Headspace vs. Calm: A Mindful Competition
In early 2021 the mindfulness app wars reached their apex. Over 2,000 meditation apps were available
to consumers,1 but two apps, Headspace and Calm, dominated the space, jointly holding about 70% of
the total market.2 The two companies were in fierce competition. Calm's most recent financing round in
2020 had it valued at $2 billion, while Headspace's 2020 fundraising brought total Series C equity
funding to $100.7 million.3.4.5 Just a decade earlier there were virtually no mindfulness or meditation
apps available to consumers.
Meditation as a practice has been around for thousands of years, with religious ties in ancient Egypt,
China, Judaism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, Historically, fearning how to meditate
required attending an in-person training or retreat in a region in which the particular meditation style
originated from (e.g. learning Korean meditation would require a trip to Korea while a desire to learn
Tibetan Buddhism and meditation would mean travelling to Tibet). However, as meditation and
mindfulness gained popularity in Westem societies over the past few decades, meditation centers and
retreats popped up in Western regions in growing numbers. There was also a proliferation of self-help
and how-to books written by spiritual leaders and advocates promoting the regular practice of
meditation and mindfulness. 6
The market for meditation and mindfulness in Western culture gained serious steam in the late
twentieth and early twenty-first century, owing largely to celebrity endorsements of the practice as well
as the recognition of the health benefits by medical and scientific communities. Nevertheless, because
mindfulness and meditation were still largely practiced in person or at specific physical locations, as the
market swelled, it also became very fragmented. In 2010, after becoming a Buddhist monk in his early
twenties (taking the "traditional" route to monkhood), Andy Puddicombe entered this market, aspiring
to teach meditation and mindfulness to "as many people as possible." To pursue his goal, he teamed up
with advertising executive Rich Pierson and together, they founded Headspace.?
In its infancy, Headspace followed a similar tact as many in the space before them, operating as a live
events company that held in-person meditation trainings and sessions. In 2011, Headspace tumed to
other outlets to spread their message: they teamed up with The Guardian to develop a series of short
podcasts and a guide to mindful meditation that was included in every newspaper on Saturday,9,10 and
partnered with several major airlines to offer in-flight guided meditations on seat-back televisions for
passengers. But the pair changed the game in 2012, when they introduced the Headspace smartphone
meditation app, one of the first of its kind. Puddicombe said, "In the past, when you wanted to learn
how to meditate, you had to look for a meditation center...meditating via your smartphone has become
a new way of looking at things."11
That same year, Calm entered the mindfulness and meditation app scene too. Calm was co-founded by
serial entrepreneurs Alex Tew and Michael Acton-Smith. And although Headspace had a two-year head
start in their founding, the two companies soon found themselves in fierce competition to claim the top
spot in the meditation app category.12 In the late 2010's, competition heated up as mindfulness and
meditation became even more mainstream. 'Mindfulness' became a buzzword, and an increasing
number of related programs, applications, and products flooded the marketplace.13,14 Reflecting the
zeitgeist of the time, the term "McMindfulness" was coined to describe the rampant commercialization
and commoditization of mindfulness practices, 15
However, the stakes-and opportunities for growth-intensified in 2020 when the outbreak of COVID-19
around the world left millions of people struggling with anxiety, loneliness, and a desire to find solace in
a chaotic world. Headspace and Calm each offered free services in reaction to the uncertain times to try
and expand their respective market share and win consumers' hearts along the way. Since then, each of
these brands continued developing their respective apps and offerings, while maintaining their unique
identities. The next few pages describe important milestones and marketing strategy and tactics
employed by each of the two brands over time. In early 2021, the brands were neck and neck, with Calm
slightly ahead of Headspace. Will one transcend and emerge as a clear winner?
