Calm focuses on sleep and relaxation through Sleep Stories (bedtime stories for adults), guided meditations, and calming music. Best known for its extensive sleep library with celebrity narrators like Matthew McConaughey and Harry Styles. Ideal for insomnia, racing thoughts at night, and stress management. Not a replacement for therapy if you have severe anxiety or depression.
Meditation & Sleep
People who use Calm daily for 4-8 weeks report feeling less stressed and sleeping better. Sleep Stories help most people fall asleep faster.
Calm is best for people who:
30-60 minute bedtime stories for adults. Narrated by celebrities (Matthew McConaughey, Harry Styles, Stephen Fry, LeBron James, etc.) and professional voice actors. New stories added weekly. Designed to bore you to sleep with slow pacing and calming content.
Evidence: Users report falling asleep 25-40% faster with Sleep Stories. Most popular feature.
10-minute daily meditation that changes every day. Covers themes like gratitude, forgiveness, patience, etc. Good for building a daily habit.
Evidence: Daily practice shows cumulative stress reduction over 4-8 weeks.
3-25 minute meditations for stress, anxiety, focus, relationships, etc. Less structured than Headspace—more variety, less curriculum.
Evidence: Standard mindfulness meditation with validated stress reduction benefits.
Guided breathing patterns for anxiety, panic, and stress (4-7-8 breathing, box breathing, etc.). Animated visual guides.
Evidence: Controlled breathing reduces acute anxiety and activates parasympathetic nervous system.
Calming music, nature sounds, white noise, binaural beats. Can loop for hours. Use for sleep, focus, or relaxation.
Evidence: White noise and nature sounds improve sleep quality in noisy environments.
Audio lessons (15-30 min) taught by experts on topics like mindful eating, mindful parenting, overcoming anxiety, etc.
Evidence: Educational content with practical tips. Quality varies by instructor.
7-day free trial, then choose a plan:
$14.99/month
Trying it out before committing
Annual cost: $179.88/year
$69.99/year ($5.83/month)
Regular users (saves $110/year vs monthly)
$399.99 one-time
Long-term commitment, breaks even after ~6 years
$99.99/year (up to 6 people)
Couples or families ($16.67/person/year)
Not typically covered by insurance. Some HSA/FSA accounts may reimburse if prescribed by doctor.
Calm collects usage data and email but does not sell personal information. GDPR and CCPA compliant. Grade: B
Not HIPAA-compliant. Do not use for clinical records or PHI.
Better for structured meditation learning. Calm has larger sleep library. Similar pricing (~$70/year). Choose Calm if sleep is your main goal, Headspace if you want to learn meditation systematically.
Free with 100,000+ meditations. Much less curated. No celebrity Sleep Stories. Good if budget is tight. Calm better if you want premium, polished content.
Sleep Stories and meditation exercises help with sleep onset. Most effective combined with good sleep hygiene. Not a cure for chronic insomnia—see a sleep specialist if sleep problems persist 3+ months.
Daily meditation reduces anxiety symptoms by 15-20% in mild to moderate GAD. Best as supplement to therapy/medication for moderate-severe cases.
Mindfulness meditation shows modest benefit for preventing depression relapse. Not recommended as sole treatment for active depression.