Paced Breathing vs Breath Lab
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Paced Breathing
This app guides users through breathing exercises using visual, audio, and haptic cues. It helps with stress relief, meditation, lung strengthening, and falling asleep. Join thousands of users who find daily calm and improved well-being.
- 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
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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 * Playlists for multiple breath presets * 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. 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.
Breath Lab
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Breath Lab is the pranayama app. Not a meditation app with breathing bolted on — the classical breath is the entire practice. Eighteen traditional techniques, rooted in the ancient Indian yoga tradition, with the teaching, the cautions, and the science each one deserves. BREATHWORKS INCLUDED Explore a wide library of classical techniques, including Ujjayi, Nadi Shodhana, Bhastrika, Kapalabhati, Bhramari, Anulom Vilom, Chandra Bhedana, Surya Bhedana, Sama Vritti (Box Breathing), Vishama Vritti, Sitali, Sitkari, Kumbhaka, Murcha, 4-7-8, and more. Every technique is rooted in time-tested pranayama, taught faithfully. LEARN AND DEEPEN YOUR PRACTICE Each breathwork includes: • The purpose and intention behind the technique • Historical background and traditional context • Health and wellness benefits, with references to scientific literature • Plainly stated safety cautions • Step-by-step instructions — for both personal practice and teaching PRACTICE WITH THE BREATHWORK PLAYER A fully configurable session, guided by real-time visual and audio cues: • Set your own durations for inhale, retention, exhale, and empty-lung holds • Choose how many rounds to practice • Tailor the sound — voice guidance, breathing cues, countdowns, and ambient music • The same technique scales from your first day to your fifth year JOURNEYS Follow multi-day journeys built around a single goal — sleep, focus, energy, calm, grounding. Start free with 5 Dimensions of Pranayama, a five-day introduction. TRACK HOW YOU FEEL Check in before and after every session. Breath Lab logs the shift in how you feel, so you can see what each practice actually does for you. ACHIEVEMENTS Earn achievements as you practice, reflect, and return — for completing sessions, trying new techniques, and showing up consistently. A quiet way to mark progress, never a gamified scoreboard. UNLOCK BREATH LAB PREMIUM Premium opens the complete practice: • Every technique in the library, from foundational to advanced • Every journey, each built around a single goal • Early access to new techniques as they're added Teaching guides, the configurable player, and mood tracking are free for everyone. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Breath Lab Premium is an auto-renewable subscription, available monthly or annually [price shown at checkout in your local currency]. Try Premium free for 7 days on the annual plan. Your annual subscription begins after the trial unless you cancel. Payment is charged to your Apple account at confirmation of purchase. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or turn off auto-renewal anytime in your App Store account settings after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://breathlab.studio/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://breathlab.studio/terms-of-service
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Breath Lab at none against Paced Breathing's shown. Paced Breathing's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. Paced Breathing sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Breath Lab sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Paced Breathing ships an update every 2 weeks, Breath Lab every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Paced Breathing | Breath Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (241 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 84.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 241 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 82 MB | 135 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Paced Breathing LLC | Sequence Studios Ltd. |
In-app purchases
Paced Breathing
- PacedBreathing+ (1 month)$1.991 Month
- PacedBreathing+ (1 month)$3.991 Month
- PacedBreathing+ (1 year)7 Days trial$9.991 Year
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- PacedBreathing+ (1 year)7 Days trial$19.991 Year
Breath Lab
- Premium Access (1 Month)$5.991 Month
- Breath Lab Premium • Monthly$7.991 Month
- Premium Access (6 Months)$29.996 Months
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- Breath Lab Premium • Annual$49.991 Year
- Premium Access (1 Year)$56.901 Year
Questions
Is Paced Breathing free?
Is Breath Lab free?
Do Paced Breathing or Breath Lab have ads?
Which is updated more often, Paced Breathing or Breath Lab?
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