The best break reminder apps for Mac in 2026, compared

Every app in this list will interrupt you every 20 minutes. The differences are in everything around that: whether it knows you are on a call, how hard it is to dismiss, what it costs, and whether it will still be maintained next year. We built EyeRest Flow, so read the section on it with that in mind. The others are described from their own websites, documentation, and store listings, linked at the end.

The short answer

Side by side

Platform notes: LookAway, EyeRest Flow and Stretchly require macOS 13 or later. The current Time Out needs macOS 26, with an older version for macOS 10.15 and up. Intermission runs on anything from macOS 10.11. Stretchly and BreakTimer also run on Windows and Linux.

LookAway

LookAway is the most complete break app on the Mac and the one the others get measured against. Its Smart Pause steps back during meetings and calls, screen recording, video, full-screen games, calendar events, typing and dragging, and it integrates with macOS Focus Filters. It adds posture and blink reminders, a floating countdown that follows your cursor, statistics including a Screen Score and website usage, Shortcuts and AppleScript automations, and Live Activities that mirror a running break to a paired iPhone or iPad. It is sold direct, on the Mac App Store, through Setapp and via Homebrew.

Pricing is one-time but per device, and updates are time-limited on the lower tiers. A Single licence is $19 for one device with a year of updates, a Personal licence is $29 for two devices, and a Believer licence is $99 for five devices with lifetime updates. Renewing a lapsed year costs about half the original price. The app keeps working after the update window; you simply stop receiving new versions.

Choose it if you want phone sync, usage analytics or automation, or you already live in Setapp. Look elsewhere if you have several Macs and would rather not pay per seat or think about renewals. We go deeper in LookAway vs EyeRest Flow.

EyeRest Flow

Our app. EyeRest Flow is a native menu bar app built around the 20-20-20 rule and one idea: a break reminder only works if it arrives at a moment you can actually take it. It shows a heads-up a minute before each break, then waits while your microphone is in use, while you are recording or presenting, while full-screen video is playing, and until you stop typing. Idle and lock detection stop the clock when you walk away. Breaks are full-screen prompts with four guided activities: distance focus, slow blinking, neck and shoulders, and calm breathing.

Around that are three reminder styles from Gentle to Strict, blink and posture nudges, longer movement breaks, working hours, per-break and per-day snooze limits, daily stats with a streak, nine themes, six languages, and Leo, a pixel-art cat who sits on the panel and stands up to watch you before a break. There is no account and no analytics; settings and stats stay on your Mac. It is signed, notarized and universal.

Pricing is $19 once for up to 3 Macs with every update included, after a 7-day trial of everything. What it does not have, as of this writing: iPhone sync, app or website usage statistics, Focus mode awareness, a cursor-following countdown, or a Mac App Store listing. There is a free Chrome extension for Windows and Linux users.

Choose it if you want smart timing and guided breaks on one to three Macs for a single payment. Look elsewhere if you need phone sync or detailed screen-time analytics.

Time Out

Time Out by Dejal is the veteran. It introduced the Normal and Micro break pairing that most apps in this category now copy, and it remains the most configurable: breaks can be scheduled by time or calendar event, limited to certain hours and days, themed with images, video, web pages or your own HTML, and wired to scripts that run before, during and after a break. Rules can postpone or skip breaks when particular apps are in front, during Focus modes or full-screen apps, and bundled meeting scripts detect calls in FaceTime, Teams and Zoom. Time away from the Mac counts as a natural break.

The core features are free. Supporter purchases unlock premium features and are not subscriptions: $4.99 for three months, $9.99 for six, $19.99 for twelve, or $59.99 for life. It is on the Mac App Store, on Setapp, and direct. Note that version 4 requires macOS 26; version 2.9.7 is still available for macOS 10.15 and later.

Choose it if you want a free, native, deeply configurable app and enjoy setting things up. Look elsewhere if you want blink and posture nudges, guided activities, or a modern app that works well out of the box.

Stretchly

Stretchly is a free, open source Electron app for macOS, Windows and Linux. By default it runs a 20-second mini break every 10 minutes and a 5-minute long break every 30, with a notification before each. Breaks pause after five minutes of inactivity and while Do Not Disturb is on, and app exclusions can hold breaks while specific programs run. Strict mode removes the escape hatches. It follows the system light and dark appearance and is translated by volunteers.

The trade-offs are those of any Electron app: it is heavier than a native menu bar app, less integrated with macOS, and it does not detect calls, recording or video. The macOS build has historically shipped unsigned, so first launch may need a right-click Open.

Choose it if you use more than one operating system and want the same free tool everywhere. Look elsewhere if you want a lightweight native app that knows when you are on a call.

BreakTimer

BreakTimer is another free, open source, cross-platform option, licensed GPL-3. It does less than Stretchly and is simpler for it: set how often breaks happen and how long they last, choose a notification or a full-screen break window, set working hours, customise colours and the message, and optionally let idle time reset the countdown. A notification before each break lets you skip or snooze.

There is no awareness of calls, video or typing, no guided activity, and no statistics. The developers state plainly that there is no commercial support.

Choose it if you want the plainest possible free timer. Look elsewhere if interruptions during meetings would make you turn it off.

Intermission

Intermission, by Ingemar Bergmark on the Mac App Store, is a $3.99 stand-up reminder. Every 20 minutes by default it covers the whole workspace for 30 seconds, which makes it hard to ignore; interval and duration are adjustable, and there are snooze and skip buttons. The last update added Apple Silicon support in 2022. It supports macOS 10.11 and later, which makes it one of the few options for an older Mac.

Choose it if you want a cheap, blunt instrument. Look elsewhere if you need any context awareness, or care about active development.

Which one to pick

• Start free with Time Out if you are on a Mac, or Stretchly if you also use Windows or Linux. Either will tell you within a week whether reminders fit your day.
• If free reminders keep getting disabled because they land during calls or mid-sentence, that is the problem the paid apps solve. Both LookAway and EyeRest Flow have free trials, so try both.
• Pick LookAway for phone sync, usage statistics and automations.
• Pick EyeRest Flow for one payment covering three Macs, guided breaks, and a quieter, simpler app.

Whichever you choose, the research summarised in Does the 20-20-20 rule actually work? points the same way: the benefit comes from a sustained rhythm of short breaks over weeks, and that rhythm survives only with a reminder you do not resent.

Sources

• LookAway: features and system requirements
• LookAway: pricing and licence terms
• Dejal: Time Out features, supporter options and requirements
• Stretchly: about and features
• Stretchly on GitHub: licence and platform requirements
• BreakTimer: features and downloads
• BreakTimer on GitHub: licence and feature list
• Intermission on the Mac App Store

Prices and features were checked on October 30, 2026 and may have changed. EyeRest Flow is made by the publisher of this site.