Breath counter · Free · No sign-up
Breath Counter
A breath counter keeps count of breaths you take at your own pace. For meditation, this one counts out-breaths from one to ten, starts again at one, and records each time you lose count and come back. For a breathing rate, it times a 60-second window and logs the breaths per minute.
Free, no sign-up, works offline, and nothing leaves this browser.
- Rounds completed
- 0
- Times you came back
- 0
- Longest unbroken run
- 0
- Counted
- 0
- Your pace
- —
No measurements yet.
Measurement log (0)
| When | Who | Counted | Per minute |
|---|
Space or B counts a breath, L is lost count, Ctrl+Z undoes. The whole panel is one large key, so it can be tapped with your eyes closed.
This counts and times. It does not assess breathing. It carries no normal ranges and gives no verdict on any rate, for a person or an animal: the figure that matters is the one your doctor or vet gave you. If someone is struggling to breathe, get help rather than a count. The meditation side is a counting aid, not instruction, and makes no health claim.
Most tools called a breath counter are breathing timers that count their own cycles. This one counts yours: you tap, it holds the number, and when you drift and lose count, that is recorded as a return rather than hidden.
Breath counting, called ganana in the Buddhist meditation tradition, is the practice of silently counting breaths, usually out-breaths from one to ten, and starting again at one whenever the count is lost. A breathing rate is the number of breaths taken in one minute.
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Key facts
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Price | Free, no sign-up, no ads |
| Modes | Meditation counting, and breaths per minute |
| Meditation count | 5 to 10, up from one or down from the top |
| Losing count | Its own key; recorded as a return, not an error |
| Automatic counting | None, deliberately. Every count is your tap |
| Breaths per minute | Timed 60-second count, or 30 seconds doubled |
| Log | Each rate saved with time, window and a name; copy as a table |
| Eyes closed | Yes. The whole panel is one key; Space also counts |
| Reference ranges | None. It records a rate; it does not judge it |
| Where data goes | Nowhere. Local storage in this browser only |
How to use the breath counter
Meditation first, then a breathing-rate count. Both take one tap per breath.
Sit, and let the breath be its own pace
Do not try to breathe in time with anything. The counter waits for you, which is the difference between counting and pacing.
Tap on each out-breath
The panel is one large key, so a tap anywhere on it counts. On a keyboard, Space or B does the same. The count runs one to ten and then starts again at one.
When you realise you have lost count, press Lost count
Or L. The count returns to one and the return is recorded. This is the exercise, not a slip, so there is no reason to be annoyed by it.
Change the method if your teacher uses another
Count to fewer than ten, count down instead of up, or count in-breaths and out-breaths separately. The method table below maps each tradition to the settings.
For a breathing rate, switch to Breaths per minute
Settle first and watch a few breaths. Then tap the panel to start the 60-second count and tap once for every full rise and fall of the chest.
Name it and keep the log
Type who or what you counted, such as a pet asleep. Each result is saved with the time, and Copy log gives the whole series as a table to pass on.
Where a breath counter gets used
Two quite different jobs, both of which need a count held for you while your attention is elsewhere.
Breath counting meditation
Zen and Theravada counting practice, secular mindfulness courses, and anyone who wants something to hold attention that is not an app talking at them.
Before sleep
Counting breaths lying down, with the screen dimmed and the phone face down; the panel accepts a tap anywhere.
A pet’s sleeping breathing rate
The home count vets ask for with some heart conditions. Count while the animal is asleep and keep a daily log to show at the next appointment.
Asked to count at home
When a doctor or nurse has asked for a breathing rate, count a full minute and write down the number, the time and the circumstances.
Nursing and first-aid practice
Practising a timed respiratory count on a partner, with the window kept honestly at 60 seconds.
Learning a counting method
Trying an older method, such as counting down from ten, without having to work out the arithmetic mid-breath.
A breath counter that counts for you is not counting your breath
Search for a breath counter and most of what comes back is a breathing timer: a circle that swells for four seconds, holds, and shrinks, with a number that ticks up at the end of each cycle. Several of them call that number a breath count. It is not one. A tool that advances on its own rhythm is counting its own cycles, and you are following it.