Headspace
Headspace Aesthetic
In both its marketing and in-app experience, Headspace conveyed an image of positivity, warmth, and
approachability. Aesthetically, Headspace used illustrations that consisted of bright colors and goofy,
animated characters set within simple layouts and uncomplicated backdrops. The combination of the
quirky characters and vibrant graphics gave Headspace a simple and fun vibe. (See Exhibit 1). This image
was consistent with their goal as described by the Head of Design, Anna Charity, to move away from "all
the mysticism and clichéd imagery" linked with meditation and mindfulness. 16
Puddicombe explained, "some people were put off by the language behind meditation, or saw it as a bit
of a hippy thing to do...it was quite inaccessible. People didn't have time for it or know how to do it."17
As such, the tone of voice in the meditations and instructional sessions was friendly, accessible, and
conversational. The app featured a number of gamification elements such as tracking meditation streaks
and a social element that allowed users to connect with friends through the app and compare
performances with others. The content and capabilities centered on health, relationships, and
performance.18 Puddicombe noted that, since its inception, "we've gone a long way to try to demystify
mindfulness and kind of strip away all of the chanting and cross-a-mountaintop type aspects...it's an
application that's intentionally designed to be accessible."19
Headspace Voice
Much of Headspace's content was narrated by Puddicombe himself who was an ordained Buddhist
monk. The head of content for Headspace, William Fowler, commented, "I think Andy's voice was a sort
of underrated asset for the brand from the beginning...he has an oddly neutral voice but still manages to
express a kindness and approachability. That is key for the relationship people develop with him as a
teacher."20 Pierson added. "Andy's a massive part of it just because he's a proper expert and you can't
fake that-It comes across in the teaching..he does it the meditations straight off the bat and does it from
his experience, it's really subtle, and that's what keeps people coming back Puddicombe has also been
the focus of many other PR campaigns, television appearances, and even gave a TID talk discusing the
abey of his own joumey into mindfulness providing him many platforms and opportunes for conveying
his personal experience and expect
Importantly, Headspace strove to ensure that its casual Image did not come at the sacrifice of perceived
expertise. Since its early educational campaign with The Guardia, Headspace has positioned itself as a
leader in teaching novices and newcomers the basics of meditation and mindfulness. This focus, along
with the endly Imagery and tone of voice, was further evidentin Headspaces 201 Netflix es, "Headspace
Guide to Meditation" The sees comated of eight-20 minute episodes narrated by Puddicombe who
taught viewers about the mechanics and methods of meditation as well as how to make ita habt in your
life, and conduded with a meditation selon For example pode title induded, "How to Get Started," "How
to Deal with Stew," and "How to Deal with Fan
Handace Studio
In addition to producing the Netflix sedes, Headspace and a malts-platform production studio within
Headspace called Headspace Studies to create mindful living content for distribution outd the app. This
indudes premium TV and film project, digital series, and thought-provoking podcasts. For example,
Headspace Studios produced podcasts such as "Radio Headspace," the "es Theory Podcast," and "The
Gift of Forgiveness Headspace also worked with Sesame Street in 2020 to create animated shots called
"Monster Meditation to teach mindfulness skills to children. Puddlcombe reflected on the collaboration
with Sesame Street "Learning the fundamentals of mindianews early in life is an incredibly valuable skill
to foster...t not only provides children with a greater of calm and darity, but also helps to cultivate the
qualities of compassion, creativity, and kindside from the shors, Headspace's YouTube channd included
additional meditation content and has gameed over seven hundred million views of March 20
Out-of-Home and TV Advertising
Headspace has deased several out-of-home advertisements on tads and on billboards, induding one in
Times Square, and worked with Mother New York to create an out-of-home campaign featuring different
types of Headspace users and why they meditate. While Headspace already had a number of ad featured
in digital channels, they started advertising on televisiononly in 2000, spending $159M on television ads
duringjast the first half of the year? The first televilo nad promoted their offer of free subscriptions to
those in the US, who have lost their jobs during the COVID- pandemic (before that, they also ended a
free offer to health care workers in the US and to all NHS by 2020 Headspace had run different ads
across hgh-and Spanish-language networks to yidding! billion televised ad impressions. A substantial
portion of Headspace's ad Impresions (151% and 103%) have come from CNN and Fox News,
respectively
Social Media
In the digital sphere, Headspace had a strong social media presence with 1,000 followers on Instagram
and 217500 followenson Twitter asof March 2001, 2019 Headspace leaned on lifestyle Influences to
expand their each and engagement, and introduce their family plan. Specifically, Headspace recand a
number of mid-the influences in areas such as style, health, and wellness who were asked to create two
sponsored posts around the holiday season that featured the influence with other family members and
included long-m, effective and personal captions. The campaign appered natural and authentic-the longtam aptons felt more personal--and targeted the aadatamant time with holiday on the minds of marry.”
