Breathe2Relax vs ACT Coach
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Breathe2Relax
Learn diaphragmatic breathing for stress management. This app offers detailed information on stress's effects and guided exercises to improve mood, control anger, and manage anxiety. It integrates with Apple Watch to track heart rate during sessions.
- Stress management information
- Diaphragmatic breathing exercises
- Mood stabilization
- Anger control
- Anxiety management
- Heart rate tracking with Apple Watch
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Breathe2Relax is a portable stress management tool which provides detailed information on the effects of stress on the body and instructions and practice exercises to help users learn the stress management skill called diaphragmatic breathing.Breathing exercises have been documented to decrease the body’s ‘fight-or-flight’ (stress) response, and help with mood stabilization, anger control, and anxiety management. Breathe2Relax can be used as a stand-alone stress reduction tool, or can be used in tandem with clinical care directed by a healthcare worker. Breathe2Relax now uses HealthKit and your Apple Watch device to measure your heart rate throughout your breathing exercise to help provide an even more complete picture of the relaxation experienced.
ACT Coach
This app helps users practice Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to manage difficult thoughts and feelings. It provides exercises, tools, and tracking logs to support living a value-driven life. Developed in consultation with therapists, it's designed for individuals undergoing ACT.
- ACT exercises
- Tools for managing thoughts
- Commitment to values
- Tracking logs
- Information on ACT
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) aims to help you live with unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and impulses without avoiding them or being controlled by them. In ACT, you are encouraged to commit to actions so that you can live your life by your values, even in the face of these unpleasant experiences. This app was developed for Veterans, Service members, and other people who are in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in consultation with a therapist. It offers exercises, tools, information, and tracking logs so you can practice what you’re learning in your daily life. ACT Coach was created by VA’s National Center for PTSD.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ACT Coach at 4.6 against Breathe2Relax's 4.2. Breathe2Relax's advantage is ratings volume (316 vs 16) and review sentiment (78% vs 63%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ACT Coach holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Breathe2Relax has 316 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 78% of Breathe2Relax's written reviews are positive against 63% of ACT Coach's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Breathe2Relax ships an update every 24 months, ACT Coach every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Breathe2Relax | ACT Coach |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (316 ratings) | 4.6 (16 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 77.9% of reviews — better | 62.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 316 — better | 16 |
| Update frequency | Every 24 months | Every 14 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 117 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Defense Health Agency | US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) |
Customer experience
Breathe2Relax
ACT Coach
Bugs and requests
Breathe2Relax
Reported bugs
3 issues- Videos not playing due to connectivity issues
- App crashing or freezing on some devices
- Inability to connect to Apple Watch
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to set custom breathing cycle duration
- More background music/nature sound options
- Different voice options for guidance
- Integration with Apple Watch/fitness tracking
- Longer breathing sessions beyond 16 cycles
ACT Coach
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Breathe2Relax
No in-app purchases
ACT Coach
No in-app purchases
