Calm for Business vs Headspace for Work
vs Vayu for Teams
Two of these are meditation content libraries. One measures whether stress actually went down. Here is the honest difference for a People-Ops buyer.
The short version: Calm Business and Headspace for Work deliver audio content and engagement metrics. Vayu reads HRV from the smartwatch employees already wear, guides breathing through haptics, and reports a measured outcome (−16% perceived stress in a 199-person pilot).
If you are still scoping the market, our buyer's guide to corporate wellness apps covers all four categories, and Calm for Business alternatives looks at the switch on its own.
You need measurable outcomes for HR, no extra hardware, and a program that works on the watch employees already own, not another content subscription.
A large library of guided meditation and sleep content is the main goal, and engagement metrics are enough to report on.
Feature comparison
Competitor pricing and features are drawn from public sources; enterprise pricing for all three is finalized in a sales conversation.
| Feature | Calm for Business | Headspace for Work | Vayu for Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core approach | Meditation & sleep content | Guided meditation & courses | HRV biofeedback + breathwork |
| Built-in HRV biofeedback | |||
| Physiological signal | HRV read after each session | ||
| Extra hardware required | Oura / WHOOP (for biometrics) | Oura / WHOOP (for biometrics) | None, uses existing smartwatch |
| Apple Watch app | Companion | Companion | Standalone, haptic-guided |
| Wear OS app | Limited | Limited | |
| Measured stress outcome | Engagement metrics | Engagement metrics | −16% PSS (N=199 pilot) |
| Aggregate HR reporting | Anonymized wellbeing trends | ||
| Content library breadth | Extensive | Extensive | Focused on breathwork |
| Meditation / sleep library | Breath-first, not a media library | ||
| Indicative price | ~$63.78 / employee / yr | from ~$75 / mo | Per-pilot (contact us) |
| Free pilot | Sales-led trial | Sales-led trial | 30 days, up to 25 employees |
| IT integration to deploy | SSO / admin console | SSO / admin console | None, App/Play Store install |
The real difference: content vs. measured change
Calm for Business and Headspace for Work are excellent audio libraries. An employee opens the app, plays a guided session, and the platform reports how many minutes were used. That is engagement, not outcome. The honest question a People-Ops leader has to answer at renewal is whether stress actually went down, and content-minutes cannot show that.
Vayu measures the physiology, on hardware you already have
Vayu reads heart-rate variability directly from the Apple Watch or Wear OS device an employee already wears, then guides breathing through haptics, no screen, no headphones, usable in a meeting. Because the signal is biometric, the program can report aggregate, anonymized wellbeing trends rather than session counts. In a naturalistic pilot of 199 adults it recorded a −16% reduction in perceived stress (PSS-10) and a +28.6% median HRV improvement. See the methodology and full results.
No hardware to buy, no IT project to run
Teams that want biometric feedback alongside Calm or Headspace typically add separate wearables (an Oura ring or WHOOP band), which adds cost, procurement, and per-employee device management. Vayu needs none of that: employees install from the App Store or Google Play and use the watch they already own. Deploying a pilot is a link, not a project. See the full Vayu for Teams program and the wider cost of workplace stress evidence.
Headspace has been acquired by Sword Health
Sword Health announced in September 2026 that it would acquire Headspace, the company behind Headspace for Work, and Headspace says the deal closed on October 1, 2026. Sword has said it plans to integrate its clinical AI into the Headspace platform. For employers, Headspace says there are no immediate changes to contracts, services, or pricing, and that it will communicate directly if anything changes.
For a People-Ops buyer, that is a vendor ownership change to plan around. If a Headspace for Work renewal falls during the integration, ask your account team what changes for your contract, and when. Vayu for Teams is built by Prana Labs, an independent company, and it is breathwork-first: sessions are HRV-guided, with Vayu reading HRV from the Apple Watch or Wear OS device an employee already wears after each session and using it to shape the next one. You can test it with a free 30-day pilot for up to 25 employees before your renewal date.
Prove it on your own team first
Run a 30-day pilot with up to 25 employees at no cost. Measure the before-and-after yourself, then decide.
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