Best Intake Breathing alternatives in the UK (2026)

What is the best Intake Breathing alternative in the UK?

For most UK buyers, the best Intake Breathing alternative is Airlift. It wins on what comes in the box, the refund terms and UK delivery, though others beat it on price and reviews. Here's who wins each category:

• Best overall for most UK buyers: Airlift. All five clip sizes and 30 prep pads come in every starter box, it's sold by a UK company with UK delivery and no import charges, and the 90-Night Airlift Test refunds you without sending anything back. You can start with the Complete starter (£33). It isn't the cheapest, and it has no Trustpilot reviews yet.
• Best if you already own an Intake band: Intake's own refills. The 360-night pack works out at £0.64 a night before delivery from the US. Healf's refill subscription is £0.90 a night with free UK delivery.
• Best budget magnetic kit: Napify on Amazon UK, £14.95 for 32 nights (£0.47 a night), with refills from the same seller at £0.31. SRABA costs less to start (£8.19, but for 10 nights). Its 70-tab refill, at £0.13 a night, was the cheapest magnetic tab we found, though it comes from a different seller and doesn't name the SRABA band.
• Best with no adhesive, of the products compared here: Mute. It sits inside the nostrils. The starter is £14.99, or £0.50 a night if all three sizes fit you.
• Cheapest with nothing reusable to buy: adhesive strips. MaxFlow is £0.17 a night on its 12-pack, and DreamFlow is £0.20 on a 12-pack subscription.
• For sport: none of the other magnetic systems here sells a separate sport tab. Intake's Sport Tabs are the only one (see where Intake Breathing wins).

How Intake Breathing works, and how easy it is to buy here

Intake Breathing is a magnetic nasal dilator: a reusable band with magnets sits across the front of the nose and clicks onto two single-use adhesive tabs, one each side of the nose, each holding a metal disc. Nothing goes inside the nose.

On 27 October 2026, a UK buyer could get the starter kit only from Intake's own store. It shows prices in pounds but ships from the US. Healf, a UK retailer, sells Intake's refills, bands and case but had no starter kit listed, and both of Intake's Amazon UK listings showed as unavailable. Intake's help centre says it doesn't offer refill subscriptions outside the US.

Intake's Better Breathing Guarantee runs for 90 days from delivery. You keep the used tabs, but the band and kit go back in their original packaging, and on international orders the original shipping and any duties aren't refunded.

Intake makes six band sizes and puts four of them (S2, M1, M2 and L1) in the starter kit. If you need the smallest (S1) or largest (L2), Intake sends one free on request, but UK buyers pay the postage.

We've compared the two head to head in Airlift vs Intake Breathing.

How we chose

We judged every product on the same eight criteria we use for every comparison: fit and sizing, what's in the box, ongoing cost per night, adhesion support, guarantee and returns, UK availability and delivery, subscription flexibility, and published evidence.

Prices come from each brand's own pages, Healf, Amazon UK and Boots, checked on 27 October 2026. They're for one person, using one pair of tabs or stickers, or one strip, a night. We didn't lab-test anything, so nothing here wins on airflow, hold or comfort.

We left out three products. Resty's own shipping policy doesn't list the UK. Gymside sells to UK addresses only through amazon.de. And one Amazon kit's low price was a short-term deal ending in early November, with no confirmed price after it.

Intake alternatives compared: UK prices per night

* Airo's and NoseStrip's figures use each brand's own night counts. Their pages don't make clear whether a pack holds pairs of tabs or single tabs, and if it's single tabs, the cost per night doubles.

Airlift isn't the cheapest here, to start or on refills. For the full magnetic table, including what a first year costs with each brand, see the best magnetic nasal strips in the UK.

Already own an Intake band? Cheaper tabs

If you're happy with your band, the cheapest tabs we could price for it on 27 October 2026 were Intake's own, bought in bulk.

