Comparison

Calm vs Well

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. 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

Well

This app offers accessible hypnotherapy to address various issues like smoking cessation, weight loss, phobias, and stress reduction. It guides users through sessions to communicate with their unconscious for deeper, lasting benefits.

Highlights
  • Quit smoking programs
  • Weight loss sessions
  • Phobia treatment
  • Stress reduction techniques
  • Access to 150+ audios and courses
  • Personalized timeline building
Features
Read full description

We did it ! We made hypnotherapy accessible in mobile application format. Quit smoking, lose weight, treat a phobia or reduce stress ... many pains that can now be treated in depth by communicating with your unconscious. Build your timeline according to your needs. Let yourself be guided by our sessions. This is not entertainment hypnosis so no worries. This method helps you to deal with issues relating to your childhood or trauma. The benefits are deeper and longer lasting than other methods. SUBSCRIPTIONS - You can subscribe for this app to get access unlimited content, 150+ audios and courses - Subscription options are: 1-week with 3-day trial, 1-year, 1-month Privacy policy : https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/48847499 EULA : https://www.iubenda.com/terms-and-conditions/44220384

Screenshots

Calm4 screens
Well4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Calm at 64% against Well's 17%. Calm also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and rating (4.8 vs 4.3). Well's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 18.0). On price 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 Well sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Calm holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Calm has 2M ratings behind it against 1.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Calm's written reviews are positive against 17% of Well's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Calm ships an update every 5 days, Well monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Calm versus Well: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalmWell
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2M ratings) — better4.3 (1.4K ratings)
Positive reviews63.9% of reviews — better16.9% of reviews
Number of ratings2M — better1.4K
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#6 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size173 MB112 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCalm.comLuni

Customer experience

Calm

All ratings1,990,470 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral2.6%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews4,169 reviews
Positive63.9%
Neutral7.5%
Negative28.6%

Well

All ratings1,429 ratings
Positive82.9%
Neutral5.4%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews89 reviews
Positive16.9%
Neutral6.7%
Negative76.4%

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

Well

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💆‍♀️ Relaxing and effective hypnotherapy sessions
  • 🤩 Surprisingly helpful for some users
  • 👍 Allows users to connect with their subconscious

Room to improve

  • 💰 Subscription-based model, everything costs money
  • 🤬 Frustrating that free trial is very limited
  • 😞 Disappointing for users who can't afford the subscription
  • 🤯 Causes stress for users already struggling with mental health

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

Well

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes or doesn't work for some users
  • Subscription issues, like being charged despite having time left

Requested features

3 requests
  • At least one free session to try before paying
  • More transparent pricing information upfront
  • Ability to purchase individual sessions instead of subscription

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Calm

Subscriptions8
  • Calm Subscription$14.991 Month
  • Calm Premium$14.991 Month
  • Calm Premium2 variants$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
3 purchases

Well

Subscriptions3
  • Feel Well Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Feel Well Monthly$14.991 Month
  • Feel Well Yearly$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Calm free?
Calm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Well free?
Well is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Calm or Well?
Calm is rated higher. Calm averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2M ratings, while Well averages 4.3 from 1.4K ratings.
Do Calm or Well have ads?
Calm shows ads; Well does not.
Which is updated more often, Calm or Well?
Calm ships an update every 5 days, and Well monthly. Most recently, Calm was updated on November 1, 2026 and Well on October 23, 2026.

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