Calm vs Headspace: what subscribers complain about
Shared report · refreshed weekly · updated Oct 26, 2026
Welcome to Headspace, your expert-led guide to mental health, mindfulness, and meditation.
Health & Fitness · Free · out since 2012 · from the App Store descriptionNew users describe unexpected charges after free trials, and long-time users object to a redesign that changed an app they valued for years.
OneStar read 1,989 App Store and Google Play reviews of Headspace posted from Oct 2025 to Oct 2026. Of the 1,989 people who reviewed Headspace in OneStar's sample, 95% complain and 27% praise it. The top complaints about Headspace are crashes and bugs (43% of complaints), pricing and fees (17%) and charges and refunds (8%). In OneStar's sample of Headspace reviews, 9% of reviewers say they're quitting. OneStar's report on Headspace was last updated on Oct 26, 2026.
What goes wrong
paid for subscription but wont even load app. waste of money, will be in contact for a refund
took a long break from it and redownloaded it recently only to find absolutely everything has ben blocked off with a subscription.
these are some moneygrabbing greedy ahs.. Never used it once, contacted them right after the unintended subscription and they refused to refund the one year charge. I have no use for it at all
Eats up your battery
Have been using the app for years for sleep meditations, only to find with the latest update that it's impossible to sort through the library to find categories, or even to get to the "library."...
What goes well
I LOVE IT
I’ve been using this app for over 10 years for meditation, anxiety and sleep. It has genuinely increased my quality of life and given me so many tools to use in day to day life
I love that there are a number of ways to use it, and as my life has changed I have always found relevancy in the app.
Didn’t know meditation could be easy, this app makes it feel so simple. I’m sure once I get the hang of it I could even implement the exercises they teach for stressful moments.
After trying other forms of mindfulness, as well as TM, this app seems to be the way that works to keep me practicing consistently.
Reasons for quitting
The main complaint of the 179 reviewers who say they stopped or are quitting
Their categories
Yes or no questions the person who shared it asked of each review
paid for subscription but wont even load app. waste of money, will be in contact for a refund
these are some moneygrabbing greedy ahs.. Never used it once, contacted them right after the unintended subscription and they refused to refund the one year charge. I have no use for it at all
Refuses to refund
Constantly crashing, takes ages to load, says I'm offline and stops playing, even when my connection is fine.
these are some moneygrabbing greedy ahs.. Never used it once, contacted them right after the unintended subscription and they refused to refund the one year charge. I have no use for it at all
What they use it for
928 of 1,989 reviewers said; shares are of them
The app itself is fine. I enjoy the sleepcasts & sleep music. However, I hate the AI push. AI has proven to be extremely detrimental for mental health, and it's mind-boggling that Headspace jumped...
terrible. app has been stuck showing the logo and nothing else. no amount of uninstalling, clearing cache, restarting phone and reinstalling has helped. frustrating for a medication app.
OMG NO, I SERIOUSLY CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! This version brought back the bug of the screen turning off if you didn't touch it during a workout. And it's really annoying and frustrating.
What they ask for
186 reviews ask for something
Who is saying it
The biggest clear differences between audiences; 6 more with a free account
TenureNew user: mention charges and refunds 4.2x as often as everyone (36% vs 9%).
TenureLong-time user: mention bad update or redesign 2.8x as often as everyone (16% vs 6%).
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