Intake's help centre gives courier delivery outside the US at $18 to $25, taking 3 to 6 business days. Healf's subscription runs every two weeks or every one, two or three months, and Healf takes returns for 365 days with free UK return postage, as long as consumables are unopened and in their original packaging. Intake's refills on Amazon UK showed as unavailable, and we couldn't confirm a price for Intake's own UK refill subscription.

Airlift's stickers are made for Airlift's clip. We haven't tried them on an Intake band, so we can't tell you they fit.

If you're thinking of switching, a year of Intake's 360-night pack is £229 (£0.64 a night), plus delivery from the US. Airlift's Annual plan is £240 for 360 nights (£0.67 a night), with a new clip in all five sizes, prep pads and UK delivery included, plus 30 bonus nights in the first box (£0.62 a night counting those). For the same 360 nights, staying with Intake costs £11 less before delivery. The Annual plan renews until you cancel. Once you own an Airlift clip, Airlift's 360-night stickers pack brings the running cost down to £0.51 a night.

The magnetic alternatives

These are the magnetic band-and-tab systems we compared for sale to UK buyers, starting with our pick.

Airlift

Airlift is a reusable magnetic clip that sits across the front of the nose and attaches to two small single-use stickers, each holding a thin steel disc. Nothing goes inside the nose, and there's no strip across the bridge. It suits someone who wants to find their size at home and buy from a UK company.

Every starter box has the clip in all five sizes, XS to XL, a magnetic applicator and 30 nights of stickers, with 30 cleansing prep pads in every 30 nights. Weekday orders placed before 3:30pm are dispatched the same day, and every subscription order ships free by next-day delivery, with no minimum spend.

Set against Intake, the differences are practical. Airlift's refund needs nothing sent back; Intake's needs the band and kit returned and doesn't refund international shipping or duties. All five sizes come in the box, where Intake's kit has four of six and a size swap costs international postage. It's a UK company with UK delivery and no import charges, and Intake ships from the US. Over a first year bought one-time, the Complete starter plus £5 delivery and the 360-night stickers pack come to £220 for 390 nights (£0.56 a night). Intake's 30-night starter and 360-night pack cost £293.99 (£0.75) before US delivery. The catch is that on this route Airlift's prep pads come with the first 30 nights only.

Under the 90-Night Airlift Test, you email within 90 days of receiving your order and get back everything you paid, delivery included. You keep the clip and send nothing back. It's once per customer, and it covers every system on the shop page.

On the other side, Airlift has no Trustpilot reviews yet, and the company was only set up in November 2024. There's no published, independent study of the product, and no published airflow, hold or adhesion test data. It's sold only on its own website and only to UK addresses, it isn't the cheapest option here, and there's no sport version.

Airo

Airo is a reusable magnetic band that snaps onto two single-use tabs. Its Welcome Kit has four band sizes and an applicator, and costs £29.98 for 30 nights (£1.00 a night), with free tracked UK delivery. Refills fall to £0.55 a night on the 180-night pack, or £0.60 on a single 30-night refill by subscription. A monthly subscription is selected by default on its product pages.

Airo sells from buyairo.com in pounds. Its policies give an address in Barcelona and make the buyer the importer of record, responsible for any VAT, duties and customs fees, and they don't say where orders ship from. Delivery takes 3 to 11 business days after 48 to 72 hours' processing. Its 30-Day Clear Breathing Guarantee covers items that arrive damaged or defective, not a change of mind. There are no prep pads in the box, and Airo doesn't publish how many tabs come in a pack. We compare it with Airlift in Airlift vs Airo.

NoseStrip

NoseStrip, sold from nosestrip.co.uk, is a reusable magnetic band with single-use adhesive tabs. It's worth a look if you want low refill costs and don't mind waiting for delivery. All four band sizes come in the box with an applicator, and the starter page names 3M as its tape. The 30 Day Supply is £26.99 (£0.90 a night), and the 90-use refill is £23.99 (£0.27).

