, and one detail you could point at.

Say your dream self talked about your SP. She said something like “They are so proud to be with me, they bring me everywhere.” The scene might be:

We walk into their best friend’s birthday dinner holding hands. They pull out my chair and say to everyone, “This is her.” I am in my black satin dress.

If she talked about your career, “My work is finally seen”:

I stand at the front of the meeting room as my slides go up, and my manager starts the applause.

If she talked about travel, “I wake up somewhere beautiful”:

I sit on the white balcony of our hotel in Santorini with a coffee, still in the hotel robe, and the sea is glittering below.

Look at these scenes every morning and night, and feel them as done. That is the Solulu method. It means one specific scene, with you inside it, every day, until it comes into your life.

You can do it with a photo and no app at all. Or you can put these scenes into Solulu. Then you watch them as mind movies with you in them. To see how the two practices compare on their own, read the Solulu method vs the Aya method.