Comparison

Insight Timer vs Pause Breathwork Exercises

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

Head to head
About

Insight Timer

Access thousands of guided meditations, music tracks, and talks from world-renowned experts to calm your mind, reduce anxiety, and improve sleep. Daily new content is added, catering to both beginners and experienced practitioners.

Highlights
  • Thousands of guided meditations
  • Music tracks and ambient sounds
  • Meditation timer
  • Community discussion groups
  • Progress tracking
  • Offline listening (premium)
Features
Read full description

* Apps of the Year Winner - TIME magazine and Womens Health * * More time is spent meditating on Insight Timer than all other meditation apps * * Happiest App in the World - Tristan Harris * The number 1 free meditation app. Guided meditations and talks led by the world's top meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and teachers from Stanford, Harvard, the University of Oxford and more. Music tracks from world-renowned artists. Join millions learning to meditate on Insight Timer to help calm the mind, reduce anxiety, manage stress, sleep deeply and improve happiness. With 80+ new free guided meditations added daily, more meditation is practiced on Insight Timer than anywhere else. Great for both beginners and experienced practitioners. FREE FEATURES: * Thousands of guided meditations * Select by time for short meditations when on the go, helping you to build a simple daily habit * Thousands of music tracks and ambient sounds to calm the mind, focus, sleep better and relax * The world's most popular meditation Timer * Follow your favourite teachers * Thousands of discussion groups and community features * Stats and milestones for tracking your progress * Integration with Apple Health Mindful Minutes Browse popular topics including: * Sleep deeply * Dealing with Anxiety and Reducing Stress * Getting through Recovery and Addictions * Self-love and Compassion * Focus and Concentration * Leadership * Better Relationships * Loving-Kindness * And much more.. Join leading meditation teachers and musicians including: * Tara Brach, Ph.D, founder of Insight Meditation Community of Washington * Mark Williams, Emeritus Professor at Oxford University * Jack Kornfield, Dartmouth, co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society alongside fellow Insight Timer teachers Sharon Salzberg, and Joseph Goldstein of Columbia * Gil Fronsdal, Ph.D. at Stanford University * Ram Das aka Dr Richard Alpert, Doctorate at Stanford and Harvard University teacher * Sadhguru, Indian yogi, founder of non-profit Isha Foundation * Mooji, disciple of Papaji, and devotee of the master Ramana Maharshi * Moby, international recording artist, DJ, record producer, singer, songwriter * As well as Sarah Blondin, Mary Maddux, Ajahn Achalo, Melissa Ambrosini, Bodhipaksa, Jonathan Lehmann, Jennifer Piercy, Bethany Auriel-Hagan, Kate James and many more.. Practice the following meditation types: * Secular Mindfulness * Buddhist Mindfulness * Zen * Insight Meditation * Vipassana * MBSR * Walking Meditation * Breathing Meditation * Kundalini Yoga * Metta * Advaita Vedanta * And many more.. Join community groups for: * Beginners * Poetry * Atheism * Christianity * Hinduism * Transcendental Meditation * And many more.. PAID FEATURE - INSIGHT PREMIUM MEDITATION We have one optional in-app subscription. * Insight Courses * Listen offline (download guided meditations to your device) * Advanced Player (Repeat mode, Fast forward and Rewind, Pick-up where you left off) * High-Quality audio The subscription is available annually for US$59.99/year, or monthly for US$9.99/month. Payment will be charged through your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase, and will automatically renew at the end of each term unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings, but refunds will not be provided for unused portions of the term. Prices and currency will vary by location. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription, where applicable. The subscription will renew at the same cost. If you have any questions, please reach out to us over here: https://help.insighttimer.com Privacy Policy - https://insighttimer.com/legal/privacy-policy Terms and Conditions - https://insighttimer.com/legal/terms-of-service

About

Pause Breathwork Exercises

This app offers guided breathwork sessions to reduce stress, anxiety, and emotional blockages. It provides various exercises for different needs, from quick relaxation to deeper healing, helping users find inner peace and improve sleep.

Highlights
  • Guided breathwork sessions
  • Stress and anxiety reduction
  • Emotional healing
  • Improved sleep quality
  • Beginner to advanced levels
  • Short and long sessions
Features
Read full description

Clear stress, release anxiety, & heal from stuck emotions that cause overwhelm in the body. Using nothing but your breath. Pause Breathwork is the #1 breathwork app for sleep, clearing stress and anxiety, and feeling energized. We’ve developed the perfect breathwork app for beginners, intermediate, and advanced users with hundreds of breathwork sessions and breathing exercises to choose from. We believe that constant stress and anxiety should not be considered “part of the norm”. That’s why we developed the Pause Breathwork app. To give you access to the transformational effects of breathwork in your pocket, and everywhere you go. Breathwork has a wide range of scientifically proven cognitive, emotional, and physical benefits. Clear your mind and release any doubt, judgment, or limiting beliefs that are holding you back. Embody self-love and tap further into your intuition. Find inner peace, reconnect with your center, ground yourself, and open your heart to infinite possibilities. Release yourself from physical pain, emotional barriers, and energetic blocks. Stimulate your nervous system to increase your energy levels naturally. Put your mind and body into an ideal state for optimal sleep and restoration. And so much more… After just 90 seconds of Breathwork you will experience improved mental clarity, increased performance, reduced stress, and increased levels of energy, vitality, bliss, peace, and happiness. There are a lot of breathing exercises being taught out there with the main goal or outcome being “relaxation”, but with Pause, relaxation and connection are an after effect of the practice. The main goal and outcome with Pause is to unearth the stuck energy that prevents us from living in our highest alignment and operating in elevated frequencies. Pause: Breathwork uses intentional stimulation (breath, music, and movement) to regulate the nervous system and bring your body back into balance. Our breathwork tracks range from 5 minutes to 40 minutes, so you can select the type of session that fits best with your schedule. You can choose our 5 minute “Take a breather” audios for a quick hit, or dive into a 20-40 minute “Go on a journey” full body experience. No matter the time of the day, we have audios to help you optimize your emotional state, energize your body upon waking up, or to calm your mind down so you can sleep restfully. Choose the type of breathwork exercise that fits your daily needs best: Breathers: short breathing exercises that are 3, 5, or 10 minutes in length. Designed to give you ultimate relaxation, healing, and energy in a short amount of time. Breathwork Journeys: longer breathing exercises that are 25 or 45 minutes in length. Designed to be practiced while you’re laying down to deliver deeper healing. These exercises are intended to clear stuck heaviness, emotions, and mental blocks. LIVE Breathwork: available in our online community, ask questions, and go deeper in your healing transformation. You are only one breath away from feeling clear, powerful, and at ease in your body. Try the Pause Breathwork app FREE for your first two weeks. Then choose the subscription option that suits your individual needs best: Annual subscription (60% savings) for $68.99/year or $5.83/month Monthly subscription for $14.99/month Bring your body back into balance, and clear the stress, with Pause Breathwork. For more information about breathwork and the mobile app, visit the Pause Breathwork website: https://www.pausebreathwork.com/app?AppStore For Terms and Conditions, see: https://www.pausebreathwork.com/terms/#terms