Delivery is free but takes 7 to 15 business days after 1 to 3 days' processing, and any customs fees fall on the customer. There's no guarantee or trial: returns are accepted within 15 business days if the item is unused, you pay the return postage, and the refund may come as store credit. There's no subscription and no prep pads. NoseStrip's how-to uses two tabs a night, while its box lists 15 or 30 tabs, so these per-night figures may be double.

Napify and SRABA (Amazon UK)

Both are magnetic band-and-tab kits with four band sizes and an applicator, dispatched by Amazon and covered by Amazon's 30-day returns if unused. They suit someone who wants the lowest outlay.

Napify's kit is £14.95 for 32 nights (£0.47 a night) and includes a travel tin. Its 32-night refill is £9.95 (£0.31). Its 3.6-star rating from 444 ratings is shared across three listings (the black kit, the clear kit and the refill) and includes reviews from other countries.

SRABA's starter is £8.19 for 10 nights (£0.82 a night), and there's no 30-night refill. Its 70-tab refill is £4.49 for 35 nights (£0.13), from a different seller under the same brand. That listing doesn't name the SRABA band, so the shared brand name is the only sign the two go together.

On The Nose Co

On The Nose Co sells a £19 magnetic kit with the band in four sizes, in pounds from its own website. It doesn't publish how many tabs come in the kit, and its refill page describes the same £19 pack as both a "30 Day Supply" and a "Pack of 15", so we can't give a cost per night. Its guarantee lasts 30 days from delivery and covers the first order only. You send the product back and pay the return postage. See On The Nose Co vs Airlift for the full comparison.

The no-adhesive alternative: Mute

Mute is an internal nasal dilator: two soft paddles sit just inside the nostrils, joined by a bridge, with no adhesive and no magnets. It suits people who'd rather nothing stuck to their skin, or who have oily skin or facial hair.

The starter has one each of small, medium and large for £14.99. Each dilator is rated for 10 nights, so the starter covers 30 nights (£0.50 a night) only if all three sizes fit. Once you know your size, a 3-pack is £19.99 (£0.67 a night), or £17.99 on subscription (£0.60). Mute sells from its own UK store and on Amazon UK, where it's been listed since 2015 and has 18,659 ratings averaging 3.7.

The guarantee is 30 days on starter packs bought direct, and Mute doesn't publish whether you send the product back or who pays the postage. Delivery from its own store is £5 under £40. Turbine is the same maker's dilator for sport, with a starter at £16.99. We compare Mute and Airlift directly in Airlift vs Mute.

Adhesive strips: nothing reusable to buy

A single-use adhesive strip sticks across the nose and is thrown away after one night, so there's no band or clip to buy. Bought in bulk, MaxFlow and DreamFlow cost less per night than every magnetic system here except SRABA's refill tabs. Magnetic vs adhesive nasal strips compares the two formats.

DreamFlow and MaxFlow

DreamFlow strips are £12.99 for 30 at the regular price (£0.43 a night, or £0.53 with £2.99 delivery), and were on sale at £9.99 when we checked on 27 October 2026. Twelve packs a delivery on subscription cost £72 (£0.20) with free delivery. Opened packs can't be returned. MaxFlow sells one size from nasalstrip.uk: £9.99 for 30 (£0.33, or £0.47 with £3.99 delivery), or 12 packs for £59.94 (£0.17) with free delivery, and its 30-night money-back guarantee refunds one opened pack per product.

Breathe Right

Breathe Right is stocked by UK pharmacies and supermarkets. On 27 October 2026 the Original Small/Medium 30-pack was £13.99 at Boots (£0.47 a night), and the Extra Strength 26-pack was £14.99 (£0.58). We compare it with Intake and Airlift in Breathe Right vs Intake vs Airlift, and cover its own alternatives in Breathe Right alternatives.

Where Intake Breathing wins

For some people, Intake is the better buy.

