Box Breathing Timer
Breathing Pacer is a free, distraction-free box breathing timer that guides your breath with a soft circle expanding and contracting in time with each phase. It handles box breathing (4-4-4-4), 4-7-8, and resonant 5-5 out of the box, plus any custom timing you set. Everything runs in your browser — no account, no ads, nothing uploaded — and the screen stays awake while you breathe.
Tap the circle to start. It expands as you breathe in and contracts as you breathe out, following your chosen pattern. Open Pattern & cues to switch presets, set custom timings, or turn on a chime or vibration cue.
Ready to breathe? Tap once to start.
Use the free Breathing Pacer →Box Breathing Timer (4-4-4-4)
The pacer opens on box breathing — also known as square breathing — four equal phases of four seconds each: breathe in, hold, breathe out, hold. The circle grows as you inhale, holds its size at the top, shrinks as you exhale, and rests at the bottom, so you can follow the rhythm without counting. To change the pace, open Pattern & cues and adjust the seconds for any phase.
4-7-8 Breathing Timer
Tap the 4-7-8 preset for a longer, slower exhale — inhale for four seconds, hold for seven, and breathe out for eight, with no bottom hold. It's a calming pattern many people use as a wind-down routine. The optional chime marks each phase change so you can follow the count with your eyes closed.
Resonant & Coherent Breathing Timer (5-5)
The Resonant preset paces smooth, equal breathing with no holds — five seconds in, five seconds out, roughly six breaths a minute. This slow, even rhythm is also called coherent breathing. Because there are no holds, the circle simply rises and falls in one continuous motion.
Custom Breathing Patterns
Need a different rhythm? Open Pattern & cues and set the exact seconds for each phase with the steppers:
- Inhale (1–20s)
- Hold in (0–20s)
- Exhale (1–20s)
- Hold out (0–20s)
Set a hold to zero to skip it entirely — that's how the resonant preset flows straight from inhale to exhale. A longer exhale than inhale recreates the kind of paced breathing used to slow down and relax.
Sound and Vibration Cues
Prefer a breathing timer with sound? Turn on the Chime toggle and the pacer plays a soft, synthesized tone at each phase transition — a rising note to breathe in, a lower one to breathe out — generated live in your browser, with no audio files to download. On phones that support it, enable Vibration for a gentle haptic pulse at each transition, so you can pace your breathing entirely by feel with the screen off or your eyes closed.
Why Use This Breathing Timer
Most breathing apps ask you to install something or make an account before you can take a single breath. Breathing Pacer is a single web page: open it and start. It's free, ad-free, and private — nothing you do is uploaded or tracked to a profile, because there's nothing to sign into. One page covers every preset, the screen stays awake through a whole session via the Wake Lock API, and you can add it to your home screen to open it like an app.
Frequently asked questions
What is box breathing?
Box breathing (also called square breathing) is a paced pattern of four equal phases: breathe in for four seconds, hold for four, breathe out for four, and hold for four. People often use it to slow their breathing and steady their focus. This timer animates each phase so you don't have to count in your head.
Is box breathing the same as square breathing?
Yes. "Square breathing" and "box breathing" are two names for the same 4-4-4-4 pattern — four equal-length phases that map to the four sides of a square. Set all four phases to the same number of seconds (the default is 4) to follow it.
How many times should you repeat 4-7-8 breathing?
Many people start with about four rounds of 4-7-8 breathing and build up as it becomes comfortable. The timer loops continuously, so you can count your own rounds or simply breathe along and stop whenever you feel ready to finish.
Does 4-7-8 breathing help you fall asleep?
4-7-8 is a relaxing pattern with a long, slow exhale that many people use as a wind-down routine before bed. Whether it helps you personally is individual — this tool simply paces the pattern and can play a soft chime so you can follow it with your eyes closed.
What's the difference between box breathing and resonant breathing?
Box breathing uses four equal phases with holds (4-4-4-4), while resonant or coherent breathing uses a smooth, equal inhale and exhale with no holds — often around five seconds each, or roughly six breaths a minute. This timer includes presets for both, plus fully custom timings.
What does coherent breathing mean?
Coherent breathing (also called resonant breathing) refers to breathing at a slow, steady rate of about five to six breaths per minute, with the inhale and exhale roughly equal and no breath holds. Select the Resonant 5-5 preset to pace it automatically.
What is paced breathing in DBT?
Paced breathing is a technique — used in practices such as DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) — where you deliberately slow your breathing and make the exhale longer than the inhale. You can recreate it here by setting a shorter inhale and a longer exhale in the custom timings.
Can I use a breathing timer with sound instead of watching the screen?
Yes. Turn on the Chime toggle in settings and the timer plays a soft tone at each phase change, so you can pace your breathing with your eyes closed. On phones that support vibration you can enable a haptic cue too and follow the pattern by feel alone.
Use the free Breathing Pacer →
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