Calm
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About Calm
Calm is a leading meditation and mental wellness app, founded in 2012 by Alex Tew and Michael Acton Smith and headquartered in San Francisco. Calm offers guided meditations, sleep stories narrated by celebrities (Matthew McConaughey, Harry Styles, LeBron James), breathing exercises, masterclasses by mental health experts, and daily mindfulness programs. Calm has approximately 100 million downloads and 4 million premium subscribers. Calm Premium costs $69.99/year or $14.99/month. Calm has been consistently ranked as one of the App Store's highest-grossing apps. The app is particularly known for its Sleep Stories — narrated bedtime stories for adults that help users fall asleep. Calm was valued at $2 billion in 2020, making it the first 'unicorn' mental wellness company. It partners with corporations (Calm for Business) and has health insurance coverage through some plans. Calm's aesthetic — nature sounds, peaceful imagery, Bob Ross-narrated bedtime stories — is highly regarded.
Frequently Asked Questions
Calm vs Headspace: which is better?
Both are excellent meditation apps. Calm is better for: Sleep Stories (unique feature), nature soundscapes, celebrity narrators, and users who want variety in content type (sleep, music, masterclasses). Headspace is better for: structured beginner meditation courses, animated explainers that make concepts approachable, and clinical research backing. Calm skews toward relaxation; Headspace skews toward structured meditation practice. Both offer free trials — try both and choose based on what resonates.
Is Calm covered by insurance?
Some health insurance plans and employee benefit programs cover Calm Premium. Check with your employer's HR/benefits team — many large employers (AT&T, Price Waterhouse, etc.) offer Calm as an employee wellness benefit at no cost. Some HSA/FSA accounts may be used for Calm subscriptions as a mental health expense (varies by provider). It's worth checking before paying out-of-pocket.
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Calm vs Headspace
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