Calm is the app most people reach for when they want to slow down, and its subscription funds a huge library of sleep stories and courses. But strip a meditation app to its essentials and you get three things: a timer, a pacer for your breath, and some quiet. None of those need an account or a fee. So we built Stillpoint, a guided breathing tool that runs right here in your browser. Pick a pattern, pick a length, tap start. Free, no download, no signup.
Start a breathing session
Tap “Start breathing” and follow the circle. Three minutes of box breathing is a good default.
How to use it
The circle grows as you breathe in, pauses while you hold, and shrinks as you breathe out. Match it and the pattern does the rest. Three patterns cover most situations:
- Box (4-4-4-4): equal counts in, hold, out, hold. A steady reset for a stressful moment in the middle of the day.
- Relax (4-7-8): a long exhale that leans on the body’s slow-down response. Best in bed or before something that makes you nervous.
- Coherent (5-5): simple five-count in and out, no holds. The easiest one to sustain, good for beginners and longer sessions.
Sessions run 1, 3 or 5 minutes with a countdown, and finishing one updates your sessions-today count and day streak. There is an optional ambient soundscape, a soft ocean-like bed synthesized in your browser, muted by default with a visible toggle. If motion bothers you, the tool respects your system’s reduced motion setting and swaps the growing circle for a progress ring with written cues. Your stats and settings are saved on this device only. Nothing leaves your browser.
How it compares to Calm
Stillpoint covers one job: paced breathing with a timer, done well and free. Calm’s breathing bubble does the same thing, and if that is all you use Calm for, a browser tab now does it without the subscription.
But breathing is not really what people pay Calm for. The subscription buys the Sleep Stories library, with hundreds of narrated bedtime tracks and new ones added weekly. It buys the Daily Calm, multi-day courses on anxiety and focus, a large catalog of guided meditations from experienced teachers, and soundscapes recorded rather than synthesized. It also syncs your history across devices and tracks your practice over time.
Our version keeps the pacer, the three patterns that matter, the session timer, and the streak. It deliberately drops everything narrated, every course, and the account. If you fall asleep to Sleep Stories or you want a structured meditation program with a real teacher’s voice, the subscription is genuinely worth it and we will not pretend otherwise. If you just need two minutes of guided breathing between meetings, you already have it on this page.
Get the full app
Calm is made by Calm.com, Inc and remains the most complete relaxation app on Android. The free tier includes a handful of meditations and the breathing tool; the premium subscription unlocks the full library of sleep stories, courses, and music.
Frequently asked questions
Is Calm free?
Partly. The app is free to install and includes a small set of meditations, the breathing exercise, and one free sleep story. The full library requires Calm Premium, a paid subscription billed yearly, with a lifetime option also available. The breathing tool on this page is completely free with no upsells.
Is this the real Calm app?
No. Stillpoint is an original tool we built, inspired by the breathing exercise inside Calm. We are not affiliated with Calm.com, Inc in any way. If you want the sleep stories, courses, and guided meditations, use the download links above.
Does guided breathing actually help?
Slow, paced breathing is one of the better-studied quick relaxation techniques, and patterns like 4-7-8 and box breathing are widely used to settle the nervous system before sleep or stressful moments. That said, this is a relaxation tool, not medical advice. If you deal with ongoing anxiety, insomnia, or breathing problems, talk to a doctor rather than relying on an app, ours included.
Does it work offline?
Yes. The whole tool is a single small page with sounds synthesized on your device, so once it has loaded it keeps working without a connection. Your session counts and streak are stored in your browser on this device only and are never uploaded anywhere.
