Comparison

Box Breathing vs BreathWise

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

Head to head
About

Box Breathing

This minimalist app guides you through a four-part breathing pattern with a visual timer. It's designed for simple, distraction-free mindfulness and relaxation routines, helping you focus and slow your breathing.

Highlights
  • Visual box breathing guide
  • Four-part breathing pattern
  • Customizable phase duration
  • Live countdown timer
  • Round counter
  • Play, pause, and reset controls
  • Minimalist design
Features
Read full description

Box Breath is a minimalist box breathing app that uses a simple visual guide to help you follow a steady breathing pattern: inhale, hold, exhale, hold. The app opens to a clean interface with a square breathing guide, a countdown timer, and easy controls so you can begin right away. Whether you want a short breathing break during the day or a simple way to slow down and refocus, Box Breath keeps the experience straightforward and distraction-free. Features • Visual box breathing guide that highlights each phase of the cycle • Four-part breathing pattern: inhale, hold, exhale, hold • Custom duration control from 2 to 10 seconds per phase • Live countdown timer for each step • Round counter to track completed breathing cycles • Play, pause, and reset controls for quick use anytime • Minimal design with no clutter, so you can focus on your breath Box Breath is designed for people who want a simple breathing exercise, calm breathing timer, or mindfulness breathing app without unnecessary complexity. Use Box Breath for: • daily breathing practice • quiet focus breaks • moments when you want to slow your breathing • simple mindfulness and relaxation routines Take a moment, follow the rhythm, and breathe one box at a time.

About

BreathWise

Guided breathing exercises to improve well-being in just minutes a day. Choose from pre-set programs or customize your own breath patterns. Track progress and integrate with Apple Health.

Highlights
  • Guided breathing programs
  • Customizable breath patterns
  • Offline functionality
  • Progress tracking and statistics
  • Apple Health integration
  • Focus timers
  • Breathing stories
Features
Read full description

Breathe better in three minutes a day. Prana Breath turns classic pranayama into a simple, guided practice: pick how you want to feel, follow the animated breath circle, and let the app handle the counting, the cues and the timing. WHY PEOPLE KEEP COMING BACK • Zero setup — open the app, tap one card, start breathing • Every session is guided by sound, haptics and a calm visual rhythm • Works offline, no account required to practise EIGHT GUIDED PROGRAMS Clear Mind · Relax · Calming · Power · Harmony · Anti-Stress · Anti-Appetite · Cigarette Replace Choose a goal — stress, sleep, focus or anxiety — and each program adapts its length and pacing to what you came for. FULL CONTROL OF YOUR BREATH Build your own pattern with all four phases: inhale, retain, exhale and sustain. Set any ratio you like — 4-4-4-4 box breathing, 4-7-8 for winding down, long-exhale ratios for calm, or your teacher's own sequence. Adjust cycles, ratios and round counts, then save it as a custom pattern. DEEP BREATHWORK SESSIONS Longer guided journeys with rounds of deep breathing, breath holds and recovery, inspired by Bhastrika pranayama practice. Adjustable speed, on-screen round tracking and a safety briefing before you begin. FOCUS, NOT JUST CALM • Pranadoro — a focus timer that puts a real breathing break between work blocks • Prana Focus — a distraction-free timer for deep work sessions • Breathing Stories — short guided narratives to follow when you don't want to think SEE YOUR PROGRESS Charts and statistics for sessions, minutes, streaks and consistency. Export your log any time. Home-screen widgets keep your streak in view, and a Live Activity shows the current phase right on your Lock Screen while you practise. APPLE HEALTH Write your breathing sessions to Apple Health as mindful minutes and read your respiratory rate back — all opt-in, and only with your permission. STAY CONSISTENT Flexible reminders for any time of day, plus a motivator library of short prompts to nudge you back to the cushion. MAKE IT YOURS Nine hand-tuned themes with full light and dark support, alternate app icons, per-phase background sounds and metronome cues, and haptics you can dial in or switch off completely. A COMMUNITY THAT BREATHES TOO Join rooms to share how a practice went, react to others and follow along — or keep the app entirely to yourself. PRANA BREATH PREMIUM Premium unlocks unlimited custom patterns, the full breathwork and story libraries, advanced insights and every theme. Available as a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; manage or cancel any time in your App Store account settings. Prana Breath supports a general wellness and relaxation practice. It is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition. If you are pregnant, have a heart or respiratory condition, or feel unwell, talk to a doctor before starting breath-hold practice — and never practise breath holds in or near water. Privacy Policy: https://www.breathwise.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Box Breathing4 screens
BreathWise4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Box Breathing at 5.0 against BreathWise's 4.0. Box Breathing also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ads (none vs shown). BreathWise's advantage is ratings volume (4 vs 1). On price, update cadence, device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. BreathWise sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Box Breathing asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Box Breathing holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Box Breathing ships an update every 5 days, BreathWise every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 4 level
Box Breathing versus BreathWise: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBox BreathingBreathWise
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.0 (4 ratings)
Number of ratings14 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB61 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperAnkush SharmaPhuong Trinh Hoang Nguyen

Customer experience

Box Breathing

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

BreathWise

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Box Breathing

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

BreathWise

Subscriptions4
  • Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Monthly access$17.991 Month
  • Yearly Promo Offer$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly3 Days trial2 variants$39.991 Year
One-time2
  • Lifetime Access — One-Time Payment$19.99
  • Lifetime Offer$59.99

Questions

Is Box Breathing free?
Box Breathing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BreathWise free?
BreathWise is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Box Breathing or BreathWise?
Box Breathing is rated higher. Box Breathing averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while BreathWise averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Box Breathing or BreathWise have ads?
BreathWise shows ads; Box Breathing does not.
Which is updated more often, Box Breathing or BreathWise?
Box Breathing ships an update every 5 days, and BreathWise every 8 days. Most recently, Box Breathing was updated on October 31, 2026 and BreathWise on October 31, 2026.

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