# Calm vs Calming Sounds

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Calming Sounds at none against Calm's 12. Calming Sounds also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (79% vs 64%). Calm's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (2M vs 1.3K). On price, rating and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Calm sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Calming Sounds asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Calm against 4.7 for Calming Sounds. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Calm has 2M ratings behind it against 1.3K, 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 Calming Sounds's.

Calm ships an update every 4 days, Calming Sounds every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Calm | Calming Sounds |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (2M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calm/id571800810/reviews)** | [4.7 (1.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calming-sounds/id1483074321/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **2M** | 1.3K |
| Positive reviews | 63.9% of reviews | **78.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#8** | — |
| Size | 167 MB | 193 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Calm.com](https://appshunter.io/developer/571800813) | [Gurmokh Sangha](https://appshunter.io/developer/1483074320) |

## What reviewers say

### Calm

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

**Currently charting:** #8 Top Grossing · Health & Fitness, #52 Top Free · Health & Fitness, #121 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


### Calming Sounds

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/calming-sounds/id1483074321)

Discover a curated collection of sounds designed to aid meditation, promote relaxation, and eliminate distractions. Enjoy nature, water, white noise, Zen, and LoFi beats. Set a timer for continuous playback, even with your screen locked.

**Highlights:** Nature sounds, Water sounds, White noise, Zen sounds, LoFi beats, Sleep timer, Background playback

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Calming and relaxing sounds
- 🙌 No ads or in-app purchases
- 💤 Helps with sleep and relaxation
- 🎶 Wide variety of sound options
- 🕰️ Ability to set timers for sounds

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔇 Limited sound selection
- ⏱️ 10-minute playback limit
- 🔀 Inconsistent sound playback
- 🔍 Lack of advanced features

**Reported bugs**

- Sounds randomly stopping during playback
- Compatibility issues with older devices

**Requested features**

- More sound options (e.g., brown noise, binaural beats)
- Ability to customize timer duration
- Background playback without time limits
- Additional music and ambient sound choices


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Calm free?

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

### Is Calming Sounds free?

Calming Sounds is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Calm or Calming Sounds?

Calm is rated higher. Calm averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2M ratings, while Calming Sounds averages 4.7 from 1.3K ratings.

### Do Calm or Calming Sounds have ads?

Calm shows ads; Calming Sounds does not.

### Which is updated more often, Calm or Calming Sounds?

Calm ships an update every 4 days, and Calming Sounds every 3 months. Most recently, Calm was updated on September 29, 2026 and Calming Sounds on September 27, 2026.

---

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