Comparison

Calm vs Othership

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

Othership

This app uses music-driven guided breathwork sessions to help you regulate your nervous system and shift your state. Explore various breathing styles and guided meditations for energy, focus, relaxation, or emotional release.

Highlights
  • Music-driven guided breathwork sessions
  • Daily UP and DOWN sessions
  • Curated weekly transformative journeys
  • Five daily breathing styles (UP, DOWN, ALL AROUND, BODY, BRAIN)
  • Variety of breathwork techniques
  • Guided meditations, affirmations, and visualizations
  • Sound healing and hypnosis
Features
Read full description

Othership is a music-driven breathwork app designed to help you shift your state one breath at a time. Cultivate big lung energy and harness the power of your breath to regulate your nervous system through your energetic, mental and emotional bodies in as little as 60 seconds for up to 60 minutes. Consider this your new daily ritual to energize and start your day, improve focus + performance, decompress after work, wind down for a deep sleep, or release negative emotions with short + effective exercises when you need them most. Our active sessions are set to music with guidance from world-renowned breathwork facilitators to shift your body + brain quickly. Rooted in ancient tradition, informed by modern science, and inspired by magic, Othership’s meticulously curated guided breathwork practices are simultaneously playful and effective. Explore the ins + outs of your breath with guidance from psychotherapists, wellness practitioners, hypnotherapists, artists, DJ’s, spiritual teachers, and life coaches featuring breathwork, guided meditations, affirmations + visualizations, sound healing, hypnosis, somatic release therapy, vocal toning, self-massage, mindful walking + working, movement + dance, and more trippy stuff. EXPLORE THE APP Our app features daily UP and DOWN sessions to keep your practice feeling fresh. Spend less time deciding and more time breathing. Our curated weekly practice offers a longer haul, transformative journey designed to give you a complete release + reset from the stressors of modern living. Othership offers five types of daily breathing styles with unique benefits: UP Harness the power of your breath to energize and kickstart your day. Cultivate focus and productivity. Fight fatigue and tap vitality. Explore elevating practices to get lifted and stay lifted. DOWN Build a routine for deep rest and better sleep. Unwind with practices to de-stress and linger in stillness. Soothe anxiety and find centre. ALL AROUND Practice self-care with deeply transformative journeys designed to create the space + presence needed to gather meaningful insights. Reach altered states, regulate your emotions, and cultivate mind-body connection. BODY Combine conscious breathing with mindful movement and embodiment practices including self-massage, gentle stretching, dancing, and somatic therapy. BRAIN Learn the science behind how + why we do breathwork. Try a benchmark breathing test to track your progress from A to B to infinity. CULTIVATE BIG LUNG ENERGY Shift your state through a medley of breathing styles including: box breath, diaphragmatic breathing, Wim Hof Method, ocean breath, alternate nostril, 4-7-8 breathing, Buteyko Method, coherent breathing, breath of fire, triangle breath, dynamic breathing, kundalini pranayam, up-regulated breathing and lots more. MEMBER[SHIP] Come for the journey. Stay for the shift. - Access to 500+ on-demand breathwork sessions - Inspiring soundscapes from sound healing musicians, artists and DJs - Streak and progress tracking - Custom challenges and pathways to meet your mindfulness goals - World-renowned breathwork facilitators - Curated daily notifications to amplify your practice and ignite your personal growth - Stay inspired with new sessions released weekly - Integrated with Apple Health's Mindful Minutes - A global community of daily breathers Transformation in your hands. T’s + C’s If you’d like to learn more about our Terms + Conditions, visit: [www.othership.us/terms]

Screenshots

Calm4 screens
Othership4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Othership at none against Calm's shown. Othership also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 64%). Calm's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (2M vs 2.3K). On price, rating, 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 Othership sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 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 4.9 for Othership. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Calm has 2M ratings behind it against 2.3K, 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 89% of Othership's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Calm ships an update every 5 days, Othership every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Calm versus Othership: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalmOthership
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2M ratings)4.9 (2.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.9% of reviews88.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2M — better2.3K
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#5 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size173 MB134 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCalm.comBreathwork Plus Inc

Customer experience

Calm

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

Othership

All ratings2,265 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews348 reviews
Positive88.8%
Neutral4.9%
Negative6.3%

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

Othership

From 2.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Transformative
  • 🚀 Life-changing
  • 👍 Calming and nurturing
  • 👍 Incredible quality
  • 👍 Excellent app

Room to improve

  • 💰 Too expensive
  • 🐛 No offline listening
  • 🐛 Interface won't load

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

Othership

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Achievements tracking not updating
  • Occasional crashes

Requested features

2 requests
  • Ability to add personal notes to sessions
  • Apple M1 support

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
4 purchases

Othership

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Monthly7 Days trial$17.991 Month
  • Yearly14 Days trial$99.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly14 Days trial$129.991 Year

Questions

Is Calm free?
Calm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Othership free?
Othership is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Calm or Othership?
Othership is rated higher. Calm averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2M ratings, while Othership averages 4.9 from 2.3K ratings.
Do Calm or Othership have ads?
Calm shows ads; Othership does not.
Which is updated more often, Calm or Othership?
Calm ships an update every 5 days, and Othership every 6 weeks. Most recently, Calm was updated on November 5, 2026 and Othership on November 3, 2026.

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