Calm Meditation App

Make the world happier and healthier

The App "Calm" was created in 2012 by British Entrepreneurs, Michael Acton Smith and Alex Tew. Alex Tew had created a simple tool before, called donothingfor2minutes.com prompting people to not do anything for 2 minutes - and realised there was a lot of potential for a meditation app.

They bought the domain name calm.com and moved to Silicon Valley in San Francisco to create the company.

The co-founders initially struggled to hit the big time with the app and sought the inclusion of big investors. This changed when Hollywood A-lister, Matthew McConaughey, was introduced to the Calm co-founders and he used the app for some of his charitable endeavours. From there, the app took off to become one of the most popular meditation and relaxation apps in the world.

They've raised $218 million so far, most of their users come from the US (60%), and the UK represents 10% of their customer base.

The app has been downloaded more than 100 million times and has 4 million paying subscribers.

Mental Health has been a hot topic since the lockdown, and initiatives like Mental Awareness Week in the UK and apps like Calm are a quick solution. The app also provides a few free features that make the download worth it, even if you are not a paying user.

Its popularity is due to the popularity of meditation, athe emphasis given to content, including video, audio and other content, all created to help users find inner peace using meditation and gentle exercises to balance the mind, body and soul.

How to Download the Calm App

Locate the Calm App in the Google Play Store for Android devices or the App Store for iOS devices by searching "calm".

Follow the prompt to download the app and once it's complete, you can open the app.
Answer the next few questions by choosing options in the list. The first question asks you "What brings you to Calm?" and this is followed by other questions. Answer all the questions as prompted as this will ensure you can create a custom plan for your individual needs.
At the end of these questions, you will be prompted to choose your subscription type. Don't worry. If you're not completely sure of what you want, the app offers a 7-day Free Trial.

You can download the Calm App here:

Download the Calm App for Android
Download the Calm App for iOS

Once you sign up and register with the Calm App, you can take advantage of all the features during the 7-day free trial. Once the trial period expires, you can still use the app, but you may not be able to access as much content as with Premium Membership.

How Popular is the Calm App?

The Calm App is immensely popular with well over a million 5-star reviews. It is estimated that the app has been downloaded 100 million times to Android and iOS devices with some people also choosing to download the desktop version.

The app is a favourite with business executives and other professionals, celebrities, sporting personalities and everyday people. The stories are narrated by experts in meditation and even a few celebrities.

The app has also been recognized by some of the industry's top accolades. It was one of Apple's App Store “Apps of the Year in 2017”, APPLE Best of 2018, Google Play Editor’s Choice 2018 and The Center for Humane Technology name the Calm App as “The World’s Happiest App”.

How Much Does the Calm App Cost?

Signing up to use the basic features of the Calm App is free and you can take advantage of the 7-day free trial to experience what the Premium app has to offer. Once you decide to subscribe to the Premium Membership, you can expect to pay $5.83 per month which is billed annually at $69.99 ( £39.99). Calm has special offers for Families, Students, Schools and health care professionals.

The app has what is called a "freemium" with the free version giving you access to:

Daily meditation sessions
Calming breathing exercises
A mood tracker
A variety of sleep stories
Excellent range of music tracks
A selection of guided meditation

The 7-day free trial unlocks all the features of the Premium Membership but once the trial period expires, you will need to choose the limited free version or upgrade to a subscription.

What is Available on the App?

The app has features that have been created to help users relax in a number of ways.

Meditate: You can choose from a variety of features including timed meditation that includes tranquil sounds of nature and a series of supporting, guided sessions to help you relax, shake off the day's tension and cope with many of the stresses you face every day.

Sleep: Doze off to the wonderful sounds of nature or listen to bedtime stories narrated by household names such as Cillian Murphy, Matthew McConaughey and Harry Styles. There is also a fantastic selection of bedtime stories to help get your little ones off to the Land of Nod.

Music: Choose your favourite melodies that can help you fall asleep, focus on work or study and even a great set of tunes you can listen to when you are out running. Whatever your mood or task in front of you, there is a selection of music perfect for that moment.

Body: Choose from dozens of video lessons that promote mindful movement and gentle stretching. The stress and tension we face every day is often felt in our bodies in the form of stiffness, aches and pain. These video exercise sessions will help you find natural movements to unkink the knots and gentle stretches that rejuvenate tired muscles while alleviating stiff joints.

Masterclass: These are specialized audio programs that are taught by world-renowned mindful experts. You'll not only learn the best methods and techniques to meditate but also make the most out of each and every session.

Scenes: Relaxation is mindful as well as visual and the app has some breathtaking nature scenes that coincide with music and sounds to give you a thoroughly relaxing experience.

Free Calm App resources for schools

Calm App provides free resources for teachers who want to introduce meditation in their classes. You can download and print age-specific resources for the children, a self-care guide for the teacher and samples of meditation music and stories, but eventually, you'll need to join the app on a business plan if you want access to the entire library ( "Ask you administrator")

The Calm App in the UK

Calm is famous in the UK as its founders were British and got some coverage on this side of the Atlantic. You can see below that the Calm app is being searched 6K times a month in the UK vs 4K for the competitor Headspace App or the Austalian Insight Timer.

10% of Calm users come from the UK. The price to signup for Calm Premium as an individual is £39.99 per year billed annually, or £399.99 and you have the app forever (billed once).

The Calm App User Reviews

The reviews for the Calm App are mainly positive with many users describing the app with the following comments:

Easy to use
Extensive content library
Easy to access
Content is science-based
Regular app updates mean even more content
Reminders for meditation are great
Kid-friendly app
A fabulous tool for coping with stress and anxiety

Plans for businesses

If your company has less than 100 employees, you can benefit from the "Team" plan:

price for 5 employees: $65 per employee and a total of $326.85 per year
price for 50 employees: $57 per employee and a total of $2,893 per year

If you have more than 100 employees, you can have access to the "Enterprise plan", which includes access to the entire library plus a dedicated customer experience account manager, access to exclusive webinars and more analytics

Can you join the Calm app as a yoga teacher?

The content available on the app is currated by the Calm team, and as opposed to other apps like insight timer, it's not possible for UK yoga teachers to teach on that app.