Softwr

Healthcare · head to head

Calm vs Included Health

Calm logo

Calm

Healthcare

Sleep, meditation and relaxation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Included Health logo

Included Health

Healthcare

Care navigation and virtual care in one contract for self funded employers and health plans

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Calm has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Calm free tier is severely limited, with almost all content requiring payment; Included Health owning both the navigation recommendations and the virtual care delivery creates a structural incentive to steer members to the vendor own clinicians, and an employer should require disclosure and measurement of how often that happens.
  • They diverge on capability: Calm covers Sleep Stories, Included Health covers Care navigation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Calm and Included Health actually diverge.

Attributes where Calm and Included Health differ
AttributeCalmIncluded Health
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Healthcare).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Calm

  • Sleep Stories
  • Guided meditations
  • Daily Calm
  • Breathing exercises
  • Calm Body stretching
  • Apple Health
  • Apple Watch
  • Samsung Health

Only in Included Health

  • Care navigation
  • Provider quality steerage
  • Expert medical opinion
  • Virtual primary care
  • Virtual behavioural health
  • Virtual urgent care
  • Benefits integration
  • Employer reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Calm

  • Workout trackingnot Included Health
  • Nutrition managementnot Included Health
  • Health monitoringnot Included Health
  • Fitness coachingnot Included Health
  • Wellness improvementnot Included Health

Included Health

  • A large self funded employer whose members cannot tell which specialist to see and who currently absorbs the cost of poor referral decisionsnot Calm
  • An employer that has bought several point solutions and needs one front door that routes members to the ones already paid fornot Calm
  • A self funded plan wanting expert second opinions before high cost elective surgery, where a changed recommendation pays for the programmenot Calm
  • An employer replacing separate navigation and telehealth vendors with one contract and one member experiencenot Calm

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Calm

  • Free tier is severely limited, with almost all content requiring payment
  • Only one meditation per day included in free tier (Daily Calm)
  • Annual pricing is among the highest in the meditation app category
  • Less extensive free content library compared to Insight Timer (which has 100,000+ free meditations)
  • Limited customization of meditation sessions; mostly follows Calm's curated content

Included Health

  • Owning both the navigation recommendations and the virtual care delivery creates a structural incentive to steer members to the vendor own clinicians, and an employer should require disclosure and measurement of how often that happens.
  • Pricing is per employee per month across the whole eligible population, so a plan with low navigation engagement pays for everyone to serve the minority who call.
  • Savings claims rest on avoided costs and changed referral decisions, which are counterfactual by nature, so performance guarantees need very careful definition or they measure activity rather than money.
  • The company is a merger of three organisations with different origins, and members and benefits teams still encounter seams between navigation, virtual primary care and behavioural health that the single brand implies are absent.
  • It sells primarily to large self funded employers, so mid market employers and fully insured plans find both the pricing and the implementation effort disproportionate to their size.

Pricing, plan by plan

Calm

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Daily Calm
    • Select Sleep Stories
    • 1 breathing exercise
  • Premium Monthly$12.99/month
    • All content unlocked
    • Sleep Stories
    • Masterclasses
  • Premium Annual$69.99/year
    • All content unlocked
    • Sleep Stories
    • Masterclasses
  • Family Plan$99.99/year
    • Up to 6 accounts
    • All Premium content
    • Separate customization per member

Included Health

On request
  • Included Health$undefined/year
    • Per employee per month across the eligible population, quoted not published
    • Navigation and virtual care modules priced separately or bundled
    • Some components offered with performance guarantees tied to measured savings

Which should you pick?

Choose Calm if

  • You need sleep stories.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want guided meditations.
Calm review

Choose Included Health if

  • You need care navigation.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want provider quality steerage.
Included Health review

Questions people ask

Is Calm or Included Health better?
Neither clearly leads. Calm starts at Free and Included Health at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Calm or Included Health?
Calm has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Calm and On request for Included Health.
Does Calm or Included Health run on more platforms?
Calm runs on iOS, Android, Web. Included Health runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Calm for free?
Yes. Calm has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Included Health starts at On request.
What is Calm best used for?
Calm is most often used for workout tracking, nutrition management, health monitoring, fitness coaching. Of those, workout tracking and nutrition management are not what Included Health is typically brought in for.
What can Calm do that Included Health cannot?
Calm covers Sleep Stories, Guided meditations, Daily Calm, Breathing exercises. Included Health covers Care navigation, Provider quality steerage, Expert medical opinion, Virtual primary care.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Calm: What does Calm's free tier include?

The free plan includes 1 breathing exercise, Day 1 of programs, select Sleep Stories, and Scenes, plus the famous Daily Calm feature and bedtime stories. Most content is locked behind the paid tier.

Source
Included Health: What exactly is Included Health?

The combination of Grand Rounds Health navigation, Doctor On Demand virtual care and the original Included Health concierge service, operating under one brand since late 2021.

Calm: What is included in Calm Premium?

Calm Premium (all paid tiers are identical) includes The Daily Calm, Sleep Stories narrated by celebrities, exclusive music playlists, masterclasses taught by experts, Daily Move video lessons for stretching and mindful movement, and the entire content library.

Source
Included Health: Who pays for it?

The self funded employer or the health plan pays a per employee per month fee. Virtual care visits may also carry member cost sharing depending on plan design.

Calm: How much does Calm Premium cost?

Monthly subscription is $12.99/month, annual is $69.99-$79.99/year, Family Plan is $99.99/year (includes 1 Admin + 5 Members), and lifetime membership is available as a one-time payment.

Source
Included Health: Is there a minimum size?

No published minimum, but it sells primarily to large self funded employers and the pricing and implementation effort do not suit small organisations.

Calm: Does Calm offer pricing for organizations or teams?

Yes. Calm offers organizational plans for groups of 5-300 people with per-seat pricing based on total 'covered lives.' Larger groups receive deeper discounts. Pricing is significantly reduced compared to individual subscriptions.

Source
Included Health: How does it recommend providers?

Through data driven quality analysis rather than a plain directory. Ask specifically how those recommendations are produced and how often they resolve to the company own virtual clinicians.

Calm: Does Calm work offline?

Calm's app functions offline for already-downloaded content. Downloaded Sleep Stories, meditations, and Music programs can be accessed without an internet connection.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Calm

More on Included Health

Keep looking

Other head to heads