Screenshots

Insight Timer4 screens
Pause Breathwork Exercises4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Insight Timer at none against Pause Breathwork Exercises's shown. Insight Timer also leads on ratings volume (447K vs 325) and update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks). Pause Breathwork Exercises's advantage is review sentiment (96% vs 70%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Insight Timer sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Pause Breathwork Exercises sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. 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 — 4.9 for Insight Timer against 4.9 for Pause Breathwork Exercises. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Insight Timer has 447K ratings behind it against 325, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 70% of Insight Timer's written reviews are positive against 96% of Pause Breathwork Exercises's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Insight Timer ships an update weekly, Pause Breathwork Exercises every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Insight Timer versus Pause Breathwork Exercises: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInsight TimerPause Breathwork Exercises
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (447K ratings)4.9 (325 ratings)
Positive reviews70.0% of reviews96.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings447K — better325
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#16 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size243 MB125 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperInsight Network IncPause Breathwork

Customer experience

Insight Timer

All ratings446,623 ratings
Positive98.2%
Neutral1.0%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews2,819 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral7.0%
Negative23.1%

Pause Breathwork Exercises

All ratings325 ratings
Positive98.2%
Neutral1.2%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews75 reviews
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.3%
Negative2.7%

User reviews

Insight Timer

From 447K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💤 Great for sleep and relaxation
  • 🌍 Diverse range of teachers and content
  • 🕰️ Customizable timer with bells/chimes
  • 🆓 Generous free content
  • 🧠 Helps with anxiety, stress, and mental health

Room to improve

  • 🤖 Overly commercialized with constant upselling
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns with mandatory account creation
  • 🔀 Confusing and cluttered user interface
  • 🐛 Bugs, crashes, and technical issues
  • 🔒 Paywall blocking access to core features

Pause Breathwork Exercises

From 325 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Powerful breathwork practices
  • 👍 Convenient and easy to use
  • 🙌 Transformative impact on users
  • 🎨 Beautiful and intuitive app design
  • 🗣️ Soothing and calming guidance

Room to improve

  • 💰 Concerns about business practices and pricing
  • 🎵 Distracting background music in some sessions
  • ⏱️ Mismatch between displayed and actual session lengths

Bugs and requests

Insight Timer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Timer frequently pausing or shutting down during use
  • Inconsistent tracking of meditation streaks and progress
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Inability to leave reviews for meditations

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to sort/filter bookmarked meditations
  • Option to disable opening quotes and mood check-ins
  • Improved offline functionality and caching
  • More customization options for the timer
  • Better community features and social integration

Pause Breathwork Exercises

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Reported issues with losing access to paid content
  • Complaints about inconsistent information from sales team

Requested features

3 requests
  • More variety in background music options
  • Ability to filter sessions by breath technique
  • Improved user experience when navigating back to session list

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Insight Timer

Subscriptions4
  • Insight Premium Meditation$9.991 Month
  • Insight Premium Meditation7 Days trial2 variants$59.991 Year
  • Insight Premium Meditation1 Month trial$59.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • MemberPlus Family7 Days trial$89.991 Year
One-time8
  • Teacher Donation (XS)$1.99
  • Meditation Course: Single Use$4.99
  • Teacher Donation (S)$4.99
Show 5 more
  • Meditation Course: Multi Use$19.99
  • Truth Anxiety course – Own$19.99
  • Teacher Donation (M)$19.99
  • Teacher Donation (L)$49.99
  • Teacher Donation (XL)$99.99
2 purchases

Pause Breathwork Exercises

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Annual14 Days trial$68.991 Year

Questions

Is Insight Timer free?
Insight Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pause Breathwork Exercises free?
Pause Breathwork Exercises is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Insight Timer or Pause Breathwork Exercises?
Insight Timer and Pause Breathwork Exercises are both rated 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store, from 447K and 325 ratings respectively.
Do Insight Timer or Pause Breathwork Exercises have ads?
Pause Breathwork Exercises shows ads; Insight Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Insight Timer or Pause Breathwork Exercises?
Insight Timer ships an update weekly, and Pause Breathwork Exercises every 5 weeks. Most recently, Insight Timer was updated on September 25, 2026 and Pause Breathwork Exercises on September 15, 2026.

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