Insight Timer vs Calm
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Insight Timer is the better app overall, scoring 8.8 to 8.5. Insight Timer wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Calm on 2.
Meditators who want endless free variety and a good silent timer
Light sleepers and anxious minds who want help winding down each night
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Insight Timer | Calm |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mind & Focus | Mind & Focus |
| Category rank | #3 of 11 | #8 of 11 |
| Developer | Insight Network Inc. | Calm.com, Inc. |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Subscription |
| Usable for free | Yes | No |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Insight Timer better than Calm?
Insight Timer is the better app overall, scoring 8.8 to 8.5. Insight Timer wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Calm on 2.
Which is cheaper, Insight Timer or Calm?
Insight Timer: Free library; Insight Premium $9.99/month or $59.99/year. Calm: Some free sessions and a free trial; Calm Premium subscription unlocks the library. On value for money, Insight Timer scores higher.
Do Insight Timer and Calm work on the same devices?
Yes, both run on iPhone & iPad, Android, Web.
Which is more private, Insight Timer or Calm?
Insight Timer scores higher on privacy (7.5/10). App Store label links health, location, contact info, search and browsing history, identifiers and usage to you, with no tracking. The library is ad-free; Google Play declares some data sharing.
Strengths and weaknesses
Insight Timer
- Most of the library is free and ad-free
- Customizable timer with interval bells
- Wide variety of teachers, traditions and lengths
- Quality varies a lot between teachers
- Busy interface with frequent upsells
- Links a lot of personal data to your account
Insight Timer is the best free meditation app by a wide margin. Its library holds hundreds of thousands of free guided meditations, sleep tracks, talks and music, plus yoga, Pilates and breathwork, and its customizable timer suits people who sit in silence. The variety is also the weakness: quality is uneven and you have to find your own path. Insight Premium adds courses and offline listening.
Full Insight Timer review
Calm
- Best-in-class Sleep Stories and sleep music
- Soothing, beautifully produced design
- Wide range of content for stress and anxiety
- Most content is paywalled
- Less structured for learning to meditate
- Privacy label declares tracking
Calm is the app to get if better sleep is your main goal. Its Sleep Stories, read by voices like Matthew McConaughey and Stephen Fry, are excellent at helping you drift off, and soundscapes, music and breathing exercises round it out. Guided dailies cover anxiety and focus too. Most content needs a subscription, the teaching is less structured than Headspace's, and the privacy label declares tracking.
Full Calm review
