Calm vs Headspace

Updated November 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Calm

Subscription app for guided meditation, Sleep Stories, breathing exercises and relaxing music.

Free plan + paid

Visit Calm Calm profile

Headspace

Subscription meditation and sleep app with structured courses, sleepcasts and focus music.

Free plan + paid

Visit Headspace Headspace profile

The short answer

Calm and Headspace are the two best-known subscription meditation apps. Calm leans towards sleep, with 500+ Sleep Stories, soundscapes and music, and runs on Apple TV and smartwatches. Headspace leans towards structured courses for beginners, starting with Basics, and adds movement sessions, focus music and a low-cost student plan. Pick Calm for sleep content, Headspace for guided learning.

Calm or Headspace: our take

Calm's library is built around sleep. It has 500+ narrated Sleep Stories, soundscapes and sleep music, plus a 60-second Breathe Bubble for quick breathing breaks and a new Daily Calm session every day. Newcomers start with 7 Days of Calm, then 21 Days of Calm, before moving into sessions on themes like focus and gratitude. It runs on iOS, Android, the web, Apple TV, Apple Watch and Wear OS. On the web the yearly plan is $79.99/yr after a 7-day free trial, and Calm also sells a family plan and a lifetime membership. Prices can differ between the website and the app stores.

Headspace is known for structured, beginner-friendly courses that start with the Basics series. Its library also includes sleepcasts, sleep music and white noise, short daily videos, movement sessions and focus music, with a new meditation every day. The yearly plan has a 14-day free trial, the family plan is $99.99/yr for up to 6 people, and verified students pay $9.99/yr. Headspace has grown into a wider mental-health service with coaching and therapy, and is now part of Sword; its terms say it is meant for people 18+, with limited exceptions. It runs on iOS, Android and the web.

Both keep most content behind the subscription, so the free tiers are thin. The trade-offs differ: Calm's sleep-heavy library can be more than someone who just wants meditation instruction needs, while Headspace increasingly promotes services beyond meditation and its courses can feel basic to experienced meditators.

Choose Calm if sleep is the main goal, if you want to use it on a TV or watch, or if a lifetime purchase appeals. Choose Headspace if you are new to meditation and want a step-by-step course, or if you are a student who can use the discounted yearly plan.

Choose Calm if…

People who want a large library of sleep stories, music and guided sessions in one paid app
Very large sleep library: Sleep Stories, soundscapes and music
Clear starter programs: 7 Days and 21 Days of Calm

Choose Headspace if…

Beginners who want structured courses and a tidy app, and students on the cheap plan
Structured beginner courses starting from Basics
Sleep, focus music and movement sessions in one app

What is Calm?

Calm is one of the two best-known subscription meditation apps, and it leans harder toward sleep than most. Alongside guided meditations it has a large library of Sleep Stories (narrated bedtime stories, from classic literature to nature essays), soundscapes, sleep music and a short Breathe Bubble exercise for in-the-moment breathing. New users are pointed to 7 Days of Calm and then 21 Days of Calm, two introductory programs, before the wider library of sessions on themes like focus and gratitude. A Daily Calm session is added every day. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web, and also on Apple TV, Apple Watch and Wear OS. On calm.com the yearly plan starts with a free trial and then bills annually; a family plan and a lifetime membership are also sold. The trade-off: almost everything worth using sits behind the subscription, and prices can differ between the website and the app stores. If you mainly want meditation instruction rather than sleep content, the sleep-heavy library can feel like more than you need.

What is Headspace?

Headspace is a subscription meditation app known for its structured, beginner-friendly courses, starting with the Basics series. The library is organised into sleep content (sleepcasts, sleep music and white noise), meditations, movement sessions, short daily videos and focus music, with a new meditation every day. The brand has grown from a meditation app into a wider mental-health service: it now also sells coaching and therapy, and its about page says Headspace is now part of Sword. For individuals the core product is still the app subscription, with a free trial on the yearly plan. A family plan covers up to six people for one yearly price, and verified students get a heavily discounted yearly rate. Its terms say the products are meant for people aged 18 and over, with limited exceptions. The trade-off: free content is thin, the app increasingly promotes services beyond meditation, and experienced meditators may find the courses basic compared with apps aimed at deeper practice.

Side by side

Attribute	Calm	Headspace
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	iOS, Android, Web	iOS, Android, Web
Best for	People who want a large library of sleep stories, music and guided sessions in one paid app	Beginners who want structured courses and a tidy app, and students on the cheap plan
Status	Active	Active