Waking Up is the better app overall, scoring 9.0 to 8.6. Waking Up wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Calm on 1.
Curious meditators who want to understand the mind, not just unwind
Light sleepers and anxious minds who want help winding down each night
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Waking Up | Calm |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mind & Focus | Mind & Focus |
| Category rank | #1 of 9 | #5 of 9 |
| Developer | Waking Up Course LLC | Calm.com, Inc. |
| Pricing | Subscription | Subscription |
| Usable for free | No | No |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Strengths and weaknesses
Waking Up
- Teaches the why of meditation, not just the how
- Calm, ad-free app without gamified pressure
- Free access for anyone who can't afford it
- Less focused on sleep and quick stress relief
- Intellectual tone won't suit everyone
Waking Up treats meditation as a skill to understand, not just a way to relax. Sam Harris's introductory course is the clearest guide to mindfulness in any app, and lessons and talks from other teachers go deep. There are no ads or gamified streaks. It is less suited to quick stress relief or sleep, and it is a subscription, though the company offers free access to anyone who can't afford it.
Full Waking Up 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
Calm is the app to get if better sleep is your main goal. Its Sleep Stories are excellent at helping you drift off, and soundscapes, music and breathing exercises round it out. Guided meditations cover anxiety and focus too. Most content needs a subscription, and the meditation teaching is less structured than Headspace's. Still, few apps make winding down this easy.
Full Calm review
