Comparison

Calm vs Curing Insomnia

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

Head to head
About

Calm

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
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. Subscription pricing and terms: Calm offers an auto-renewing monthly subscription at $14.99/month and an auto-renewing yearly subscription at $69.99/year 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

Curing Insomnia

This app helps you relax and reduce stress with personalized soundscapes designed to promote better sleep. Create custom mixes of ambient sounds to calm your mind and achieve a more restful night's sleep or effective nap.

Highlights
  • Personalized sound mixing
  • Customizable volume control
  • Stress relief sounds
  • Effective napping aid
  • Unlock premium soundscapes
  • Set sound timers
Features
Read full description

Relaxing your stress by using relieve sounds. Personalise and mix sound which you want. Reduce stress make your best sleep. Take a nap effectively and calming feeling. How it works; 1.Create mixing environment sounds that you like. 2.Customise volume each of mixing separately. 3.Calm down your feeling and relieve your wellness. 4.Listen it again when you want to relax. PREMIUM VERSION -Unlock sound as you want -Unlock all 30 mixing sounds in all 5 environments -Set timing to end sound -Restore purchase

Screenshots

Calm4 screens
Curing Insomnia4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Calm at every 4 days against Curing Insomnia's every 5 weeks. Calm also leads on review sentiment (64% vs 40%) and chart position (#7 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Curing Insomnia sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Calm ships an update every 4 days, Curing Insomnia every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and August 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Calm versus Curing Insomnia: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalmCuring Insomnia
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2M ratings) — better—
Positive reviews64.1% of reviews — better40.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2M — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#7 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size167 MB65 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCalm.comNattapon Kittisuphat

Customer experience

Calm

All ratings1,981,815 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral2.6%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews3,855 reviews
Positive64.1%
Neutral7.5%
Negative28.4%

Curing Insomnia

Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%

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

Curing Insomnia

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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 trial3 variants$79.991 Year
  • Calm Premium$79.991 Year
4 purchases

Curing Insomnia

One-time4
  • Forest sounds$1.99
  • Fire sounds$1.99
  • Underwater Sounds$1.99
Show 1 more
  • com.nature.sounds.unlockall$4.99

Questions

Is Calm free?
Calm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Curing Insomnia free?
Curing Insomnia is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Calm or Curing Insomnia have ads?
Both Calm and Curing Insomnia show ads.
Which is updated more often, Calm or Curing Insomnia?
Calm ships an update every 4 days, and Curing Insomnia every 5 weeks. Most recently, Calm was updated on September 27, 2026 and Curing Insomnia on August 27, 2026.

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