# Paced Breathing — Improve your breathing.

> Guided breathing exercises for stress relief, meditation, and sleep. (iPhone/iPad app by Paced Breathing LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paced-breathing/id6447217781 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Paced Breathing LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1729092070)
- Category: Health & Fitness, Utilities
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.80/5 from 195 App Store ratings · 30 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.1 · 65 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2023-04-18
- Data updated: 2026-08-27
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paced-breathing/id6447217781/reviews.md

## What is Paced Breathing?

Featured in James Nestor’s best-selling book, Breath, Paced Breathing uses visual, audio and haptic cues to guide you through your practice. Whether meditating, strengthening your lungs or simply relaxing - join the thousands who love using Paced Breathing everyday!

USES
* Relieve Stress
* Meditate — (especially good for Kundalini, Hatha, Pranayama)
* Strengthen Lungs — (improve lung capacity & aid recovery)
* Falling Asleep

FEATURES
* Adjustable timing for inhale, hold, exhale, & hold
* Heart monitoring: heart rate, HRV, & coherence (PB+)
* Ramp mode: gradually change breath times
* Visual, audio, & vibrate cues
* Reminders / notifications (PB+)
* Background playback
* Streaks, goals, & session tracking (PB+)

HEALTH BENEFITS
Regular breathing practices have been shown to help improve your:
* Cardiovascular health [1][2][3]
* Relaxation  [2]
* Stress responses [1][4][5]
* Mood [1]
* Attention [4]
* Alzheimer's risk [6] 

FROM THE DEVELOPER
I’m Mihai, an engineer born in Romania & raised in Michigan. My ideal day is working on apps to help others, like Paced Breathing. Someday I hope I can work on apps like these full time! Hearing from users makes my day, so shoot me an email with requests, bugs, things you like, or just your story: mihai@pacedbreathing.com!

USER FEEDBACK
* "The best breathing app out there (I've tried 12 apps, this is the only one that works for me). I have recommended it to over 100 people over the 7 years I've been using it. I use it at least 5 x a week. Gives me instant calm" — R. Hall

* "LOVE this app. Very simple and easy to use. You can set time for inhale, exhale, and pause after each if you wish. You can watch it or listen…Thank you! Ads Not intrusive. Ads turn off when the app is active” — Denise

* "This is a wonderfully simple app. The default sound tone is just right for me and I like that I get to set the volume and it stays there whether or not the volume of the phone ring or other apps are different" — Eleanor

* "I've never written something like this in a review but... I love whoever wrote this app :-) Gets to the point in 0.2 s. No long annoying splash screens. No attempts to extort money... Super reliable, simple and 100% effective. I was looking for something that would let me take some breaks during normal meditation to do some controlled breathing, for example our most natural pattern - continuous 5.5 s inhale, 5.5 exhale. This app lets me remain in silence, fixing my rhythm by vibrations, and just... works perfect! BRAVO. A lesson to all developers how to make useful apps!" — Adam

CITATIONS
* [1] Study published in Front Public Health (2017) shows slow rhythmic breathing decreased blood pressure response to stress & improved mood: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5575449
* [2] Study in PLOS ONE (2019) shows slow paced breathing can improve relaxation & cardiovascular function: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0218550
* [3] Study in American Journal of Cardiology (2002) shows slow, paced breathing can significantly reduce blood pressure in hypertensive patients: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16129818/
* [4] Study in Frontiers in Psychology (2017) shows diaphragmatic breathing improves attention, reduces negative affect, & lowers stress in healthy adults: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874/full
* [5] Study in Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2005) shows benefits of Sudarshan Kriya, a specific yogic breathing practice, in treating stress, anxiety, & depression: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/acm.2005.11.189
* [6] Study in Nature Scientific Reports (2023) shows slow paced breathing counters pathways that lead to Alzheimer’s disease: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-30167-0

DISCLAIMER
App not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent medical conditions. Consult a healthcare professional before starting a breathing practice, especially if you have pre-existing health conditions.