That matters more than it sounds, because of what breath counting is for. The instruction is to count your own breath, at its own pace, and to notice when the count has gone. A pacer removes both halves: the pace is no longer yours, and you cannot lose count, because the screen keeps it for you. The one event the practice is built around — realising you drifted and coming back — can no longer happen.
| Breathing timer (pacer) | Breath counter (this page) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets the rhythm | The screen | You |
| What advances the number | The end of the tool’s own cycle | Your tap, on your breath |
| Can you lose count? | No | Yes, and it is recorded |
| What the total means | How long the timer ran | How many breaths you actually counted |
| Eyes | Open, on the animation | Closed if you like; the whole panel is the key |
| Right for | Box breathing, 4-7-8, slowing down on cue | Counting meditation, and measuring a breathing rate |
Neither is wrong. Paced breathing is a real technique with its own uses, and if that is what you want, a timer is the right tool. This page simply does not do it, deliberately, because a counter with an automatic mode stops being a counter.
Losing count is the practice, so it gets its own key
Every teacher of this practice gives the same instruction, in almost the same words: count your out-breaths from one to ten, and if you lose count, or find yourself at fourteen, go back to one. Nobody is expected to reach ten every time. The point is not an unbroken count; it is noticing that the count has gone and returning without fuss.
So the number worth keeping is not the total. It is how often you came back. That is what the Lost count key records, and it is labelled as a return rather than a failure, because a return is the exercise working. A session with twelve returns is twelve times attention was caught and brought back, not twelve mistakes.
Why ten, and why not fewer than five
The range is old. Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga, the fifth-century commentary that sets out the method, says not to count below five, because the mind is cramped, and not above ten, because it wanders. The Count to setting runs from five to ten for that reason and goes no further.
The counting methods, and the setting for each
Classical sources name several ways to count, and modern teachers pick among them. Each maps to one combination of the settings above.
| Method | How it counts | Direction | Each count is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Out-breaths only | One on each exhale, to ten, then one again. The usual modern instruction, and the default here | Up from one | One whole breath |
| In-breaths only | The same, counted at the top of each inhale | Up from one | One whole breath |
| Ekaika-ganana | One on the in-breath, two on the out-breath, three on the next in-breath | Up from one | An in-breath or an out-breath |
| Dvayaika-ganana | One after a complete in-and-out cycle, two after the next | Up from one | One whole breath |
| Anuloma-ganana | Upward from one to ten, then again from one | Up from one | Either |
| Pratiloma-ganana | Downward from ten to one, then again from ten | Down from the top | Either |
The four Sanskrit names are the ones Asanga lists; the Chinese teacher Zhiyi describes counting on the in-breath, on the out-breath, or on both. When you count both halves, set Each count is to a half breath so that the pace figure stays in real breaths.
What the numbers under the key mean
Rounds completed is how many times the count reached the top. Times you came back is how often you pressed Lost count. Longest unbroken run is the most counts in a row without a return. Your pace is breaths a minute, taken from the middle value of your recent gaps between taps, so one long pause does not distort it; for reference, it is not a target.
Counting breaths per minute: the window matters more than the tap
The second job the name covers is quite different: counting how many breaths someone takes in a minute, usually because a doctor, a nurse or a vet asked for it. The counting is easy. What decides whether the number is any good is the length of the window, and the common shortcut costs more accuracy than it looks.
A breath is one full rise and fall of the chest. The standard advice is to count for a full 60 seconds; many handouts, including veterinary ones, also allow 30 seconds multiplied by two. Here is what the multiplication does to the result.
| Count for | Multiply by | Results possible | One missed or extra breath moves it by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 seconds | 1 | Any whole number | 1 |
| 30 seconds | 2 | Even numbers only | 2 |
| 15 seconds | 4 | Multiples of four only | 4 |
A half-finished breath at either edge of the window is the unavoidable error in any count, and the shortcut multiplies it. Count seven and a half breaths in thirty seconds and the answer is reported as 14 or 16, never 15. That is why 60 seconds is the default here, and why the 15-second option is not offered at all. Irregular breathing makes it worse, since a short window can land on a pause or on a run of quick breaths.
Counting without changing the thing you count
People breathe differently when they know they are being watched, which is why a clinician will often count while appearing to take a pulse. For an animal, the advice from veterinary cardiology handouts is to count while it is asleep or resting quietly, not after exercise, and for a cat, not while it is purring. The timer starts when you tap, not when the page loads, so you can settle, watch for a few breaths, and begin.
