Compare · vs Calm
Ameleva vs Calm.
Calm specialises in sleep stories, meditation, and audio. Ameleva is broader — habit tracking with 5 methods, cinematic lessons, and guided 3–21-day journeys across five life areas.
For users who want sleep stories and audio meditations as their core experience, Calm is a strong specialist. For users who want active behavior change across five life areas (mind, focus, voice, people, body) with five habit-tracking methods, structured 3- to 21-day journeys and personalized shareable streak cards, Ameleva is broader. Ameleva plus is the only plan, with a 7-day free trial on the Annual plan that auto-renews into an annual subscription; Calm requires premium for most content. Ameleva ships optional end-to-end encryption (AES-256-GCM) for journal and habit-log content.
Approach
Ameleva vs Calm — the core difference.
Ameleva
Five-minute personal growth system.
Five-minute personal growth system: lessons end in one concrete daily action; journeys where each day brings a concrete action you can do.
Calm
Calm's focus.
Sleep stories & relaxation library (meditations, music).
Company
About Calm.
- Launched
- 2012
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, USA
- Founders
- Michael Acton Smith and Alex Tew
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, Web, Apple Watch
Key features
What Calm ships.
Sleep Stories
A library of 500+ bedtime stories narrated by celebrities including Matthew McConaughey, Harry Styles, Idris Elba, Cillian Murphy, LeBron James, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Kate Winslet, Laura Dern and LeVar Burton.
Daily Calm
A new 10-minute guided meditation released every day, anchoring the home screen for paid subscribers.
Guided meditations
Hundreds of guided sessions (3–30 minutes) across themes like calming anxiety, focus, deep sleep, and breaking habits, both guided and unguided.
Masterclasses
Audio courses taught by experts and public figures, including Dr. Judson Brewer on breaking bad habits, Elizabeth Gilbert on creative living, and Ryan Holiday on Stoicism.
Soundscapes and music
90+ nature soundscapes (rain, ocean), white/brown/green noise, and a music library organized by mood (Focus and Flow, Uplift) and genre (Piano, Ambient, Classical, Electronic).
Breathing exercises
Six themed breathing modes — Relax, Balance, Restore, Focus, Energize, and Unwind — with on-screen pacing.
Calm Body
Short guided movement and stretching sessions designed for stress relief and pre-sleep wind-down.
Calm Kids
Age-appropriate sleep stories and lullabies for children, including licensed characters such as Peppa Pig, Minions, Winnie the Pooh and Transformers.
Pricing
Pricing — Ameleva vs Calm.
Ameleva
- Plan
- Ameleva plus is the only plan; lapsed accounts become read-only (history stays visible).
- Monthly
- $7.99/month
- Annual
- $49.99/year
- Free trial
- 7-day free trial on Annual; auto-renews unless cancelled 24 hours before trial end.
- Family / group plan
- Not offered as a separate SKU at launch
- Platforms
- iOS + Android
- Languages
- English, Spanish, French
Calm
- Free tier
- One Daily Calm session, first sessions of programs, the 'Blue Gold' Sleep Story, mood check-ins.
- Monthly
- $14.99/month
- Annual
- $69.99/year
- Family plan
- $99.99/year for up to 6 accounts
- Lifetime
- $399.99 (lifetime)
- Trial
- 7-day free trial on the annual plan (varies by promotion and store).
- Notes
- Prices vary by region and promotion. Calm Health is sold separately via employers and insurers.