## Key features

- Adjustable inhale, hold, exhale timing
- Visual, audio, and haptic cues
- Heart monitoring (heart rate, HRV, coherence)
- Ramp mode for gradual timing changes
- Session tracking and streaks
- Background playback

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PacedBreathing+ (1 year) | $9.99 | per year |
| PacedBreathing+ (1 month) | $1.99 | per month |
| PacedBreathing+ (1 year) | $19.99 | per year |
| PacedBreathing+ (1 month) | $3.99 | per month |


## Recent user reviews (10 of 30)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/paced-breathing/id6447217781/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Needs lifetime premium option.

*2026-07-18*

I used to love and recommend this app, but they need a lifetime premium option. Not everything needs to be a subscription!

### 5/5 — Amazing tool

*2026-06-26*

Doing 10 mins of breath work in the am and pm has helped me so much ♥️🎉

### 5/5 — Very good!

*2026-05-29*

I am using Paced Breathing app for the 5.5 coherent breathing Practice recommended by James Nestor. I feel that it is helping my nervous system., Specifically my hyper sensitivity to light,  movement and sound.

### 5/5 — Great app

*2026-05-23*

A great way to get ready for bed. It has a meditative quality and it seems to improve sleep quality.

### 5/5 — Loving this!

*2026-05-09*

I love that I can dial in my specific cadence (5.8 breaths/min) with my preferred inhale (4.1 sec).  I’m using the free version and very happy with it

### 5/5 — Excelent

*2026-05-03*

Use it for biofeedback and it works

### 5/5 — So helpful

*2026-03-15*

The guided breathing with timing is so helpful as I am leasing to calm myself down.   I can close my eyes and just focus on my breath while the metronome lets me know gore long to breathe in and out.  Thank you

### 5/5 — Breathe easy

*2026-02-23*

Its very easy to use and i have seen improvements in my breathing exercises due to adding this app to my routine.

### 5/5 — Calms

*2026-02-04*

It rests and restores my nervous system.

### 1/5 — very, very basic timer

*2026-01-26, version 3.12.2*

this app is very basic and has way too many ads/notifications. I understand, a developer needs to monetize their app. Having said that, I suspect it would have taken very little effort to build this one. It is a basic timer with lipstick.

## Frequently asked questions about Paced Breathing

### What does the Paced Breathing app do?

Paced Breathing guides users through various breathing exercises using visual, audio, and haptic feedback. It is designed to help with stress relief, meditation, strengthening lungs, and improving sleep quality. The app offers customizable timing for different phases of the breath cycle.

### What are the key features of Paced Breathing?

Key features include adjustable timing for inhale, hold, and exhale phases, visual, audio, and vibrate cues, and optional heart monitoring for heart rate, HRV, and coherence. It also offers a ramp mode for gradual timing changes, session tracking, and background playback.

### How much does Paced Breathing cost?

The app is free to download and use, with optional in-app purchases available for advanced features such as heart monitoring and reminders. Users can enjoy core breathing guidance without any cost.

### What are the benefits of using Paced Breathing?

Regular use of paced breathing practices has been shown to improve cardiovascular health, enhance relaxation, reduce stress responses, improve mood, boost attention, and potentially lower Alzheimer's risk. The app facilitates these benefits through guided exercises.

### Who is the target audience for this app?

This app is ideal for anyone looking to improve their breathing for wellness purposes. This includes individuals seeking to meditate more effectively, manage stress and anxiety, improve their lung capacity, or find a natural aid for falling asleep.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.12.2 — 2026-01-26

Fixed bugs — details at https://pacedbreathing.com/status

### 3.12.1 — 2026-01-15

Fully integrated heart features into the app and fixed bugs — details at https://pacedbreathing.com/status

### 3.12.0 — 2026-01-11

Fully integrated heart features into the app and fixed bugs — details at https://pacedbreathing.com/status

### 3.11.3 — 2025-09-18

Added heart monitoring for PacedBreathing+ users — it includes tracking your heart rate, HRV, & heart coherence with a bluetooth heart rate monitor!

### 3.11.2 — 2025-09-06

Added heart monitoring for PacedBreathing+ users — it includes tracking your heart rate, HRV, & heart coherence with a bluetooth heart rate monitor!

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| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-27.*