Why there is a log
Anyone asked to count at home is usually asked for a series — once a day for a week, say — because a change over time says more than any single reading. Each result is saved here with the time, the window used and an optional name, and Copy log puts the whole list on the clipboard as a table to paste or send. It is stored in this browser only, so clearing site data clears it; keep a copy somewhere else if it matters.
What it does not do
It does not say whether a rate is normal, high or low, for a person or for any species, and it shows no ranges. Normal breathing rates vary with age, species, size, sleep and illness, and the threshold that matters for a particular patient is the one their doctor or vet set. It does not use the microphone or the camera, and it does not detect breathing: every number is a tap you made.
Online counter vs a clicker, an app, paper and a spreadsheet
Every counting method trades something away. This is what each one actually costs you.
| Feature | This online counter | Handheld clicker | Counter phone app | Pen and paper | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | $5–$15 | Free with ads, or paid | Cost of paper | Subscription |
| Anything to install | No | Buy the device | App store download | No | Yes, or a web login |
| Several counts at once | Unlimited | One per device | Usually limited | Yes, messy | Yes |
| Fix a miscount | Undo and redo | Start over | Sometimes | Cross it out | Edit the cell |
| Counts by more than one | Any step size | One at a time | Sometimes | Manual maths | Yes |
| Below zero | Yes | No | Rarely | Yes | Yes |
| Keeps the count if you close it | Saves automatically | Until you reset the dial | Yes | If you keep the paper | Yes |
| Works with no signal | Yes, after first load | Yes | Yes | Yes | Often not |
| Keyboard and shortcuts | Full | None | None | None | Partial |
| Sends your data anywhere | Never | Never | Often, for accounts and ads | Never | Yes, to the cloud |
Other counter types
The same counter, set up and explained for a specific job. Your counters are shared across all of them.
Online counter
The all-purpose counter. Any step size, any number of counters, negative values allowed.
Open online counter →Tally counter
Tally marks in groups of five for surveys, stock takes and wildlife counts.
Open tally counter →Click counter
A browser clicker that replaces the handheld thumb counter for door headcounts.
Open click counter →Lap counter
Count pool lengths, track laps and treadmill intervals without losing your place.
Open lap counter →Rep counter
Track reps and sets during a lifting session, with a step size for supersets.
Open rep counter →Score counter
A scoreboard for cards, darts and board games. One counter per player, negatives allowed.
Open score counter →Tasbeeh counter
A digital dhikr counter that stops at 33, 99 or 100 and keeps each dhikr separate.
Open tasbeeh counter →Differential counter
Six keys for a manual white cell differential, with an auto-stop and live percentages.
Open differential counter →Multi counter
Run as many counters as you like at once, side by side in a grid.
Open multi counter →Pitch counter
Count pitches, then get the rest days owed and the next eligible date.
Open pitch counter →Auto counter
Counts on its own from every 0.1 seconds to once an hour, and stops at your limit.
Open auto counter →Click speed test
Measure your clicks per second over 1 to 60 seconds, with your personal best kept on-device.
Open click speed test →Habit counter
Count toward a daily target and keep the streak, with a day boundary you choose.
Open habit counter →People counter
In and out at a door, with live occupancy against a capacity and a fix for drift.
Open people counter →Bird counter
A row per species recording the high count, so a circling flock is not counted twice.
Open bird counter →Inventory counter
A count sheet holding the book quantity beside the counted one, with the variance per line.
Open inventory counter →Knitting counter
Rows, pattern repeats and a shaping schedule that names the increase rows and then ends.
Open knitting counter →Omer counter
The 49 days of Sefirat HaOmer, in days and weeks, with the blessing state tracked.
Open omer counter →Yes/No counter
Two options, a live percentage, and the sample size and caveats the percentage needs.
Open yes/no counter →Golf scorecard
Strokes per hole with the course handicap allocated by stroke index, net and Stableford.
Open golf scorecard →Badminton score counter
Rally scoring with the service court and doubles positions, for 3x21 and the 2027 3x15 system.
Open badminton score counter →
Frequently asked questions
What is a breath counter?
A tool that holds a count of breaths while you take them at your own pace, so your attention can stay on breathing rather than on the number. It is used for breath counting meditation and for measuring a breathing rate. It is different from a breathing timer, which sets a rhythm for you to follow.
