The best freediving apps for spearfishers generate CO₂ and O₂ tables from your own max hold, time every round with audio cues so you can keep your eyes closed, and help you plan a training week. For that job, our picks are Spira (our own app, free on Android), STAmina Apnea Trainer, BreathHold and the Molchanovs app. Below is what a good app should do, how we compared them, where each one fits, a comparison table, and the one safety rule every app shares.
What a freediving training app should do
An app can't hold your breath for you. What it can do is remove the bookkeeping that makes people skip sessions. For a spearfisher, the useful features are:
- Tables built from your own max, not a generic preset. The math is simple (see how to make a breath-hold table), but an app saves you redoing it every time you re-test.
- Audio or vibration cues, so you can close your eyes and relax instead of watching a clock.
- Both CO₂ and O₂ tables, plus variations once you're ready. Our guide to breath-hold tables explains why you need both.
- A plan, not just a timer: some structure for what to do on which day, which is the gap most spearos fall into.
- A session log, so progress is visible over weeks.
Apps cover the dry part of a broader program. For the full picture, see Freediving Training for Spearfishing: The Complete Program.
How we compared the apps
We looked at each app from a spearo's point of view rather than a competitive freediver's: how quickly you can get from opening the app to a properly sized table, whether it helps you plan a week, which platforms it's on, and whether the free version is genuinely usable. We did not compare heart-rate integrations in depth, because most spearos train with nothing but a phone.
Spira: free apnea tables and AI weekly plans
Spira is the app we built for exactly the gap above. Enter your max hold and it generates CO₂ and O₂ tables and times every round with cues. The premium tier adds AI weekly-plan generation, which turns your sessions into a structured week, and extra table types (hybrid, ladder, pyramid and progressive).
It's built for spearos who want a plan without designing one. The trade-off: it's new, it's on Android only for now (iOS is coming soon), and it doesn't have the long track record of the older apps below.
Get Spira free on Google Play.
Other apnea table apps worth knowing
STAmina Apnea Trainer
One of the longest-running apnea table apps, available on both Android and iPhone. It offers several table types, including CO₂ tolerance and O₂ tables, with voice guidance, and it's free with in-app purchases. A solid, proven choice if you just want tables and a timer.
BreathHold: Apnea Trainer
A newer app aimed at freedivers and spearfishers, listed for iPhone and Android. It builds CO₂ and O₂ tables from a baseline test and records your sessions. A good fit if you want a simple, modern table app with a log.
Molchanovs
From the Molchanovs freediving school. It's less a table timer and more a library of guided programs, from basic breathing work to advanced freediving technique, with free content and a paid subscription for its advanced programs. At the time of writing we could confirm it on the App Store but not on Google Play, and it was still labelled as a beta. A strong pick for structured learning if you're on iPhone.
Comparison table: tables, plans, platforms and price
| App | Best for | Platforms | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spira | CO₂/O₂ tables + AI weekly plans | Android (iOS soon) | Free, premium plans | |
| STAmina Apnea Trainer | Proven table timer, several table types | Android, iOS | Free + in-app purchases | |
| BreathHold: Apnea Trainer | Simple tables from a baseline test, with a log | Android, iOS | Check store listing | |
| Molchanovs | Guided programs from a freediving school | iOS (beta) | Free + subscription |
Ratings reflect how well each app fits a spearfisher's dry training, not overall quality as a freediving product. Platforms and prices were checked against the store listings in October 2026.
Using any app safely: dry only, never in water
Every app in this list is for dry training: lying down, on solid ground. None of them can see you black out, and none of them should be used to time breath-holds in a bath, pool or the sea without a buddy watching.
Also keep the pacing sensible: an app makes it easy to do a table every day, which isn't a good idea. Our guide to how often to do CO₂ and O₂ tables covers the spacing.
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