Step-by-Step Guide: Building a Calm Clone with Adalo

Creating a meditation app like Calm requires handling complex features—audio playback, user accounts, progress tracking, and content libraries—across multiple platforms simultaneously. Traditional development means hiring separate teams for iOS, Android, and web, then coordinating updates across three codebases, which quickly becomes expensive and time-consuming for indie founders and small teams.

That's where Adalo comes in. Adalo is a no-code app builder for database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps—one version across all three platforms. AI-assisted building and streamlined publishing enable launch to the Apple App Store and Google Play in days rather than months, giving you the speed and flexibility to enter the booming wellness market while keeping costs manageable.

Why Adalo Works for Building a Meditation App

Adalo is a no-code app builder for database-driven web apps and native iOS and Android apps—one version across all three platforms, published to the Apple App Store and Google Play. This makes it the perfect foundation for creating a Calm-style meditation app that users can download directly from their preferred app store, just like the real thing.

For meditation apps, native app store presence is essential—users expect to find wellness tools in the App Store and Google Play, and they rely on push notifications for daily meditation reminders and streak tracking. With Adalo, you can build a polished, cross-platform meditation experience that engages users consistently, all without hiring developers or learning to code.

Building a meditation app similar to Calm has never been more accessible thanks to platforms like Adalo. With the mental health app market projected to reach USD 17.5 billion by 2030, creating your own meditation platform presents a significant business opportunity. You can even publish the same app to the web, native iOS, and native Android with Adalo, all without writing a line of code or rebuilding anything.

Why Build a Meditation App Like Calm Without Code

Market Opportunity for Meditation Apps

The wellness app category continues to grow, and low-code/no-code adoption is accelerating. Gartner forecasts that by 2026, 70% of new applications developed by enterprises will use low-code or no-code technologies. For founders entering the meditation space, this means faster iteration, lower upfront cost, and a shorter path to launch.

Benefits of No-Code Development

• Faster time to market: Visual building reduces development cycles
• Lower development costs: Smaller teams, fewer specialized roles
• Creative control: Directly design and ship your experience
• Cross-platform: Build for iOS, Android, and the web from one project with Adalo’s publishing and responsive design

Understanding Calm App Features and User Experience

Core Features Analysis

A modern meditation app typically includes:

• Guided meditations (topic- and duration-based)
• Sleep stories and relaxing audio content
• Breathing exercises and quick stress-relief tools
• Daily check-ins or mood tracking
• Progress/streaks and achievements
• Courses/masterclasses (structured learning)

Free vs Premium Features

Free Tier

• Limited meditations
• Basic breathing exercises
• A small sample of sleep stories
• Daily quotes or tips

Premium Tier

• Full content library
• Offline-ready playback (where feasible—see “Platform Limitations”)
• Advanced tracking and longer programs
• New content releases

Setting Up Your Adalo Account and Project Structure

Step 1: Create Your Adalo Account and App

1. Go to Adalo.com and sign up
2. Click Create New App
3. Choose Mobile App
4. Name your app (e.g., “Mindfulness”)
5. Select Start from Scratch

Step 2: Configure Your App Theme

1. Choose calming primary colors (soft blue/purple)
2. Select a complementary secondary color for CTAs
3. Pick modern, readable fonts
4. Set app icon and splash screen
5. Continue to the Adalo builder

Step 3: Plan Your Database Architecture

Review Adalo’s data model concepts and collections in the Adalo docs. You’ll create collections for content (Meditations, Sleep Stories), taxonomy (Categories), and user data (Users, Moods), and relate them for filtering and personalization.

