Calm Radio vs Pandora

Calm Radio offers curated relaxing music, classical music, nature sounds and audio for sleep, meditation, focus and relaxation. Its multi-mixer lets listeners layer nature sounds with music to make custom soundscapes. The free plan costs nothing and includes 200 music channels, while Premium access includes 800+ HD channels. Monthly Premium costs $9.99 a month; One Year Premium is listed at $5.99 a year, billed annually, and the page also shows $119.98. Offline listening is available, and maximum audio quality is high. Calm Radio supports web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Alexa, Sonos, Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, Android Auto and CarPlay. Free listening includes advertisements, excludes HD audio and some channels, offers smaller playlists and does not support nature-sound layering. The company says it does not sell or rent personal information to third parties; depending on service use, it may collect contact details, location, demographic and device information. Subscribers can cancel through account settings and retain Premium access until the billing period ends.

Pandora is a music and podcast listening service built around personalized stations and listening recommendations. Its Music Genome Project and Podcast Genome Project power personalization; Pandora says its musician-analysts characterize tracks using details such as melody, harmony, instrumentation, rhythm, vocals and lyrics. Listeners can create up to 100 unique stations. Pandora is available on the web and mobile apps, as well as desktop apps and connected devices; it says it integrates with more than 2,000 connected products. The free plan offers personalized stations and podcasts, with some features, including unlimited skips, unlocked by viewing an ad. Pandora Premium costs $10.99 a month when purchased through its website and includes ad-free listening, on-demand songs, albums and podcasts, personalized playlists and stations, unlimited offline listening and skips. Offline listening is supported, but lossless audio is not. Pandora also offers a GraphQL API covering a catalog of over 30 million tracks, but access is limited to developers invited by an approved partner representative. Pandora says its audio and subscription services are intended for U.S. residents and may be blocked outside the country.