BreathHold vs STAmina Apnea Trainer: Honest Comparison (2026)
BreathHold and STAmina Apnea Trainer compared on table types, contraction tracking, sensors, sync and breathing sessions, with every competitor fact taken from its current store listing.
Choose STAmina Apnea Trainer if you want the widest set of table shapes on either platform — six types including the Wonka table that starts timing at your first contraction — with unlimited contraction logging and cloud sync across devices; choose BreathHold if you would rather not create an account or buy a sensor, since its CO2 presets are derived from two tests you take in the app and its box, rectangular and rhythmic breathing sessions sit next to the tables.
This comparison is written by the BreathHold team. We strive for accuracy and fairness, but acknowledge our inherent bias. All data verified from public app store listings as of the publication date.
BreathHold makes one of the two apps compared here. STAmina facts come from its current App Store and Google Play listings and its official site, read on August 12, 2026. We have not run a controlled side-by-side test, and neither app can tell you how long you will hold your breath after training with it.
At a glance
| Feature | BreathHold | STAmina Apnea Trainer |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iPhone, Android | iPhone, iPad, Android |
| Preset CO2 tables | Easy, Classic, Hard (40/50/60% of max) | CO2 tolerance table |
| Preset O2 tables | Custom builder only | O2 deprivation table |
| Other table types | Equanimity (premium), rhythmic breathing | Wonka, Mix, Custom, Pranayama |
| Custom / editable tables | ||
| Breath-hold tests that set intervals | Max hold and CO2 baseline | Personal record sets the programme |
| Contraction marking | Unlimited, per its listing | |
| Heart rate / SpO2 | With a compatible monitor or pulse oximeter | |
| Cloud sync or account | Cloud sync and backup, per its listing | |
| Apple Health | Synchronisation, per its listing | |
| Box and rectangular breathing | Pranayama only | |
| Instructional videos | 8, most in the subscription | |
| Spoken cues | With downloadable voice packs | English, French, Russian |
| Freediving school directory | ||
| Store record (Aug 12, 2026) | 5.0 from 1 US rating; 1K+ Play downloads | 4.9 from ~5,400 US ratings; 100K+ Play downloads |
| Price model | Free to install, optional subscription | Free to install, in-app purchases |
What STAmina does better
STAmina Apnea Trainer
Pros
- Six table types per its listing: O2 deprivation, CO2 tolerance, Wonka, Mix, Custom and Pranayama
- The Wonka table times the hold from your first contraction, with one breath of rest
- Unlimited contraction tracking with review after the session
- Cloud sync and backup, so a new phone does not mean a lost history
- Heart rate and oxygen saturation with a compatible monitor or pulse oximeter
- Apple Health synchronisation and training reminders
- Voice guidance in English, French and Russian, recorded by voice actors
- Ten years of iteration and roughly 5,400 US App Store ratings behind it
Cons
- The heart-rate feature depends on hardware you may not own
- Its listing leads with breath-hold and lung-capacity outcome language
- Its audience list stretches from freedivers to runners, so the table descriptions matter more than the pitch
- No instructional video library
What BreathHold does differently
BreathHold
Pros
- Two tests feed the tables: a max breath-hold test and a CO2-baseline test
- CO2 tables in Easy, Classic and Hard, holding at 40%, 50% or 60% of your recorded max
- Custom builder covers hold, rest, rounds and progression, including O2-style tables
- Equanimity tables run each hold to your first urge-to-breathe signal, or that signal plus 15 or 30 seconds
- Box, rectangular, full-cycle and rhythmic breathing in the same app as the tables
- Spoken phase cues with downloadable voice packs per language
- A safety acknowledgement before first use, a safety resources page and a medical citations sheet
- A directory of freediving schools if you want in-water instruction
Cons
- No preset O2 table — you build that yourself in the custom editor
- No contraction marking
- No external heart-rate or SpO2 support and no Apple Health writes
- No account and no cross-device sync; history lives on the device
- iPhone-only on iOS, with no iPad or Apple Watch app
- Equanimity tables, Full Breath Cycles and most videos need the subscription
- One US App Store rating, against thousands for STAmina
The differences that actually decide it
Table variety versus table provenance
STAmina wins on breadth. Six named types, and the Wonka variation genuinely has no equivalent in most apps. BreathHold ships fewer shapes but is more specific about where the numbers come from: you take a max-hold test and a CO2-baseline test in the app, and the baseline is what sets the intervals. If you already know the table you want, STAmina's library is the better tool. If you want the app to derive the table from a measurement you just made, BreathHold's path is shorter.