Matrix
Ameleva vs Calm
| Feature | Ameleva | Calm |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Five-minute system: each lesson ends in one concrete daily action. | Sleep stories & relaxation library (meditations, music). |
| Sleep stories + audio | Limited (no celebrity-narrated sleep stories) | Extensive (signature feature) |
| Categories covered | 5 life areas (mind, focus, voice, people, body) | Sleep, meditation, mindful body |
| Habit tracking | 5 methods (checkbox, scale, counter, choice, timer) | Streak only |
| Guided journeys | 3–21-day journeys; one lesson + one action daily, research-sequenced | Series/courses, no daily-action structure |
| End-to-end encryption | Optional, AES-256-GCM + PBKDF2 | Not offered as a user feature |
| 365-day pixel calendar + streak shields | Yes; streak shields with Ameleva plus | Streak count only |
| Personalized shareable streak cards | Yes — milestone cards with your own photo | No equivalent shareable reward card |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on the Annual plan; auto-renews into an annual subscription | Very limited free content |
| Premium price | $7.99/month or $49.99/year (7-day trial → annual) | $14.99/month or $69.99/year |
| Sleep stories library | Not a sleep-stories product — Ameleva is built around courses, habits and journeys. | 500+ Sleep Stories, the flagship category. |
| Celebrity narrators | None. Content is written and recorded in-house, no licensed voice talent. | Matthew McConaughey, Harry Styles, Idris Elba, LeBron James, Kate Winslet, more. |
| Masterclasses by named experts | No celebrity or expert-led masterclasses. Lessons are short structured micro-learning across 5 life areas. | Multi-session audio masterclasses with experts like Dr. Judson Brewer, Elizabeth Gilbert and Ryan Holiday. |
| Daily content drop | Personalized daily plan from journeys, lessons and habits. | Daily Calm — one new 10-minute guided meditation released every day for everyone. |
| Languages | English, Spanish, French (full app and content). | English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish. |
| Apple Watch and offline | iOS + Android only at launch; no Apple Watch app. | Apple Watch companion app; full offline audio downloads. |
Verdict
When to pick which.
Pick Ameleva if
- You want habit tracking and behavior change, not only audio
- You want a structured 3- to 21-day journey with a daily lesson and a daily action
- You like sharing milestones as visual cards with your own photo
- Lower price at premium tier ($7.99/mo vs $14.99/mo)
Pick Calm if
- Sleep stories with celebrity narrators are your main use case
- Audio is your preferred modality for everything
- You value Calm's library of guest meditations
FAQ
Comparison questions.
- How much does Calm cost in 2026?
- Calm Premium is $14.99/month or $69.99/year; Ameleva plus is $7.99/month or $49.99/year. Calm also sells a $99.99/year Family plan (up to 6 accounts) and a $399.99 lifetime via the App Store. Ameleva's Annual plan includes a 7-day free trial that auto-renews.
- What does the Calm free tier actually include?
- Very little. You get one Daily Calm session, the first session of multi-day programs, the Sleep Story 'Blue Gold', one breathing exercise, mood check-ins and some background scenes. Sleep Stories, Masterclasses, Calm Body and most meditations require a paid subscription.
- Is Ameleva a meditation app like Calm?
- No. Ameleva is a personal-growth app organized around 5 life areas (Mind & Emotions, Productivity, Communication, Relationships, Healthy Habits) with micro-learning, 5 habit-tracking methods and 3–21-day journeys. Calm is a meditation and sleep app centered on Sleep Stories, Daily Calm and breathwork.
- Does Ameleva have Sleep Stories or celebrity narrators?
- No. Ameleva does not produce Sleep Stories or license celebrity voices. If celebrity-narrated bedtime audio is your main goal, Calm — with Matthew McConaughey, Harry Styles and Idris Elba — fits better.
- Which app is better for building daily habits?
- Ameleva. It is purpose-built for behavior change: 5 tracking methods, pixel-calendar streaks, and 3–21 day journeys pairing lessons with habits. Calm's core loop is consuming meditation and sleep content, not structured habit formation.
- What languages does each app support?
- Calm supports 10 languages; Ameleva supports 3. Calm covers English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese and Polish. Ameleva ships English, Spanish and French with the same content depth in each.
- What about privacy and data?
- Ameleva offers optional AES-256-GCM end-to-end encryption for journal entries and habit notes; Calm does not advertise end-to-end encryption. Encrypted content cannot be read even by Ameleva. Calm's mood and reflection data is governed by its standard privacy policy.
- Can I use Calm or Ameleva on Apple Watch and offline?
- Calm yes, Ameleva not yet. Calm has an Apple Watch app and lets paid users download audio for offline listening. Ameleva launches on iOS and Android only, without an Apple Watch app or fully-offline audio.
Try Ameleva, free trial.
Five tracking methods, five life areas, full journey library included.