The best breathing app is the one you'll open when you're stressed. For free guided breathing plus timers, try Declutter The Mind. For resonance pacing, The Breathing App. For coached breathwork, Breathwrk or Othership. A slow, steady rhythm matters more than the brand.
I get asked about breathing apps a lot, usually by someone who has just had a rough week and downloaded four of them at 1am. Here’s what I tell them: the app matters less than you think, and the habit matters more.
That isn’t me being vague. It’s roughly what the research says. So below you’ll find the breathing apps I’d actually point a friend to, what each one is genuinely good at, and the one thing to look for before you pay for any of them.
What Actually Matters in a Breathing App
Most breathing apps teach some version of the same thing: slow your breath down and make your exhale a little longer than your inhale. That’s the part doing the work.
When researchers pooled 12 randomized trials of breathwork in 2023, they found it lowered self-reported stress with a small-to-medium effect (Fincham et al., 2023). The authors were careful to say the trials were small and the results should be read cautiously. A 2025 review went further and argued that most techniques share the same basic mechanism, so the specific method may matter less than simply doing it (Siebieszuk et al., 2025).
There’s a stronger signal for one thing: pacing. Heart rate variability biofeedback, which trains you to breathe at a slow, steady rhythm (often around six breaths a minute), showed a large effect on stress and anxiety across 24 studies (Goessl, Curtiss and Hofmann, 2017). And in a 2023 trial, five minutes a day of exhale-focused breathing improved mood more than mindfulness meditation over a month (Balban et al., 2023). I wrote more about that study in my guide to the physiological sigh.
So when you’re choosing, look for three things:
- A pacer you can adjust. A visual, sound or vibration that sets the rhythm, with control over the length of the inhale and exhale.
- A quiet option. Haptics or a simple visual, so you can use it on a train or in a meeting.
- Something you’ll actually open. Reminders, a widget or a watch app. The best technique in the world does nothing in an app you’ve forgotten exists.
The Best Breathing Apps, Compared
| App | Best for | Cost model | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Declutter The Mind | Guided breathing meditations plus free timers | Free to use | iOS, Android, web |
| The Breathing App | Simple resonance pacing | Free core, optional premium | iOS, Android |
| Breathwrk | Short coached exercises by goal | Free tier, Pro subscription | iOS, Android |
| Othership | Long, music-led breathwork classes | Subscription with a free trial | iOS, Android |
| Prana Breath | Building your own patterns | Free to start, paid upgrades | iOS, Android |
| Apple Watch Mindfulness | A pacer on your wrist | Built into watchOS | Apple Watch |
| Calm | Breathing inside a bigger meditation app | Subscription with a free trial | iOS, Android, web |
Declutter The Mind
I’ll be upfront: this is our app, and I write for it. I’m putting it first because it covers both halves of what most people need, and it’s free to use.
The first half is guided. The breathing meditations talk you through breath awareness in a plain voice with no music, so you’re not just watching a circle grow and shrink, you’re learning to notice your breath and come back to it when your mind wanders. That’s the skill that makes breathing useful at 3am or before a hard conversation.
The second half is the timers. If you just want a pacer, our box breathing visualizer, 4-7-8 timer and coherent breathing timer run in any browser, free, with no download.
What it doesn’t do: there’s no haptic pacer for your watch and no long, music-driven breathwork classes. If that’s what you want, keep reading.
The Breathing App
The Breathing App, co-created by yoga teacher Eddie Stern with sound from Moby, does one thing well: it paces slow, resonance-style breathing. You set the ratio and the length, follow a simple visual and tone, and that’s it.
Its free tier keeps the resonance pacer and sessions up to 20 minutes, which is more than most people need. It’s the app I’d suggest to someone who finds other breathing apps cluttered. The trade-off is that there’s little teaching, so it assumes you already know why you’re breathing slowly.
Breathwrk
Breathwrk organizes short, coached exercises by what you want: calm down, fall asleep, focus, wake up. Most sessions are a few minutes, and the coaching makes it easy for a beginner to follow.
The free tier is limited, and the fuller library sits behind a Pro subscription. One useful detail: if you already pay for Peloton’s App+ or All-Access membership, Breathwrk is included in many regions. Some reviewers have complained about sign-up walls and changes to the free content, so try it before you commit.
Othership
Othership sits at the intense end. Its classes are longer, set to music and led by instructors, and many lean into energizing, fast-paced styles alongside calmer ones. It’s closer to a breathwork studio class than a stress tool.
It’s a subscription after a free trial, and pricier than most here. I’d suggest it for someone who already likes breathwork as a practice in its own right. For a quick reset during a stressful day, a simple pacer is a better fit.
Prana Breath
Prana Breath is for people who like to tinker. You can use its built-in patterns or build your own, adjusting each phase of the breath, and set reminders to practice. It’s free to start with paid upgrades.
