Headspace is primarily a meditation platform ($70/year) that includes some breathing exercises. Breathwork Tools with Aria is a free AI breathwork tool. The fundamental difference: Headspace teaches you about breathing through guided content. Breathwork Tools trains your nervous system through AI-optimized protocols.
Headspace's breathing exercises come as part of their broader mindfulness curriculum. They're educational and well-structured, with Andy Puddicombe's explanations providing excellent context for beginners. The exercises themselves are fixed — a 3-minute box breathing session is always 3 minutes of box breathing at the same pace.
Breathwork Tools with Aria skips the educational framing and goes straight to optimized practice. The AI determines what you need, builds the session, and guides you through it. The approach is clinical rather than experiential — focused on producing the physiological outcome rather than creating a meditative atmosphere.
For beginners who want to understand breathwork: Headspace provides better context and education. For practitioners who know what they want and care about effectiveness: Breathwork Tools with AI personalization delivers more precisely targeted sessions at no cost.