Comparison

Calm vs Breathing Exercises

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Calm

Discover sleep stories, guided meditations, and relaxation exercises to reduce anxiety and stress. Improve your sleep cycle and focus with a variety of mindfulness programs and soothing sounds. Recommended by mental health experts.

Highlights
  • Sleep Stories narrated by celebrities
  • Guided meditations for all levels
  • Breathing exercises for anxiety relief
  • Calming music and soundscapes
  • Mindfulness programs for stress management
  • Daily Calm sessions
Features
Read full description

Calm is the #1 app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation. Find anxiety relief, stress relief, and better sleep through breathing exercises, sleep sounds, deep sleep music, and mindfulness programs for insomnia, beginner meditation, and beyond. Downloaded by 180 million people worldwide. Fall asleep faster with Sleep Stories, bedtime stories for adults narrated by Matthew McConaughey, Stephen Fry, P\!nk, Bob Ross, and more. Only on Calm. Manage stress, relieve anxiety, improve your sleep cycle, and refocus your attention. Apple App of the Year. Apple Editors' Choice. Happiest App in the World (Center for Humane Technology). 3M+ five-star reviews. Recommended by top psychologists, therapists, and mental health experts. SLEEP STORIES — ONLY ON CALM * Drift off to Matthew McConaughey's Wonder — a dreamy journey through the mysteries of the universe * Travel through the village of Provence with master storyteller Stephen Fry in Blue Gold * Fall asleep to the soothing brush strokes of beloved painter Bob Ross in Happy Little Zzzs * Tackle insomnia with 100+ exclusive Sleep Stories, new content added every month MEDITATION & MINDFULNESS * Beginner meditation to advanced practice — guided sessions for every experience level * Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt, Daily Jay with Jay Shetty, Daily Trip with Jeff Warren * Mindfulness topics: deep sleep, anxiety relief, stress relief, focus, breaking habits, self-care, personal growth, and more * 7- and 21-day mindfulness programs to build a lasting practice ANXIETY RELIEF & RELAXATION * Breathing exercises and breathwork to ease anxiety, stress, and insomnia * Bilateral stimulation music and neuroacoustic sounds for nervous system regulation and somatic relaxation * Guided breathwork for stress relief, anxiety relief, and deep calm * Stress management and self-healing through Dailies: programs for social anxiety, personal growth, and mood balance * Mindful movement and stretching with Daily Move SLEEP SOUNDS, MUSIC & SOUNDSCAPES * Calming music, nature sounds, and sleep sounds: ocean waves, heavy rain, campfire, and more * Exclusive focus and sleep music from top artists * Full soundscapes and sleep sounds to help you relax, meditate, and sleep soundly ALSO FEATURING * Daily Streaks & Mindful Minutes — emotion and mental health tracker * Calm saves your meditation and sleep sessions to your Apple Health app. Mental health is health. Calm is for anyone looking to improve their sleep, manage stress, and address everyday anxiety. Meditation novice or seasoned expert. Take a deep breath and find your Calm. Calm is free to download and use. There are never any ads and some of the programs and features are free forever. Some content is only available through an optional paid subscription. Be sure to check out our Apple Watch app to quick-start breathing exercises and track your meditations. Calm offers an auto-renewing subscription to provide you with unlimited access to the Calm Collection while you maintain an active subscription. Payment will be charged to the credit card connected to your iTunes Account when you confirm the initial subscription purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current subscription period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and the cost of the renewal will be identified. You may manage your subscription and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after the purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where applicable. Read more about our terms and conditions here: Terms of service: https://www.calm.com/terms Privacy policy: https://www.calm.com/privacy

About

Breathing Exercises

This app offers guided breathing patterns for relaxation, meditation, and breath training. Visualize your breath with customizable inhale, exhale, and hold times. Track your progress and integrate with HealthKit for mindful minutes.

