Comparison

Breathe vs Box breathing

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Breathe

This app offers guided breathing exercises designed to promote relaxation, focus, and stress relief. Users can choose from pre-set patterns like Equal Breathing, Box Breathing, and 4-7-8 Breathing, or create their own custom routines. It also includes features for tracking progress and mindful minutes.

Highlights
  • Guided breathing exercises
  • Custom breathing pattern creation
  • Mindful minutes tracking
  • Breath holding test
  • Breathing reminders
  • Nature soundscapes
  • Progress tracking charts
Features
Read full description

Relax, focus, and become stress-free with different breathing exercises Breathe has 3 default breathing exercises and allows you to create your own custom breathing patterns: - Equal Breathing: helps you to relax, focus, and be present. - Box Breathing: also known as four-square breathing, is a simple and highly effective technique for stress relief. - 4-7-8 Breathing: also called “The Relaxing Breath” promotes better sleep. The exercise is described as a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system that eases the body into a state of calmness. - Custom Pattern: create unlimited breathing patterns and fine-tune the inhale, exhale, and hold time by 0.1 second Features: - Apple Watch app — practice anywhere, leave your phone behind, and sync mindful minutes to Apple Health - Connect with the Health App to track your mindful minutes - Breath Holding Test to test and track your breath-holding capacity - Set notifications to get breathe reminders - Guided breathing with Male/Female voice-overs or Bell cue - Nature sound in the background for a soothing experience - Track your progress with intuitive charts - Fully customizable: change durations, sound, & voices as per your preference - Change time duration based on number of cycles - Dark mode - Access to all the features with no restrictions Terms Of Use: https://havabee.com/breathe/privacy.html Privacy Policy: https://havabee.com/breathe/privacy.html Important: If you have any problem with this application, please contact us at breathe@havabee.com before down rating, we will help you resolve your issue.

About

Box breathing

This app guides you through structured breathing exercises to promote relaxation and reduce stress. It utilizes the box breathing technique with timed phases and haptic feedback to help you achieve a calmer state in minutes. Ideal for unwinding, resetting, or improving sleep.

Highlights
  • Box breathing technique
  • Guided breathing exercises
  • 3 distinct modes (Calm, Balance, Sleep)
  • Haptic feedback
  • Built-in metronome
  • Apple Health integration
Features
Read full description

Need to calm down fast? breathcode is a simple and powerful app that guides you through deep breathing exercises and breathwork using box breathing (also known as square breathing) - a structured technique designed to help you slow your breathing and feel calmer in about 5 minutes. Breathing and the body work as one system. When you intentionally change your breathing rhythm, your body responds. With breathcode, you enter a steady tempo first, then gradually slow the pace - and as intensity drops, it becomes easier to relax. ** How box breathing works: Each cycle has 4 phases: 1. Inhale 2. Hold 3. Exhale 4. Hold You repeat the cycle for a short session and follow a smooth rhythm that feels grounded and controlled. ** Features: * 3 guided modes: * Calm Down - for moments of overwhelm * Find Balance - to reset and center * Go Deep (Sleep) - for winding down before bed * Guided exercises with haptics * A built-in metronome keeps every phase precise, so you can stop counting and simply follow the beat * Apple Health integration to support your routine and log sessions ** Use breathcode when you want to: * Reduce stress and mental overload * Unwind before sleep or after a long day * Reset between meetings, study blocks, or difficult conversations * Build a consistent daily calming habit in minutes * Reset after workouts and return to a steady rhythm ** Designed for daily practice: No complicated settings. No distractions. Just a clean, focused breathing guide you can rely on anytime. Important: breathcode is a wellness app and is not a medical device. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XRYtPR8NOlMMSDEs9AVCNEg6M7LbydRMk_0whPMEVg4/

Screenshots

Breathe4 screens
Box breathing4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Breathe at 324 against Box breathing's 3. Box breathing's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Breathe sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.49 per month and Box breathing sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Breathe against 5.0 for Box breathing. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Breathe has 324 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 99% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Breathe ships an update every 6 weeks, Box breathing every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Breathe versus Box breathing: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBreatheBox breathing
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (324 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews99.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings324 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.6
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB94 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMustafa BhatkarAleh Kasaryn

Customer experience

Breathe

All ratings323 ratings
Positive99.7%
Neutral0.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews475 reviews
Positive99.2%
Neutral0.4%
Negative0.4%

Box breathing

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Breathe

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional crashes or freezes
  • Compatibility issues on older devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • More voice/audio options
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Advanced breathing metrics and analytics

Box breathing

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Breathe

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Tip 1$0.491 Month
  • Monthly Tip 2$1.491 Month
  • Monthly Tip 3$5.491 Month
Show 1 more
  • Monthly Tip 4$10.991 Month
One-time6
  • Tea$0.99
  • Ice Cream$1.99
  • Breakfast$2.99
Show 3 more
  • Lunch$4.99
  • Lunch and Dinner$10.99
  • Dinner and Movie$22.99
2 purchases

Box breathing

Subscriptions2
  • Premium weekly$1.997 Days
  • Premium monthly with trial3 Days trial$4.991 Month

Questions

Is Breathe free?
Breathe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Box breathing free?
Box breathing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Breathe or Box breathing?
Box breathing is rated higher. Breathe averages 5.0 out of 5 from 324 ratings, while Box breathing averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Breathe or Box breathing have ads?
Neither Breathe nor Box breathing shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Breathe or Box breathing?
Breathe ships an update every 6 weeks, and Box breathing every 8 days. Most recently, Breathe was updated on November 3, 2026 and Box breathing on October 30, 2026.

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