Comparison

Calm vs Resonate

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

Resonate

This app guides you to breathe at your resonant frequency using visuals and audio for deep relaxation. It can help improve symptoms of depression and anxiety, promote better sleep, and boost energy levels.

Highlights
  • Visual breathing guidance
  • Relaxing audio
  • Track Mindful Minutes with HealthKit
  • Reduces anxiety and depression symptoms
  • Improves sleep quality
  • Boosts energy levels
Features
Read full description

Breathing is the most important thing you do. It is one of the most powerful methods to alter the way you think, perform, and feel. Yet, no one teaches us how to breathe properly. With Resonate, we guide you to breathe at your Resonant Frequency using beautiful visuals and relaxing audio. We call this, "Visual Breathing," and it's deeply relaxing. Extensive research has shown resonant frequency breathing is incredibly powerful: -It helps improve symptoms of depression and anxiety -It lets your body fall asleep faster and sustain deeper sleep -It can immediately improve energy levels and prevent burnout To learn more about the science of this technique, please visit our website at https://resonate.watch *HealthKit* Track your "Mindful Minutes" when using Resonate *Subscription and Terms* When you download Resonate you can opt into a free trial. Resonate offers auto-renewing monthly/yearly/weekly subscription options for access to the app's features and content. Your Resonate subscription will automatically renew at the end of each term and payment will be charged through your iTunes account. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings but refunds will not be provided for any unused portion of the term. To avoid renewal, you must cancel at least 24 hours before your subscription or trial ends. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited if you purchase a subscription. As with all of our apps, if you would like to use Resonate but have trouble affording it please email us at support@resonate.watch so we can help you with our financial assistance program. While we can't keep bringing great experiences to the world without making money, we know not everyone that needs access to our content can afford it, and we're happy to help. Read more about our terms, conditions and privacy here: https://resonate.watch/terms

Screenshots

Calm4 screens
Resonate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Resonate at none against Calm's shown. Resonate also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 64%) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). Calm's advantage is ratings volume (2M vs 16) and chart position (#8 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence 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 Resonate sells 7 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Calm against 4.8 for Resonate. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Calm has 2M ratings behind it against 16, 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 80% of Resonate's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Calm ships an update every 4 days, Resonate weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Calm versus Resonate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalmResonate
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2M ratings) — better4.8 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews63.9% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2M — better16
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#8 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size171 MB165 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCalm.comRockwell Ventures

Customer experience

Calm

All ratings1,986,354 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral2.6%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews4,168 reviews
Positive63.9%
Neutral7.5%
Negative28.6%

Resonate

All ratings16 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

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

Resonate

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
7 purchases

Resonate

Subscriptions7
  • Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Monthly3 Days trial$12.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Monthly$12.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Yearly$49.991 Year
  • Yearly1 Year trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Calm free?
Calm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Resonate free?
Resonate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Calm or Resonate?
Calm is rated higher. Calm averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2M ratings, while Resonate averages 4.8 from 16 ratings.
Do Calm or Resonate have ads?
Calm shows ads; Resonate does not.
Which is updated more often, Calm or Resonate?
Calm ships an update every 4 days, and Resonate weekly. Most recently, Calm was updated on October 25, 2026 and Resonate on October 24, 2026.

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