Highlights
  • Full screen breath visualization
  • Guided and free-form sessions
  • Customizable inhale/exhale/hold times
  • Usage history tracking
  • HealthKit integration
  • Custom themes and reminders
Features
Read full description

Breathe+ is a beautifully simple way to visualize your breathing. Use Breathe+ for daily relaxation, meditation or breath training. "Relax, de-stress, and find a little peace" - LifeHacker.com "Relax Both Body and Mind With Breathe+" -AppAdvice.com "Breathe+ lets you take a break" -Mashable.com Features: •Beautiful full screen breath visualization •Guided session lengths from 1-60 minutes •Free-form session lengths •Breathe cycle counter •Adjust inhale, exhale lengths from 1-32 seconds •Add breath holds from 1-32 seconds if desired •Change settings even during a session •Track usage history- graphs, total time and streaks •HealthKit integration to record mindful minutes •Custom themes, reminders and more.... Terms of Service: http://dynamicappdesign.com/tos

Screenshots

Calm4 screens
Breathing Exercises4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Calm at 2M against Breathing Exercises's 3.5K. Calm also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly) and chart position (#5 vs unranked). Breathing Exercises's advantage is review sentiment (84% vs 64%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Calm sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Breathing Exercises sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Calm against 4.7 for Breathing Exercises. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Calm has 2M ratings behind it against 3.5K, 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 84% of Breathing Exercises's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Calm ships an update every 5 days, Breathing Exercises monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Calm versus Breathing Exercises: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalmBreathing Exercises
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2M ratings) — better4.7 (3.5K ratings)
Positive reviews64.1% of reviews84.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2M — better3.5K
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterMonthly
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#5 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size180 MB148 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCalm.comDynamic App Design LLC

Customer experience

Calm

All ratings1,993,787 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral2.6%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews4,291 reviews
Positive64.1%
Neutral7.5%
Negative28.4%

Breathing Exercises

All ratings3,453 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral2.7%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews369 reviews
Positive84.0%
Neutral5.1%
Negative10.8%

User reviews

Calm

From 2M App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Breathing Exercises

From 3.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and functional
  • 👍 Customizable breathing settings
  • 👍 Helpful for medical procedures
  • 👍 Effective for relaxation and focus
  • 👍 Visually pleasing design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sudden change to paid-only version with no notice
  • 🐛 Everything locked behind paywall
  • 🐛 Ads disrupt the breathing experience
  • 🐛 Inability to adjust breath timings without paying
  • 🐛 App stops abruptly in the middle of a breath

Bugs and requests

Calm

Reported bugs

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

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add repeat button for sleep stories
  • Separate kids and adult content
  • Allow creating custom playlists
  • Improve search and navigation
  • Add more diverse narrator voices
Show 1 more
  • Provide text-based instructions for techniques

Breathing Exercises

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Sound not working on some devices
  • Upgrade functionality not working
  • Ads freezing the app
  • Breath timings not working as expected

Requested features

8 requests
  • Ability to save custom breathing patterns
  • Integration with heart rate variability apps
  • Apple Watch app
  • Darker color schemes for nighttime use
  • Metronome feature
Show 3 more
  • Cycle-based breathing sessions
  • More sound options
  • Ability to pause sessions

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Calm

Subscriptions8
  • Calm Subscription$14.991 Month
  • Calm Premium$14.991 Month
  • Calm Premium$16.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Calm Premium$29.991 Month
  • Calm Premium$69.991 Year
  • Calm Premium7 Days trial2 variants$69.991 Year
  • Calm Premium7 Days trial2 variants$79.991 Year
  • Calm Premium$79.991 Year
6 purchases

Breathing Exercises

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$9.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time4
  • Remove Ads$3.99
  • Unlock Themes$3.99
  • Unlock Usage History$3.99
Show 1 more
  • Unlock Everything$69.99

Questions

Is Calm free?
Calm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Breathing Exercises free?
Breathing Exercises is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Calm or Breathing Exercises?
Calm is rated higher. Calm averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2M ratings, while Breathing Exercises averages 4.7 from 3.5K ratings.
Do Calm or Breathing Exercises have ads?
Both Calm and Breathing Exercises show ads.
Which is updated more often, Calm or Breathing Exercises?
Calm ships an update every 5 days, and Breathing Exercises monthly. Most recently, Calm was updated on November 12, 2026 and Breathing Exercises on November 11, 2026.

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