# Calm vs Meditation Studio

The clearest difference is ads: Meditation Studio at none against Calm's shown. Meditation Studio also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 64%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). Calm's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (2M vs 9K). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Calm sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Meditation Studio sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Calm against 4.8 for Meditation Studio. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Calm has 2M ratings behind it against 9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 64% of Calm's written reviews are positive against 79% of Meditation Studio's.

Calm ships an update every 4 days, Meditation Studio monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Calm | Meditation Studio |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (2M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calm/id571800810/reviews) | [4.8 (9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/meditation-studio/id1066018502/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **2M** | 9K |
| Positive reviews | 64.1% of reviews | **79.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 days** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#9** | — |
| Size | 167 MB | 65 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Calm.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/571800813) | [InteraXon](https://appshunter.io/developer/849841173) |

## What reviewers say

### Calm

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calm/id571800810)

**Currently charting:** #9 Top Grossing · Health & Fitness, #48 Top Free · Health & Fitness, #140 Top Grossing (US App Store)

This app offers guided meditations, sleep stories, music, and breathing exercises to help users reduce stress, anxiety, and improve sleep. It caters to all experience levels, integrating mindfulness into daily routines for enhanced mental well-being.

**Highlights:** Guided meditations, Sleep Stories, Breathwork exercises, Relaxing music, Stretching exercises, Mindfulness programs

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Calm Subscription | $14.99 | per month |
| Calm Premium | $14.99 | per month |
| Calm Premium | $16.99 | per month |
| Calm Premium | $29.99 | per month |
| Calm Premium | $69.99 | per year |
| Calm Premium | $69.99 | per year |
| Calm Premium | $79.99 | per year |
| Calm Premium | $79.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 💤 Helpful for sleep
- 🧘‍♀️ Effective for meditation and relaxation
- 🎨 Variety of content (sleep stories, meditations, music)
- 🙏 Positive impact on mental health
- 🤗 Soothing narrators

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🔒 Limited free content
- 🕰️ Difficulty finding specific content
- 🔁 Repetitive sleep stories
- 🙃 Accessibility issues for disabled users

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes or freezes
- Playback issues with audio and video
- Difficulty cancelling subscription

**Requested features**

- Add repeat button for sleep stories
- Separate kids and adult content
- Allow creating custom playlists
- Improve search and navigation
- Add more diverse narrator voices


### Meditation Studio

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/meditation-studio/id1066018502)

Reduce stress, ease anxiety, and improve sleep with guided meditations on various topics. Explore collections tailored for specific needs like health, happiness, and kindness, or create your own unguided sessions. Features expert teachers and progress tracking.

**Highlights:** Guided meditations on diverse topics, Customizable unguided meditations, Collections for specific life areas, Courses for deeper practice, Expert meditation teachers, Progress tracking and scheduling, Offline access

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Meditation Studio Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Meditation Studio Monthly | $7.99 | per month |
| Meditation Studio Quarterly | $17.99 | per 3 months |
| Meditation Studio Yearly | $23.99 | per year |
| Meditation Studio - Yearly | $49.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Variety of meditation options
- 🕰️ Short meditations for busy schedules
- 🎨 Customizable background sounds
- 💻 Offline access to meditations
- 🧘‍♀️ Helpful for anxiety, sleep, and relaxation

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes or freezes
- 🔒 Locked content after subscription change
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🔍 Lack of search/sort functionality
- 🔊 Meditations too fast-paced

**Reported bugs**

- Meditations not playing after download
- Inability to access content on multiple devices
- Incompatibility issues with iPad landscape mode

**Requested features**

- Playlist feature to play multiple meditations in a row
- More long-form (30+ minute) meditation options
- Ability to customize meditations (e.g. add own background music)
- Integration with fitness trackers or Apple Health
- Dark mode or night theme


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Calm free?

Calm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Meditation Studio free?

Meditation Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Calm or Meditation Studio?

Calm and Meditation Studio are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2M and 9K ratings respectively.

### Do Calm or Meditation Studio have ads?

Calm shows ads; Meditation Studio does not.

### Which is updated more often, Calm or Meditation Studio?

Calm ships an update every 4 days, and Meditation Studio monthly. Most recently, Calm was updated on September 26, 2026 and Meditation Studio on September 22, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*