Either way, the names describe interval patterns. A conventional CO2 table keeps the hold steady while recovery gets shorter; a conventional O2 table keeps recovery steady while the hold gets longer. Neither app measures your blood gases, and neither structure guarantees an adaptation. CO2 table vs O2 table has the detail.
Contractions
This is STAmina's clearest functional lead: unlimited contraction marking, with the data reviewable after the exercise. BreathHold has nothing equivalent.
Interpret those marks carefully whichever app records them. Involuntary breathing movements commonly appear during longer voluntary breath holds, but their timing, strength and pattern vary between people and between attempts, and they are not a reliable gauge of blood oxygen or a signal that a fixed amount of safe time remains. A later first contraction does not mean the hold was safer. See breath-hold contractions.
Sensors and sync
STAmina reads heart rate and oxygen saturation with a compatible monitor or pulse oximeter, syncs to Apple Health, and backs up to the cloud. BreathHold does none of these: no sensors, no Health writes, no account, so your history is only on the phone you recorded it on. If you change devices often, that is a real reason to pick STAmina.
On the sensor question specifically, treat any reading as session context. A consumer pulse oximeter is not a warning system, and no number on a screen makes an unsupervised in-water hold acceptable.
Breathing sessions beyond the tables
BreathHold's non-apnea sessions are box, rectangular, full breath cycles and rhythmic breathing, with spoken cues; STAmina's is Pranayama. If paced-breathing sessions are part of your week, BreathHold covers more of them in one place. If you only want apnea tables, this row is noise.
When to choose STAmina instead of BreathHold
Choose STAmina if any of these is true: you want the Wonka or Mix structure specifically; you log contractions and want them stored per session; you own a heart-rate monitor or pulse oximeter and want the readings alongside the table; you switch phones and want the history to follow you; or you would rather trust an app with 5,400 ratings than one with one. That last point is fair, and we are not going to argue with it.
Choose BreathHold if you are on Android and want box and rectangular breathing in the same app, if you want the table intervals derived from tests you take in the app, or if you want the freediving-school directory and safety pages that STAmina's listing does not describe.
Whichever app you choose
No app supervises you. Never practice breath holding in water alone — use a trained buddy who understands freediving rescue and watches the diver throughout the attempt, because apps and timers do not replace trained in-water supervision. Never hyperventilate before a hold: it can delay the urge to breathe without preventing oxygen from falling, which increases the risk of loss of consciousness. Practise alone only on dry land, and read the safety guide first.
Sources
- STAmina Apnea Trainer on the App Store — version 8.2.0, read August 12, 2026: six table types, contraction tracking, cloud sync, Apple Health, voice languages, sensor requirement, ratings.
- STAmina Apnea Trainer on Google Play — rating, downloads and update date, read August 12, 2026.
- STAmina official website — platform links.
- BreathHold on the App Store and Google Play — version 2.6.0, read August 12, 2026.
- Freediving Safety, Divers Alert Network
- Hypoxia in Breath-Hold Diving, Divers Alert Network
- Involuntary breathing movements during breath holding (1981) and a 2023 pilot study of respiratory-muscle activity
Related reading
- Best breath-hold apps in 2026
- BreathHold vs Freediving Apnea Trainer
- BreathHold vs Apnea Trainer
- How to train CO2 tolerance
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Frequently asked questions
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