Headpalopatwad with Sapchat in conjunction with it out of Snap M applications that live within chư) in
crate Handspace Min, a new featum that allowed Snapchatu tonthe-to-forme Headstone or with end
could then "the experten with other wing the Snapchat thường capablitha Supdt u could ako and
meditation to friends or photos of theme that mancate how they fed, and "the check?" anastoaakhow
fendarang-both of which of me dead with cof the quidy (and magnizable) Heads pean
Parts & Collaboration
Headspace has engaged in a number of other patripe and collaboration in addition to tho merated
above. Early on, Headspace partnered with edge departmentare, The Royal Ph foundation, and Virgin
Since then, Headspace grew are pathe and offend guided meditation invica on at kast twelve major arina
Headspace patred with Spotify in 2016 offerbundle baintain count tothemore, the company partnered
with Colgate Palmolive in offer weekly programming in the Hun by Colgate app. Hum owners who ar 200
"amle point in the app we als eight for a way day free Headspace in 202 Handapalad with the dating app
ngetoofer prodate meditation in eady 21 they anabated with Staud to offer autome mindful meditations
to enhance her coffeeruda
Headache tocate in the wadopts Inpati the app hosted guided ruwon the Nike Run Club and Weight
Watchers app addicombe ha worked with Arwal PC, the US Women's National, and in 2018,gada deal
with the NBA, NBA, NBA G League and NBA 2K-apa league to provide all league and teamplaye are to the
app change, the NBA co-developed mental training content with Handspace alled "Farbmance Mind The
Farfomance Mindent tud video with NA and WNBA player sharing their personal experience in building
aspect of a perfomance mind and the impact meditation has had on both their game and personal
Business to Busines (B2B) Solutions
In addition to their numer facing solutions, Headspace has invested heavily into their 525 bus, mad to
Headspace for Work The company offered diet plan including state, prentum, andenpofferings. Antara
menial companie-including Unlever, Starbucks, Call, Hyatt, and Adobe-offend Headspace to harmployee
as part of their beredia package. As of 2021, Headspace of mind products and nice in more than 1,300
compan
Headpan Health
Head was also wadding to tablish it in the digital medicine aphe vape H The stand goal of Headspace
Health was to become the first practition medication app fr dinice. An of 2003, Handspace was welding
FDA approval aber the conclusion of lange number of dinical tria med at demonstrating the efficacy of
mindhane and meditation in symptom management approved, the content of the program uld be pacted
by docto and would pave the way for Headspace program to heaved by health ince. The content of
Headspace Health programs would not be part of its retail consumer content, but instead would be
uniquely tailored to specific intended health benefits, 51 Puddicombe explained,52
We have clinical trials running, always in partnership with a university or teaching hospital. They're
funded independently, peer-reviewed before published. The most recent one on chronic pain was done
with the National Health Service in the UK, I don't get excited about science. My own experience has
been sitting down and seeing it work in direct way. But for a lot of people, knowing that something is
happening to the brain is really important, and I think it's right that we pay attention to that. Part of
demystifying [meditation] is giving people confidence and trust and science is a key way of doing that.
He added, "...the common wisdom is meditation is only for mental diseases, like anxiety for example...
while there's definitely a place for that, we're also seeing a huge impact on physical ailments as well.
Things like migraines or high blood pressure can be treated with meditation."53 Headspace had 55
clinical trials in the pipeline and 25 published papers. Adding to their health focus, Headspace also
collaborated with Whole Foods to create a recipe series called "Food for Mood" on Instagram TV (IGTV).
