Ananda Manifest & Affirmation

Ananda vs Calm: Is Calm Good for Affirmations?

Calm is a top meditation and sleep app. If you mainly want daily affirmations, here's how it compares with Ananda, and how the two can work well together.

By the Ananda team2 min read

Calm is one of the most popular wellbeing apps in the world. Sleep Stories, guided meditations, music and daily sessions with well-known teachers: it’s excellent at what it does.

But people sometimes subscribe to Calm hoping for daily affirmations, and that’s not really what it’s built for.

Ananda is our app. Details about Calm come from its App Store listing.

At a glance

Ananda Calm
Main purpose Personalized daily affirmations Meditation, sleep and relaxation
Affirmations 7 written from your accomplishments and challenges Not a core feature
Signature content Your own affirmations, Home Screen widget Sleep Stories, daily meditations, music
Free version First set of 7, widget, read-aloud, reminders Some free content; most needs Premium
Paid plan (US) $2.99/month or $25.99/year Monthly and yearly Premium plans
Languages 70 10

Where Calm is better

  • Sleep. Sleep Stories are Calm’s best-known feature, and nothing in Ananda helps you fall asleep.
  • Meditation. A huge library of guided sessions, courses and daily programs.
  • Music and soundscapes for focus and relaxation.
  • Polish. Calm’s audio, design and narrators are excellent.

Where Ananda is better

It’s actually an affirmation app

Daily affirmations aren’t a core part of Calm. They’re Ananda’s whole purpose: seven at a time, written from your real wins and current challenges, readable at a glance on your Home Screen.

Simpler and lighter

If affirmations are what you want, a full meditation library is a lot of app to pay for and navigate. Ananda takes about a minute a day.

Languages

Ananda supports 70 languages, against Calm’s 10.

No account

Ananda doesn’t ask for an email and has no advertising or analytics SDKs.

The best of both

Affirmations and meditation fit together nicely. A short meditation calms the body, and an affirmation gives the calmer mind something kind to hold onto. If you use Calm, try reading your Ananda affirmations straight after a session.

If you only want one, decide by what you’d use every day:

  • Trouble sleeping or switching off? Calm.
  • Harsh inner voice, or a hard life event? Ananda, plus our guide to stopping negative self-talk.

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