Updated February 2026 • 4 min read
Calm costs $69.99/year (or $14.99/month). For a meditation app. Let that sink in — $70/year to be told to breathe slowly. Calm is beautifully made, but free alternatives have caught up. Here's how to cancel.
Calm's most popular feature is Sleep Stories — bedtime stories narrated by celebrities like Matthew McConaughey and Harry Styles. They're lovely. They're also not worth $70/year. YouTube has thousands of free sleep stories. Spotify has sleep playlists. Your podcast app has sleep-specific shows like "Nothing Much Happens" (free). If celebrity voices are your thing, many Calm stories are available as samples on YouTube.
Both charge ~$70/year. Headspace is better for meditation beginners (structured courses, animations). Calm is better for sleep content (stories, soundscapes). But honestly, Insight Timer (free) has more content than both combined. The $70/year for either app is a premium for a polished UI — not for exclusive content.
💡 The free stack that beats Calm: Insight Timer (meditation) + YouTube (sleep stories) + Spotify (ambient sounds) + Apple Health (breathing exercises). Total cost: $0. Total content: more than Calm's entire library.
Bottom line: Meditation should be accessible, not $70/year. Insight Timer alone has 200,000+ free meditations. Cancel Calm, download Insight Timer, and use the $70 savings for something that actually reduces stress — like a nice dinner.
Direct cancel link + step-by-step instructions
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