The series focused on meditations related to mindful shopping, cooking and eating.55
Calm
Despite entering the category two years after Headspace, Calm quickly covered lost ground and, as of
the first quarter of 2021, was ahead of Headspace in terms of valuation, revenue, subscribers, and
downloads. While Headspace boasted 2 million subscribers, 65 million downloads, and an expected
$100M in revenue for 2020, Calm had 4 million subscribers, 100 million downloads, and an expected
$150M in revenue for 2020 (See Exhibit 2).5% Calm's lead over Headspace was attributed by some, in
part, to winning Apple's App of the Year award in 2017, which boosted it past its rival, and helped push
Calm to unicorn status as a private company valued at over $1 billion.57
Nevertheless, Calm was not resting on its laurels. In 2019, Acton-Smith said, "we think we're right at the
start of an enormous new revolution, a huge wave around mental fitness, and we want to be one of the
leading companies helping spread that message around the world."58 Unbeknownst to him at the time,
the COVID-19 anxiety-ridden pandemic ahead drove enormous category growth: the growth led the
company to increase its advertising spending by 220% to $12.6M in the first half of 2020,59
Calm Aesthetic
Calm's creative content was dominated by earthy tones and images of nature, such as sunset landscapes,
ocean views, mountaintops, and rain falling on leaves-the backdrop of the Calm homepage was a
mountain lake landscape (See Exhibit 3). While Calm originally positioned itself around the notion of
"meditation made simple" (similar to Headspace's positioning), Calm repositioned itself around
superiority with an added focus on sleep. For example, Calm prominently advertises itself as the "#1 App
for Meditation and Sleep."60
Calm's soothing image came through in its marketing communications. Their television and social ads
often included a countdown clock marking the time until the spot ends, with rain drops on leaves in the
background, in an effort to cut through the clutter by providing a meditative moment amidst the noise
and fast-pace of surrounding media. Their out-of-home advertising conveyed a peaceful, low- energy
image. Billboards featured the same images of nature present in other communications or portrayed
affiliated celebrities edited to appear in a meditative state, overlaid with deep blue tones. Similar to
Puddicombe's sentiments, Acton-Smith claimed, "Meditation and mindfulness has had a bad rap for a
long time. It's associated with woo-woo and weirdness and people in the early days would roll their eyes
when we talk about it...when the lightbulb went on, I was like, we want to see if we can make it
relatable, accessible, simple so we can share it with as many people as we can." 61
"Calmtainment"
Much of Calm's accelerated growth was considered a result of the introduction of its successful Sleep
Stories content. Calm's Sleep Stories were narrated by A-List celebrities, such as Matthew McConaughey,
Harry Styles, Idris Elba, and Laura Dern, to name a few. Calm also offered content for children including
Sleep Stories of classics like "Peter Pan" and "The Velveteen Rabbit."62 The success of their high quality
bedtime stories has led sleep benefits to become a core part of the Calm brand identity. In response to
Calm's Sleep Stories, Headspace also started offering sleepcasts, but they have not become as core to
their brand. Likewise, while Headspace has dabbled with celebrity partnerships, such as through their
"Energy Shots!" sessions narrated by Kevin Hart, Calm has more prominently featured and committed to
their lineup of celebrity voices and partnerships, 64
In addition to Sleep Stories, Calm offered Calm Masterclasses hosted by field experts. For example, selfcompassion expert Tara Brach and well-known stoic Ryan Holiday each had Masterclasses titled "Radical
Self-Compassion" and "Stoic Wisdom for Modern Life," respectively. Calm also produced Calm Music
which consisted of curated musical playlists. For example, Calm partnered with Universal Music Group to
create new sleep remixes featuring top artists like Ariana Grande, Kacey Musgraves, and Shawn
Mendes,6% Calm's Head of Music said, "Calm Music works to harness the incredible power of music to
enhance our members' well-being experience," and added, "We're proud to partner with the world's
leading music company...giving fans beautiful, dreamy tracks to help them drift off to sleep." "Cofounder Tew added, "Entertainment and music specifically are really integral parts of how Calm is
attempting to bridge the idea of taking care of the mind and then making that accessible to people." Of
note, Headspace hired John Legend in 2020 as its first Chief Music Officer to help build their own music