Designing the Meditation Library and Content Management

Step 4: Create the Meditations Collection

1. Click Database in the left sidebar
2. + Add Collection → Meditations
3. Add properties:

• Title (Text)
• Description (Text – Multiline)
• Duration (Number, minutes)
• Category (Text or Relation to Categories)
• Audio File (File)
• Thumbnail Image (Image)
• Instructor Name (Text)
• Premium Only (True/False)
• Play Count (Number)
• Created Date (Date & Time – Automatic)

Step 5: Build the Sleep Stories Collection

1. + Add Collection → Sleep Stories
2. Properties:

• Story Title (Text)
• Narrator (Text)
• Synopsis (Text – Multiline)
• Duration (Number)
• Audio File (File)
• Cover Image (Image)
• Background Sound (Text)
• Premium Content (True/False)

Step 6: Set Up Categories and Tags

1. + Add Collection → Categories
2. Properties: Category Name, Icon, Description, Display Order
3. Relationships:

• Meditations → Categories (Many-to-One)
• Sleep Stories → Categories (Many-to-One)

Building User Authentication and Profile Features

Step 7: Enhance the Users Collection

Add custom fields to Users:

• Subscription Type (Text: Free / Premium Monthly / Premium Annual)
• Subscription End Date (Date & Time)
• Total Minutes Meditated (Number)
• Current Streak (Number)
• Longest Streak (Number)
• Preferred Categories (Relation to Categories)
• Notifications Enabled (True/False)
• Daily Reminder Time (Date & Time)

Step 8: Create User Onboarding Flow

1. Welcome screen (brand, value proposition)
2. Onboarding sequence:

• Goals (Focus, Stress, Sleep)
• Preferred time of day
• Experience level

3. Sign-up form with email, password, name (optional). See Adalo’s profile & account template.

Step 9: Build the Profile & Settings

Profile screen:

• Profile image
• Streaks and stats
• Achievements
• Subscription status

Settings screen:

• Notifications (on/off)
• Download quality (if implementing limited offline)
• Account management and privacy

Creating Sleep Stories and Relaxation Features

Step 10: Design the Sleep Timer Interface

• Presets: 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60 minutes
• Custom timer
• “End of track” option
• Visible countdown and gentle fade-out

Step 11: Build Background Sound Mixer

Soundscapes collection:

• Name (Rain, Ocean, White Noise)
• Audio File
• Icon
• Default Volume

UI:

• Volume sliders per sound
• On/off toggles
• Save/delete custom mixes

Step 12: Implement Sleep Story Player

• Cover image, play/pause, 15s skip, progress bar
• Sleep timer integration
• Optional narrator versions
• Optional background sound overlay

Implementing Subscription Models and Payment Processing

Step 13: Install Payment Components

• Browse the Adalo Marketplace
• Add IAPHUB for in-app purchases/subscriptions on iOS and Android
• Add Stripe components for web checkout (subscriptions/payments on your web version)

Important: For digital content in native apps, Apple and Google require platform-native billing. See Apple’s payments guidelines and Google Play’s billing policy. Use Stripe for web purchases or cases not subject to in-app purchase rules.

Step 14: Configure Subscription Tiers

Common patterns:

• Free
  
  • 5–7 basic meditations
  • A few sleep stories
  • Daily quote / basic tracking

• Premium Monthly
  
  • Full library
  • Longer programs and courses
  • Limited offline playback (if implemented)
  • Advanced statistics

• Premium Annual
  
  • All monthly features
  • Early access or bonus content
  • (On iOS) Family Sharing depends on Apple’s policies

Step 15: Set Up Payment Flows

• Mobile: Configure products in App Store Connect / Play Console; connect via IAPHUB in Adalo
• Web: Create products in Stripe; build a simple checkout and post-purchase confirmation
• Management: Upgrade/downgrade UI, cancellation path, receipts/history

Adding Push Notifications and Daily Reminders

Step 16: Configure Notifications

• Enable notifications in Adalo settings
• Triggers: Daily reminder, streak nudges, new content, achievement unlocked
• For workflows and advanced automations, see Zapier integration

Step 17: Build Daily Check-in

Daily Mood collection:

• User (Relation)
• Mood Rating (1–5)
• Notes (Text)
• Date (Date & Time)

UI:

• Emoji selector
• Optional journal input
• Suggested content based on mood

Step 18: Implement Smart Recommendations

• Personalize by time of day, recent activity, goals, and mood
• Show “Recommended for you” on the Home screen
• Refresh recommendations periodically

Testing Your Meditation App Across Platforms

Step 19: Create Test Content Library

• 5–10 meditations per category
• 3–5 sleep stories
• A mix of free vs premium
• Various durations

Step 20: Test Core User Flows

• Onboarding and sign-up
• Free user experience limits
• Premium purchase flows (mobile and web)
• Audio playback and timers
• Push notification delivery

Step 21: Cross-Platform Testing

• iOS and Android device testing
• Web app responsiveness via PWA publishing
• Verify payment flows per platform
• Validate media loading and caching

Publishing to App Stores and Web Platforms

Step 22: Prepare App Store Assets

• 5–8 screenshots per platform
• Clear app description and keywords
• Categories and privacy policy
• (Optional) App preview video

Step 23: Submit to Apple App Store

• Enroll in Apple Developer ($99/year)
• Configure App Store Connect listing
• Generate iOS build from Adalo
• Submit for review
• Most reviews complete in 24–48 hours, though some take longer 

Step 24: Publish to Google Play Store

• Create Google Play Developer account ($25 one-time)
• Complete listing and disclosures
• Upload an Android App Bundle (AAB) (required for new apps) 
• Reviews vary and can take up to 7 days or longer 

Step 25: Deploy Web Version

• Use Adalo’s web publishing with custom domain
• Configure SSL and analytics
• Optimize SEO meta tags
• Launch as a PWA for desktop/mobile access

Why Adalo Makes Meditation App Development Accessible

Adalo’s platform brings together visual UI building, collections/relations for your content and users, push notifications, and publishing paths for native and web apps. The component marketplace offers official and third-party components (e.g., payments, maps, media) that you can assemble without custom code. With responsive design and publishing workflows for iOS, Android, and web, you can ship a polished meditation experience from a single project.

Platform Limitations and Workarounds

Critical Constraints to Address

Performance & Data

• Very large collections and deep “lists within lists” can impact performance
• Heavy media usage (large audio files) increases load time and storage needs
• For large-scale apps, consider external backends and CDN delivery for media

Real-Time & Offline

• Adalo does not provide full native real-time synchronization; use push notifications and periodic refresh for updates
• Robust offline media downloads/playback are limited; plan carefully with caching and test extensively
• For real-time features, consider external services via Custom Actions or integrations

Workaround Strategies

• Use External Collections/APIs for large datasets or advanced logic (see Adalo integrations in the builder)
• Serve audio via optimized hosting/CDN; compress files and provide multiple bitrates if possible
• Limit list sizes and implement “load more” pagination
• Optimize images (dimensions and compression)
• Separate concerns: content management workflow off-app; app focuses on playback and UX

Cost Breakdown and Resources

Adalo Subscription

• Plans and limits change over time—see the current Adalo Pricing

Additional Fees

• Apple Developer Program: $99/year (enroll)
• Google Play Developer: $25 one-time (register)
• Payment processing fees depend on your provider:
  
  • In-app: Apple/Google platform billing (see Apple payments and Google Billing)
  • Web: Stripe (see components in the Marketplace)

Marketplace Components

• Discover add-ons in the Adalo Component Marketplace

Additional Resources

• Database fundamentals (Adalo Help Center): https://help.adalo.com/database
• Publishing overview: https://www.adalo.com/features/publishing
• Responsive design: https://www.adalo.com/features/responsive-design
• Zapier automation: https://www.adalo.com/features/zapier

Note: This Calm-style clone implements a broad meditation experience—guided sessions, sleep content, timers, tracking, subscriptions—within Adalo’s no-code constraints. For features like extensive offline downloads, background audio processing, or real-time social feeds, validate with prototypes and consider external services (APIs/CDNs) connected via Adalo integrations to ensure performance and compliance with app store policies.

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