Unplug vs. Calm vs. Headspace: An Honest Comparison From Someone Who Tried Them All
No brand deals. No affiliate links. Just what I actually found.
I have a confession: I have paid for all three. Not at the same time (well, once at the same time). But over the past few years I have cycled through Headspace, Calm, and Unplug the way some people cycle through diets — trying each one, falling off, coming back, comparing. I am not a wellness influencer. I am a person who struggles to sit still, has a genuinely chaotic schedule, and really, really wants meditation to work for me.
So here is my honest take. No brand deals. No affiliate links. Just what I actually found.
Why I Started Comparing Apps in the First Place
Like a lot of people, I started with the most recognizable names. Headspace was everywhere. Calm had the beautiful interface and the celebrity sleep stories. They both seemed like the obvious choice.
But after a while, I noticed I was not actually meditating. I was opening the apps, scrolling, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the library, and then putting my phone down. The apps were beautiful. My practice was nonexistent.
A friend who had been meditating consistently for years kept mentioning Unplug. She had been using it for over a decade. I finally tried it — and now I get what she meant. Here is how all three actually compare.
Headspace
Headspace is polished. The design is cheerful and clean. The beginner courses are genuinely good — if you can access them. The free version offers almost nothing. One independent review described it plainly: very limited content beyond a couple of short intro videos. You have to subscribe before you can really evaluate whether it is right for you.
Once you pay ($69.99 per year), you get access to over 1,000 meditations and structured courses on everything from mindful eating to productivity. The courses are well-designed. The problem, for me, was that Headspace felt like homework. Everything was part of a program, a module, a course. When I just needed to breathe for ten minutes before a stressful meeting, I did not want to find where I left off in a curriculum.
It is great for people who want structure and a defined path. It is less great for people who need flexibility and variety depending on what life is throwing at them on a given day.
Headspace holds a 4.8-star App Store rating.
Calm
Calm looks stunning. The interface is genuinely gorgeous, and the Sleep Stories are legitimately one of the best things any meditation app has ever created. I still think about some of them.
But Calm has a problem, and it is not the content. It is everything around the content.
The subscription pricing has crept up year over year and is now $79.99 annually. The cancellation process has generated a staggering volume of complaints — users reporting unauthorized charges, difficulty reaching support, renewals after cancellations, and billing disputes that go unresolved for weeks. On Trustpilot, Calm is currently rated 1.7 out of 5 stars, with the overwhelming majority of complaints centered on billing and customer service, not the meditations themselves.
Inside the app, the library can feel overwhelming without a clear starting point. It feels more like browsing a content library than receiving a plan. If you know what you want and can navigate to it, Calm delivers. If you are looking for guidance on where to begin, it can feel disorganized.
The meditations themselves lean toward users who already have some experience. Several reviewers noted it feels geared toward intermediate practitioners rather than true beginners.
Calm holds a 4.8-star App Store rating.
Unplug
Here is what I noticed about Unplug that I did not notice until I had tried the other two: I actually open it. Not because I have to. Not because I scheduled it or because I am in the middle of a course I feel guilty about abandoning. I open it because I want to. Because whatever I am dealing with — a hard week, a bad night, back pain, anxiety before a presentation, needing to focus — there is a meditation for exactly that, and I can find it in seconds.
Unplug was founded in 2014 by Suze Yalof Schwartz, a former Vogue editor who opened the world's first secular meditation studio in Los Angeles. The app grew out of that physical studio, which means the teachers are not just voiceover artists — they are real, world-class teachers who know how to make meditation feel simple, modern, and actually doable for people with full lives and busy minds.
A few things that genuinely stand out:
The Teachers Are Visible
Unplug uses video, not just audio. You see the teacher. That sounds like a small thing until you realize how much it changes the experience. You feel connected to a real person, not a voice in a void. Multiple long-term users specifically cite this as the reason they stay.
There Is Literally a Meditation for Everything
Over 1,300 meditations, 120 teachers, 40 topics. Sound baths. Breathwork. Hypnosis. Guided journeys. Aromatherapy. Yoga. Stress, back pain, focus, sleep, confidence, grief, sensuality, chronic pain and so much more. Type anything into the search bar and something comes up. And most meditations are just 10 minutes, which is exactly the point. You can do one before you race out the door in the morning, before a stressful meeting, or right before bed — and still get the full benefit. No hour-long commitment. No rearranging your schedule. Just ten minutes that can genuinely shift your whole day. One user who had done 675 meditations credited Unplug with eliminating his need for a CPAP machine. Another walked away from pain killers after years of chronic pain. One person completed a 21-day stress management series three times.
The Monthly Challenges Keep You Consistent
This is the feature that quietly changed everything for a lot of users. A curated 30-day challenge gives you a reason to come back daily. Several reviewers mentioned they had tried other apps and never built a habit — until the challenges.
The Customer Service Feels Human
Suze personally responds to App Store reviews. That is not a marketing move. That is a founder who actually cares. When there is a problem, there is a real person who addresses it directly. This stands in stark contrast to what Calm users regularly experience.
The Price Is Better
At $69.99 per year, Unplug costs less than Calm ($79.99) and the same as Headspace — and for that price you get more content, a better teacher experience, and customer support that actually responds.
The Rating Says It All
Unplug holds a 4.9-star App Store rating — higher than both Headspace and Calm, which each sit at 4.8. That tenth of a point represents thousands of real users choosing to leave five stars. When you read the reviews behind that number, the word that comes up again and again is not "relaxing" or "pretty." It is "life-changing."
"I've used many meditation apps and all are great for the obvious benefits, but the quality of Unplug is a tier above." — Long-term Unplug user
"Nothing compares to it." — User who has been with Unplug for over five years, periodically tried other apps, and always came back
The Bottom Line
| Headspace | Calm | Unplug ⭐ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Store Rating | 4.8 stars | 4.8 stars | 4.9 stars |
| Annual Price | $69.99 | $79.99 | $69.99 |
| Free Tier | Very limited | Very limited | 7-day free trial |
| Content Library | 1,000+ | Large | 1,300+ meditations |
| Session Length | Mostly 8+ min | Varies | Mostly 10 min |
| Teacher Experience | Audio only | Audio only | Video with real teachers |
| Variety | Moderate | High | Highest |
| Beginner Friendly | High | Moderate | High |
| Customer Service | Good | Poor | Excellent |
| Best Feature | Structured courses | Sleep Stories | Everything else |
If you want beautiful sleep stories and do not mind navigating a confusing interface, Calm delivers that. If you want a structured beginner program and nothing else, Headspace works. If you want a meditation practice you will actually build and keep — one that meets you wherever you are, with real teachers, real variety, and ten minutes a day — Unplug is the one worth trying.
Type anything into the search bar and see what comes up. That is usually all it takes.
Try Unplug Free at unplug.com →