Comparison

Always Pause vs XiKe

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

Head to head
About

Always Pause

Access a curated collection of over 50 science-backed breathing exercises designed for calm, sleep, focus, and energy. This app offers a simple, ad-free experience with haptic guidance on Apple Watch and home screen widgets.

Highlights
  • 50+ science-backed breathing techniques
  • Four moods: calm, sleep, focus, energy
  • Haptic guidance on Apple Watch
  • One-tap rescue feature
  • Home screen and lock screen widgets
  • Ad-free and tracker-free design
Features
Read full description

Sometimes you just need to breathe. Pause+ is a quiet library of 50 breathing techniques — box, 4-7-8, physiological sigh, coherence, and more. Each one is real, researched, and ready the moment you need it. No streaks. No programs. No notifications chasing you down. Open the app, pick what you need, breathe, close it. What's inside · 50 science-backed breathing techniques · Four moods — calm, sleep, focus, energy · Haptic guidance on Apple Watch — phone-free breathing, anywhere · One-tap rescue for the hard moments · Widgets for your home screen, lock screen, and Control Center Who it's for For people who've tried the other apps and felt worse. For anyone who wants a breathing tool, not another thing to keep up with. For the ones who want quiet — not content. Pause+ is ad-free, tracker-free, and designed to be used briefly. Practice when you need to. Don't when you don't. Breathwork, backed by science. Designed to stay out of your way.

About

XiKe

Features
Read full description

XiKe is an offline-first meditation, breathing, and bedtime wind-down app. Open and begin — no signup, no ads, no tracking, no internet required. Core practices - Sitting: 5 to 30 minutes, with enso visual and breath pacing - Bedtime: sleep timer, low-stim sounds, eyes-closed friendly (free for everyone, forever) - Focus: 25-minute pomodoro to 90-minute deep work blocks - Breathing: 4-7-8, box breathing, and other rhythm guides Full library (400+ tracks) - Nature: rain, ocean, campfire, stream, brown noise, white noise - Brainwaves: alpha, theta, delta binaural beats - Solfeggio: 432Hz, 528Hz, 741Hz and more - Cultural: guqin, shakuhachi, singing bowls, lo-fi, late-night jazz Privacy-first - Practice records stay on this device by default; export as JSON / CSV anytime - Apple Health off by default (Mindful Minutes is opt-in in Settings) - No advertising identifiers, no cross-app tracking, no analytics SDKs Universal — built for iPhone and iPad - Adaptive layouts that scale from compact to regular size class - Live Activities on Dynamic Island and Lock Screen - Home Screen widgets for streak, today's minutes, and weekly chart 9 interface languages English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese. Pricing — pay once, own it forever - Lifetime $29.99 — pay once, own forever, no renewals, no subscription Unique in this category: Calm and Headspace both charge $69.99 per year on a recurring subscription. XiKe is a one-time purchase. Sleep mode is free for everyone with no time limit. XiKe is a daily relaxation companion, not a substitute for medical or mental health advice.

Screenshots

Always Pause4 screens
XiKe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: XiKe at daily against Always Pause's every 2 weeks. Always Pause's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Always Pause sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and XiKe sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Always Pause ships an update every 2 weeks, XiKe daily. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Always Pause versus XiKe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlways PauseXiKe
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB2.3 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWork OnDeck LLC易航 李

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Always Pause

Subscriptions2
  • Always Pause+7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Always Pause+7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Always Pause+ Lifetime$49.99
1 purchases

XiKe

One-time1
  • XiKe Pro — Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is Always Pause free?
Always Pause is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is XiKe free?
XiKe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Always Pause or XiKe have ads?
Neither Always Pause nor XiKe shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Always Pause or XiKe?
Always Pause ships an update every 2 weeks, and XiKe daily. Most recently, Always Pause was updated on October 28, 2026 and XiKe on October 25, 2026.

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