Online meditation timer
Pick a length, press start, and meditate. A soft bell ends the session.
5 minutes
Five minutes is a great sit for a busy day, and short enough to make it doable.
10 minutes
Ten minutes is the classic length. Long enough for your mind to settle, short enough to fit before work.
15 minutes
Fifteen minutes gives your thoughts time to slow down properly. A good step up once ten feels easy.
20 minutes
Twenty minutes is a full sit for more experienced meditators.
How to use it
Choose how long you want to meditate, choose a bell or silence, and press start. Then close your eyes or rest them on a point in front of you, and follow your breath. When the bell sounds, you're done. That's all it is.
Why a bell
If you meditate without a bell, part of your mind spends the whole sit wondering how long is left, and you may find yourself checking. The meditation timer gong solves that problem. We use a soft gong-like tone to end the session gently.
How long to sit
Start shorter than you think you should. It's a marathon, not a sprint. And a sit that you finish beats a long one you dread or don't show up to. When your current length starts to feel easy, add five minutes.
Timer vs guided
A timer is for sitting on your own: just you and your breath. Guided meditation gives you a voice that teaches you what to do with your attention, which helps a lot when you're starting out or when your mind is especially loud. This timer is free and always will be. If you want guidance too, check out our app Stillside.
How long should my first sit be?
Five or ten minutes. Habit always comes first; duration comes later.
Can I close the tab or lock my phone?
Keep the timer tab open. The timer keeps accurate time if you switch apps or your screen dims, but closing the tab ends the session. On a phone, the bell plays as long as the tab is still open on screen. If you lock your phone or switch apps, the session still ends on time, and you'll see it's done when you come back.
What is the interval bell for?
It chimes softly at a set point in your session. Some use it to check in and come back to the breath. Others use it to split a long sit into halves.
Is it really free?
Yes. This timer is free with no account and no catch. The timer inside the Stillside app is free forever too.