How does breath counting meditation work?
You sit, breathe naturally, and silently count each out-breath: one, two, three, up to ten, then start again at one. Whenever you notice the mind has wandered, or you find you have counted past ten, you return to one. Repeatedly noticing and returning is the practice itself, not a failure of it.
What should I do if I lose count while counting breaths?
Go back to one, without judging it. Losing count is expected; almost nobody reaches ten every time, especially at first. Here the Lost count key, or L, returns the count to the start and records the return, because how often you came back is a more honest record of a session than the total.
Why count to ten and not higher?
Because a longer count stops working as an anchor. The Visuddhimagga, the fifth-century commentary that sets out the method, advises not going below five, which cramps the mind, or above ten, which lets it wander. That is why the Count to setting here runs from five to ten only.
Should I count the in-breath or the out-breath?
Most modern teachers count the out-breath, and it is the default here. Classical sources also describe counting the in-breath, counting both halves as separate numbers, or counting after each full cycle. None is wrong; follow your teacher. If you count both halves, set each count to a half breath so the pace stays in breaths.
What is the difference between a breath counter and a breathing timer?
A breathing timer sets the rhythm, such as four seconds in and four out, and counts its own cycles. A breath counter follows yours: you breathe at your own pace and tap each breath. With a timer you cannot lose count, which is exactly the event breath counting meditation is built around.
How do you count breaths per minute?
Watch the chest or belly and count one breath for each complete rise and fall. Start a timer and count for a full 60 seconds; the number counted is the breaths per minute. Here you tap the panel to start the window and tap once for every breath, and the result is logged when the minute ends.
Is it better to count breaths for 30 seconds or a full minute?
A full minute. Counting for 30 seconds and doubling is allowed by many handouts, but it doubles any miscount and can only give an even number: seven and a half breaths in 30 seconds is reported as 14 or 16, never 15. Irregular breathing makes a short window less reliable still.
How do I count my dog's or cat's breathing rate?
Veterinary handouts advise counting while the animal is asleep or resting quietly, not after exercise, and for a cat, not while purring. Count each rise and fall of the chest as one breath for a full minute, and keep a record, because your vet will want the trend. Ask your vet what rate should prompt a call.
Does the breath counter tell me whether a breathing rate is normal?
No, deliberately. It shows no ranges and gives no verdict on any number. Normal rates vary with age, species, size, sleep and illness, and the threshold that matters for a particular person or animal is the one their doctor or vet has given. If someone is struggling to breathe, seek help instead of counting.
Counting guides
Longer answers to the questions behind the counting.
- Swimming
How to count laps while swimming
Why swimmers lose count at length 14, and five methods that actually hold up.
- Tallying
Tally marks explained
Groups of five, the five-bar gate, and why the convention has survived for centuries.
- Events
How to do an accurate headcount
Counting people is easy. Counting them accurately, twice, is not.
- Habits
Track a daily habit streak
Why streak apps fail, and what a plain daily counter does better.
- Click speed
How to click faster
Hardware and grip account for most of the gap. Practice accounts for less than people think.
- Inventory
How to do a stock take
Counting is the easy part. Preparing, and knowing your count is right, is the job.
- Training
Reps and sets explained
How to read a programme, and why the rep range matters more than the total.
- Reference
Types of counters explained
Synchronous vs asynchronous, mod-N, ring and Johnson, plus mechanical and software counters.
- Build it
How to make a counter
Twenty lines gets you counting. Here is what to add after that, and why.
- Baseball
How to keep an official pitch count
Little League requires an official recorder at every game. Almost nobody explains the job.
- Dhikr
One tasbeeh is equal to how many?
The same phrase means a bead loop, a single dhikr, or a full set of a hundred. Which one is meant, and when.
- Haematology
How to do a manual differential count
Why the pattern matters, how many cells is enough, and the imprecision built into the method itself.
- Birding
How to count a flock of birds
Blocks, tens, and why the number to report is the most seen at one time.
- Knitting
How to read knitting shaping instructions
Every 4th row, alt rows, at each end, AT THE SAME TIME — translated, with the rows they land on.
- Golf
Stableford points and net scores
Stroke index, strokes received, net score, points — in the order you actually need them.
- Surveys
How many people do you need to survey?
Why 385 answers a city and 45 answers a club, and the margin each sample size buys.