Best Meditation Apps · head-to-head
Calm vs Insight Timer
A sourced, side-by-side comparison for meditation apps. Insight Timer has the lower entry price. Every figure links to the vendor's own page and the date we captured it.
At a glance
- Price: Calm $5.83/mo vs Insight Timer $0/mo — Insight Timer is cheaper to start.
- Free tier: Calm No; Insight Timer Yes.
- HIPAA: Calm —; Insight Timer —.
Side by side
| Calm | Insight Timer | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $5.83/mo (Premium Annual) | $0/mo (Free) |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| HIPAA (BAA) | — | — |
| SOC 2 | — | — |
| GDPR | — | — |
| Best for | Sleep improvement via celebrity Sleep Stories | Cost-conscious users who want a large free library with no time limit |
Sources — Calm: apps.apple.com (verified 2026-06-14). Insight Timer: insighttimer.com (verified 2026-06-14).
Key features
Calm: 300+ Sleep Stories narrated by celebrities (Matthew McConaughey, Harry Styles, etc.); 50,000+ minutes of science-backed content; Daily Calm guided meditation updated each day; Mindful movement and stretching video lessons; Breathwork and body-scan sessions; Calm Kids content included in Teams licenses; 180M+ downloads; Apple App of the Year 2017; Teams analytics dashboard (unlocked at 10+ activated employees)
Insight Timer: 300,000+ free guided meditations, music, and talks — world's largest free library; 20,000 teachers across 50+ languages including secular, scientific, and spiritual traditions; 30 million active users worldwide; Customizable meditation timer with interval bells and ambient sounds; Live events and teacher-led group sessions; 7,500+ structured Insight Courses (10- and 30-day programs) with Member Plus; Yoga nidra, breathwork, and sleep music; Community features: local groups, retreats, therapist directory; Ad-free audio library; Available in 50+ languages