It’s less polished than the big-name apps, and the number of similarly named “Prana” apps in the stores is confusing, so check the developer before you download.
Apple Watch Mindfulness
If you wear an Apple Watch, you already have a breathing pacer. The Mindfulness app’s Breathe session guides you with an animation and gentle taps on your wrist, and you can set the pace from 4 to 10 breaths a minute.
It’s the most discreet option here, since you can follow it with your eyes closed in a meeting. It won’t teach you anything, and it’s Apple-only, but as a nudge to take one slow minute in the middle of the day, it’s hard to beat.
Calm
Calm is best known for sleep stories, but it also has breathing exercises built around its Breathe Bubble, with adjustable speed, timers and haptics. There’s a simplified version on its website too.
If you already pay for Calm, use it before downloading anything else. If you don’t, it’s a lot of subscription for a breathing pacer alone. Our roundup of the best apps for anxiety covers Calm and the other big meditation apps in more depth.
Do You Even Need a Breathing App?
Honestly, no. Breathe in through your nose for about four counts, out for about six, and do that for five minutes. That’s most of what any of these apps teaches, and you can do it with nothing.
Apps help in two specific ways. They hold the pace steady when your attention drifts, and they remind you to practice when you’re calm, which is how breathing becomes something you can reach for when you’re not. The evidence for apps overall is real but modest: a meta-analysis of nine trials found smartphone interventions reduced anxiety more than doing nothing, but only slightly more than active alternatives (Firth et al., 2017).
So if you’ve tried three apps and opened none of them twice, the problem isn’t the app. Pick one, put it on your home screen, and use it once a day for two weeks before judging it. My guide to breathing exercises for stress walks through the main techniques without any app at all.
A Safety Note on Intense Breathwork
Slow breathing is gentle and safe for almost everyone. Fast, forceful styles are different. Rapid breathing followed by breath holds, as in the Wim Hof Method, can make you dizzy or faint, which is why the method’s own guidance says never to practice before or during driving, swimming or bathing. Do these sitting or lying down, and check with a doctor first if you’re pregnant or have epilepsy or a heart condition.
If you have panic attacks, fast breathing can feel uncomfortably like the start of one. Stick with slow, exhale-focused breathing, and see a doctor or therapist if panic or anxiety is getting in the way of your life. A breathing app is a tool for everyday stress, not a substitute for care. If you’re in crisis in the US, call or text 988.
How to Pick One Today
If you want the short version:
- You want guidance and it to be free: Declutter The Mind.
- You want a clean pacer and nothing else: The Breathing App.
- You want short, coached exercises by goal: Breathwrk.
- You love breathwork as a practice: Othership.
- You want to design your own patterns: Prana Breath.
- You wear an Apple Watch: start with the Mindfulness app you already have.
- You already pay for Calm: use its breathing exercises first.
Then close the app store. The breath you take in the next five minutes will do more than the next app you download.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best breathing app?
There isn’t one winner, because the research suggests the specific technique matters less than practicing regularly. Pick by what you need: Declutter The Mind for free guided breathing and timers, The Breathing App for simple resonance pacing, Breathwrk or Othership for coached breathwork, and the Apple Watch Mindfulness app if you want a cue on your wrist.
Is there a free breathing app?
Yes. Declutter The Mind is free to use, and its website has free breathing timers like the box breathing visualizer and 4-7-8 timer that run in a browser. The Breathing App keeps its core resonance pacer free, and the Apple Watch Mindfulness app is built into watchOS. Breathwrk, Othership and Prana Breath are free to download with paid upgrades.
Do breathing apps actually work for anxiety?
They can help, modestly. A 2023 meta-analysis of randomized trials found breathwork lowered self-reported stress with a small-to-medium effect, and a 2017 meta-analysis found anxiety apps in general helped more than doing nothing but only slightly more than active alternatives. Think of an app as a pacer and a reminder, not a treatment. If anxiety is getting in the way of daily life, talk to a doctor or therapist.
Do I need an app to do breathing exercises?
No. You can breathe in for about four counts and out for six, for five minutes, with nothing but a clock. An app helps in two ways: it keeps the pace steady when your mind wanders, and it reminds you to practice before you need it. If you already have a habit, you may not need one at all.
Is intense breathwork like Wim Hof safe?
Fast, forceful breathing styles can make you lightheaded or faint, so the Wim Hof Method’s own guidance says never to practice before or during driving, swimming or bathing. Do it sitting or lying down somewhere safe, and check with a doctor first if you’re pregnant or have epilepsy or a heart condition. If you have panic attacks, start with slow breathing instead.
Amber is the content manager and outreach specialist at Declutter The Mind. She enjoys yoga, MMA, and of course, meditation!
