Breathwrk alternatives, compared honestly

What Breathwrk does well

• It’s a proper app on iOS, Android and the web, with 50+ breathing exercises sorted by what you want: calm, sleep, energy, performance.
• Pro adds guided classes from coaches (3 new ones a day, its page says), breath-hold challenges and music.
• If you’re a Peloton All-Access, Guide or App+ member, Breathwrk is free for you. Literally free.

Why you might look elsewhere

• It’s a subscription, so you pay for as long as you use it.
• Its home page lists Pro at $4.08 a month on the annual plan or $9.00 monthly, while its Pro page lists $5.75 a month paid annually or $12.00 monthly. Check the price at checkout.
• Its billing FAQ says subscriptions bought on its website or through a promotion aren’t refunded, so cancel before the renewal date.
• It’s breathwork only. If you also want chakras or kundalini yoga, you’ll need something else too.

The alternatives at a glance

1. Othership: the closest swap

Othership is another breathwork-only app, with 500+ guided sessions set to music, split into “up” (energising), “down” (calming) and “all around”. Its annual plan works out to $10.83 a month with a 14-day trial, and monthly is $17.99. So it costs more than Breathwrk, but if music-backed sessions are your thing, it’s the one to try. Breathwrk vs Othership goes deeper.

2. Insight Timer: the free one

Insight Timer’s help centre says the app has over 300,000 free guided practices, breathing ones included, plus hundreds of free courses. MemberPlus ($59.99 a year or $9.99 a month) adds thousands more courses and offline downloads. It isn’t a breathwork app, so you’ll be picking tracks from lots of different teachers rather than following one method.

3. Breathwork Babe: learn it once, keep it

This one’s ours, so grain of salt. Breathwork Babe: 7 lessons, about 66 minutes of practice, $27, paid once with lifetime access and a 14-day refund. It teaches seven breaths properly: box breathing, 4-7-8, alternate nostril, coherent breathing, breath of fire (with a plain safety box) and a five-minute daily routine. Every lesson has a breath pacer, a little cloud that grows as you breathe in, so you never count in your head.

Where we lose: there’s no app, no audio or video yet, and no new classes every day. You learn the breaths, then you do them on your own with the pacer. If you want fresh guided sessions daily, an app suits you better.

Who should stick with Breathwrk

• Peloton All-Access, Guide and App+ members, since it costs them nothing.
• Anyone who wants a phone app with new guided classes every day and breath-hold challenges.
• People who like picking an exercise by mood and pressing play.