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Free Meditation Timer with Bells & Rain Sounds
Ready when you are
Sit comfortably and rest your attention on your breath or the sound around you. When your mind wanders, that's normal — notice it and come back.
Done. Before you get up, notice the room around you and how your body feels.
How do you feel now?
Choose a length, press Start and sit. A soft bell marks the beginning and the end, and you can add rain in the background. It runs in your browser with no app or sign-up.
How to use the timer
- Choose how many minutes you want to sit.
- Pick a background: silence, light rain or steady rain. Add an interval bell if you like.
- Press Start, sit comfortably, and rest your attention on your breath or the sound.
- When your mind wanders, notice it and come back. When the bell sounds, look around before you stand.
Meditation with rain sounds, bells or silence
A rain meditation uses the steady sound of rain as the anchor for your attention: when your mind wanders, come back to the sound. The rain is a real recording, in a light or a steadier version, softened and looped seamlessly in your browser. The bell is a synthesized singing-bowl tone. Some people find a steady background sound makes it easier to settle; others prefer silence. Try both and keep whichever feels easier, and use headphones if you share a room. Set your device volume low before you start; the rain fades in gently.
Rain recordings: “rain loopable” by Ylmir, CC0, via OpenGameArt.
Who should be careful
Sitting quietly is low-risk for most people, but it is not always comfortable. If you feel dizzy, distressed, or flooded by difficult memories, open your eyes, look around the room and stop. Do not use the timer while driving or doing anything that needs your full attention. If meditation regularly leaves you feeling worse, talk with a doctor or mental health professional.
What the research says
A 2014 review of 47 trials of meditation programs found moderate evidence of small improvements in anxiety, depression and pain, and low evidence for stress. Those programs involved weeks of guided training, not a single timed sit. NCCIH notes that meditation is usually considered to have few risks, while a 2020 review found that about 8% of participants reported a negative effect, most often anxiety or depression. We do not claim that rain sounds or bells have a particular effect.
Common questions
How long should I meditate?
Start with a length you can manage, often two to five minutes. A short session you repeat is more useful than a long one you avoid. You can stop or pause at any time; the timer is a setting, not a target.
What do the interval bells do?
An interval bell rings softly every minute or every five minutes. Some people use it as a reminder to check where their attention has gone; others find it distracting. Leave it off if you prefer an uninterrupted sit.
Is the rain a real recording?
Yes. Light and steady rain are short field recordings released into the public domain (CC0) by Ylmir on OpenGameArt, softened and looped in your browser. The file loads only when you choose rain. If it cannot load, the timer falls back to a rain sound generated in the browser.
Does the meditation timer work with my screen locked?
Keep the page open and your screen unlocked. The timer asks your device to keep the screen on where supported, but browsers may pause sound or timing when the screen locks or you switch apps. The countdown catches up when you return, but bells may be missed.
Is the meditation timer free?
Yes. It runs in your browser with no app, account or download, and nothing you do in it is stored on our servers.
What should I focus on while the timer runs?
Pick one simple anchor: the feeling of breathing, the sound of the rain, or your feet on the floor. The 5-minute meditation and morning meditation guides walk through a session step by step.