content library, with an emphasis on enhancing focus through music and meditation.69
In 2020 Calm also released an HBO series called "World of Calm" that consisted of soothing video
footage of various landscapes and natural environments, narrated by well-known celebrities including
Mahershala Ali, Nicole Kidman, and Lucy Liu.70 Acton-Smith commented, "We are delighted to bring the
magic behind our audio Sleep Stories to the screen for the first time. These experiences are visual Valium
and will help people relax and unwind during these stressful times."71 Of note, Headspace also released
a similar show called "Mindful Earth" that combines BBC Planet Earth cinematography with Headspace
wellness sessions." Acton-Smith has expressed a strong interest in continuing to establish Calm as a
leader in calm entertainment, or what some refer to as "calmtainment."73 Acton-Smith said, "We want
to be known as more than just a meditation company and a sleep company. We're broader than that and
we'd also love to win some Emmys and Oscars."74
Social Media
In terms of digital media, Calm's YouTube channel had over 62 million views, while their Twitter count
had 161k followers, and their Instagram had 2.4 million followers. 75,76,77 Consistent with their
cohesive branding, Calm's Twitter account primarily consisted of nature images, news about celebrity
affiliations, and messages relating to rest and relaxation. Similar to Headspace, Calm also used influencer
marketing to increase awareness, reach, and conversions on social media. 78
Strategic Sponsorships and Partnerships
Calm has engaged in a number of strategic partnerships for creative content development, product
integration, loyalty and rewards programs, and more. For example, Calm partnered with American
Express in 2020, offering free one-year trials to card-holders." They also worked with Uber Apps in
London and XpresSpa in over fifty airport locations in the U.S., and partnered with their first airline,
American Airlines, in 2018 to offer in-flight meditation for passengers,80,81,82 Acton-Smith explained,
"One of the scrappy ways we love growing is through partnerships. Similar to many fast-growing
companies, we don't want to be too reliant on paid marketing... We had a large content partnership with
American Airlines that was based on shared value without money changing hands. Overall it's just a
great way of adding millions and millions of new users for effectively nothing."83
During the 2020 United States Presidential Election, Calm sponsored key moments during CNN's
coverage of Election Day. In particular, when the news provided loud updates, a small "brought to you
by" graphic appeared with the logo for the app. This sponsorship led to a twenty one fold surge in tweets
mentioning calm on election night, though many of the tweets pointed to the dark humor of the
sponsorship move.84 Despite some poking fun at the sponsorship and wondering about whether the
humor was deliberate, Calm moved up twenty ranks in the Apple app store from the day before Election
Day and fifty one ranks two days after.85
Like Headspace, Calm has also started tapping into the sports world, though with a much more targeted
approach, partnering with LeBron James to create "Train Your Mind."86 This content consisted of tenminute segments featuring James and focused on mental fitness. Calm has also followed Headspace's
lead in the B2B space, establishing corporate partnerships with firms through their Calm for Business
channel, which served over 1,000 partners. Moreover, through its Calm Schools Initiative, Calm offered
teachers free subscriptions so that they can teach mindfulness in the classroom. Likewise, Calm has
grown their content for kids beyond Sleep Stories, with dedicated offerings such as meditations with
popular characters like Thomas the Tank Engine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Calm also partnered
with nonprofit health system Kaiser Permanente to make Calm's premium subscription free for its
members,89
A Hollywood Focus
Moving forward, Acton-Smith has expressed a desire to continue focusing on Hollywood, entertainment,
and celebrity partnerships. Acton-Smith said, "Calm has a slightly rock 'n' roll creative edge that sets us
apart."90 However, he also voiced an interest in dabbling in the hospitality industry: "We'd love to do
Calm hotels...our real ambition is to eventually buy an island and create Calm Island, the world's most
relaxing resort."91 Acton-Smith is convinced that the mindfulness and meditation enthusiasm is more
than just a passing trend, noting, "It sounds crazy but I think we can build one of the most meaningful
brands in the world. I love what Nike did fifty years ago when the physical exercise boom was starting.
