Deep Dive into Calm: What You Need to Know in 2025

Calm is a mindfulness and meditation app founded in 2012 by Michael Acton Smith and Alex Tew. It was designed to assist users in managing stress, sleeping more soundly, and living more mindfully .

It boasts more than 100 million downloads, 3 million 5‑star ratings, and has received huge awards such as Apple’s 2017 App of the Year and Google Play’s Editors’ Choice .

1. Guided Meditations – From everyday sessions to specialty series on anxiety, concentration, appreciation, and beyond. Guided and silent versions—from only 3 to 30 mins .
   
2. Sleep Stories – More than 500 read-aloud stories, such as classics, nature writings, and Hollywood stars like Sam Heughan, Jerome Flynn, and LeBron James .
   
3. Calm Body – Soft exercise and stretch routines like “Morning Wake Up” or “Evening Wind Down”.
   
4. Music & Soundscapes – Carefully curated tracks for concentration, relaxation, and sleep, as well as nature sounds and a 60‑second “Breathe Bubble” breathing guide .
   
5. Masterclasses – Multi-session classes instructed by mindfulness masters. Favorite among users, particularly those interested in deeper learning .
   
6. Kids Content – Age-appropriate meditations, sleep stories, and lullabies specifically designed for children (3–17 yrs) .
   
7. Progress Tracking – Tracks streaks, minutes meditated, mood checks, and provides personalized daily recommendations .

• Free Version: Provides daily meditations, breathing tools, some sleep stories, some limited music tracks, and mood checks .
• Premium Membership:
  • Monthly: ~$14.99
  • Annual: $69.99/year (~$5.83/month) .
  • Family Plan: $99.99/year for 6 individual accounts .
  • Lifetime plan available (~$399.99) .
  • Student discount through Amazon Prime Student at ~$8.99/year after trial .
• A 7-day free trial provides complete access to premium content.

Pros:

• Intuitive and calming interface, perfect for novices and experienced users .
• Excellent sleep content and celebrity-read stories.
• Free regular updates, kid-friendly, stats tracking, and reminders to breathe .
• High-quality images, nature sounds, and varied content types .

Cons:

• Most of the content demands premium access; free plan is restricted .
• Auto-renew problems and the occasional complaint from customer service .
• Sleep stories could be lengthy or distracting to some listeners .
• Some consider the natural-themes look too plain.

• Calm has MBSR principle-backed support.
• Applied in experiments on sleep, prenatal stress, well-being of cancer patients, etc.
• Industry acclaim: “platinum league” quality and convenience lauded over free YouTube alternatives.

• Download on iOS (iOS 16+) or Android (8.1+) .
• Begin with “7 Days of Calm” initial program, followed by “21 Days of Calm” .
• Utilize home, collections, and personalized suggestions to discover subjects.

• Taptivities: Interactive, narrative-style mindfulness practices that fit into brief moments each day—imagine a quick therapist break on your phone—debuted in 2024 .
• Daily Move: Included as part of premium, it provides new mindful movement videos daily, as well as guided audio for walking and stretching .

• Improved onboarding & personalization: The setup process now incorporates goal-oriented questions (such as decreasing anxiety, better sleep), allowing Calm to suggest personalized content and nudge new users in a natural way .
• Simplified navigation: Calm consolidated its Home, Collections, Discover, and Profile tabs, simplifying access to favorites, new content, and recommendations: “nap, rain, and anxiety” most searched terms .

• Lincoln Elevated Journey: Calm Premium content is infused in Lincoln vehicles through the Elevated Journey app, including guided audio lessons spoken by meditation instructor Jeff Warren for serene driving .
• Multipurpose device compatibility: Apart from iOS and Android, Calm is seamlessly compatible with Apple Watch, Apple TV, Kindle, and accessible through web browser .

• App Store: 4.8★ (iOS) based on ~1.5 M reviews; 4.3★ (Google Play) based on ~600K reviews .
• Professional evaluations
  • Forbes Health: Describes Calm as a “multifaceted” app that shines in mindfulness, exercise, and sleep .
  • Sleep Foundation: Commends its simplicity and efficacy at getting sleep back on track after a 21-night test .
  • Healthline: Observes it suits newbies and veterans alike with plenty of tools to choose from.

• Recent price increases: Calm has revamped its pricing to enable additional development—remember auto‑renewal .
• Usage insights: Other research indicates daily app use could result in stress when users feel they “fail” to be involved—balanced, mindful use is the answer .

• Why it stands out: Contemporary UI, immersive aspects (such as Taptivities), multi-device accessibility, and enterprise integrations (such as Lincoln).
• Best for: People who desire diverse daily habits—meditation, sleep, rapid mindfulness moments, exercise—all in a visually soothing environment.
• Remember: Premium has greater expenses and some people might feel tempted to keep daily streaks.