Exercise wasn't a thing, then doctors said it was good for you and it became huge. That's now happening
with mental fitness."92
Pricing Strategies
The pricing structures of Headspace and Calm in their retail channels have changed several times since
their inception. Currently, both apps used a freemium structure, with free versions that included basic
features and limited content. In terms of paid content, Headspace offered either an annual plan for
$69.99 a year or a monthly plan for $12.99 a month; the former also offered the first fourteen days free
while the latter offered the first seven days free." Headspace also offered student and family plans at
lower rates. Meanwhile, Calm also had two core paid offers: an annual plan for $69.99 per year or a
"Calm for Life" plan for a one-time fee of $399.99.4And as mentioned, both apps have engaged in
various partnerships offering free trials.
A survey conducted in 2019 by ProfitWell among current, former, or prospective customers of
Headspace and Calm regarding their monthly willingness to pay for meditation apps indicated that
customers' willingness to pay was strongly related to how often they meditate. For example, customers
who meditate less than once a week, but at least once per month expressed an average willingness to
pay of $4.90/month, those who meditate less than once a day, but at least once per week expressed an
average willingness to pay of $5.90/month, those who meditate once per day expressed an average
willingness to pay of $13.09/month, and those who meditate more than once per day were willing to pay
$23.49/month, on average. A similar pattern of results was observed depending on the amount of time
customers spend during a given meditation session too.
Average willingness to pay for monthly plans of the meditation apps also varied depending on users'
goals. More specifically, customers with athletic performance goals expressed a willingness to pay an
average of $18.39 per month while customers with professional performance and overall health goals
expressed a willingness to pay an average of $14.38 and $12.09 a month, respectively. On the lower end,
customers with the goal of improving relationships expressed a willingness to pay an average of $8.38
per month, while customers seeking to manage stress expressed the lowest average willingness to pay
($5.04/month) of the goals included in the survey.
In the same survey, ProfitWell charted average willingness to pay relative to feature preference, and
found that stress sessions were perceived as core features for which customers expressed the lowest
willingness to pay, while customers were willing to pay more for differentiated features (e.g.
performance or focus sessions), but were willing to pay the most for add-ons, such as emergency
sessions. Some speculated that the willingness to pay for this type of add-on was inflated as a result of
the COVID-19 pandemic, and an accompanying spike in both chronic and acute anxiety. Nevertheless,
Acton-Smith said, "People are happy to pay for something that transforms their life; they pay to use the
gym."96
Moving Forward
In 2020, Headspace changed its leadership and appointed CeCe Morken to serve as the CEO, while cofounders Puddicombe and Pierson transitioned to new roles as co-executive chairmen of the board.
Morken has expressed particular interest in improving the artificial intelligence and machine learning
tools at Headspace in order to better leverage user data for making suggestions to users." Meanwhile,
Calm appeared devoted to establishing an even stronger presence in the Hollywood sphere, and
potentially trying their hand in the hospitality sphere. Both brands continued to reinforce their separate
identities in their integrated communications, with Headspace continuing to utilize bright, illustrated
creatives and Calm maintaining more subdued earthy tones and soothing images of nature. Calm
continued to maintain a stronger association with sleep benefits and music, while Headspace was more
strongly associated with meditation and mindfulness education and physical health.
Neither the Calm nor Headspace founders seemed worried that mindfulness and meditation will prove
to be a passing fad. Acton-Smith claimed: "People will need ways to reduce stress, sleep better, and
handle society. And given the always-on society we live in, we'll need companies that help us deal with
all that."98 Puddicombe agreed, "I think we've always had the need as individuals and groups to step
away from the madness and to find some kind of solitude and calm and clarity, I just don't think in
modem time we've had the tools we need to do that."99 Of the competition between the brands,
Acton-Smith commented: "We're both growing the sector. This is such a huge market, there's going to be
room for a few different winners... We want Calm to be the number one, of course-and we wish the
others the best for second place."100
What does the future hold for the rivalry between Calm and Headspace? Will both brands continue to
co-dominate the mindfulness and meditation space or will one ultimately prevail? What should the
brands do to maintain their co-dominance or to edge out the other and claim the number one spot?