• It makes Sport Tabs for exercise, with a stronger three-layer adhesive and prep pads in the pack. Intake says they aren't meant for sleep, and its own FAQ table gives its standard tabs up to an hour of sweat. No other magnetic system here sells a sport tab.
• It has been around since 2019. Its starter kit page shows 2,103 reviews averaging 4.4 out of 5, and its Trustpilot score was 3.7 from 91 reviews.
• It lists nine US patents on magnetic nasal dilation, with their numbers and dates.
• It makes six band sizes, more than any alternative here, and sends the smallest or largest free on request (UK buyers pay the postage).
• It has commissioned a home sleep study. Airlift hasn't commissioned any.
• Bought in bulk, its tabs fall to £0.64 a night, and Healf, a UK retailer, sells them with free UK delivery on subscriptions and 365-day returns.

How to choose

Start with the format. A magnetic system has a reusable band or clip and single-use tabs, an adhesive strip is all single use, and an internal dilator sits inside the nostrils with nothing stuck on.

If your skin is sensitive, check what each brand says about its adhesive and try a single tab or strip on your arm first. Airlift, Intake, DreamFlow and MaxFlow say their adhesives are latex-free. NoseStrip, Napify, SRABA, Airo and On The Nose Co don't publish a latex statement for their tabs. Mute has no adhesive. For Breathe Right, see what UK listings say about latex.

For sweat, Intake's Sport Tabs are the only separate sport tab among the magnetic systems here. Airo, Napify and NoseStrip market their standard tabs for exercise too, but none publishes a hold test. Airlift's help page suggests the snugger clip size for exercise.

Finally, check the guarantee: whether it covers a change of mind or only faulty items, and who pays the return postage. We could find no published, independent study of any magnetic dilator, so it makes sense to try one you can get a refund on without posting anything back. Of the brands we checked, only Airlift publishes a refund of the whole order, delivery included, with nothing to return.

What the evidence says

We could find no published, independent study of any magnetic nasal dilator, including Airlift's. A 2026 review by UK surgeons reached the same conclusion.^[1] The same review found most research is on adhesive strips such as Breathe Right, and that devices worn inside the nostril tended to perform better than external ones.^[1] Mute is worn inside the nostril, but that finding isn't evidence for Mute itself.

For adhesive strips, reviews describe external nasal dilators as working by widening the narrowest part of the nose and lowering resistance to airflow, while noting that most studies are small.^[2] Those strip studies aren't evidence for any magnetic dilator.

Intake cites a home sleep study it commissioned from SleepScore Labs. The participant numbers, methods and full results haven't been published, so we can't assess it. We found no published, independent study of Mute itself, and the studies Mute publishes were paid for by its maker.

Our science page and do magnetic nasal strips work? go further into the research.

Sources checked

All checked on 27 October 2026.

1. Intake starter kit, UK store, refill packs, band 2-pack and prep pads: format, sizes, contents and UK prices.
2. Intake help centre: a different size or replacement band, international shipping, Better Breathing Guarantee, international returns, refill plans outside the US, Sport Tabs FAQ and patents.
3. Intake's post on its SleepScore Labs study.
4. Healf Intake collection, Healf Intake refills and Healf FAQs: stock, prices, delivery and returns.
5. Intake's Amazon UK listings for the starter kit and refills: availability.
6. Intake on Trustpilot and Airlift on Trustpilot: review counts.
7. Airo: Welcome Kit, refills, refund policy, shipping policy and privacy policy.
8. NoseStrip: starter, refills, refund policy and shipping policy.
9. Napify on Amazon UK: kit and refill.
10. SRABA on Amazon UK: starter and 70-tab refill.
11. On The Nose Co: magnetic kit, tab refills and refund policy.
12. Mute: starter pack, FAQ, returns policy, research page and Amazon UK listing. Turbine: starter pack.
13. DreamFlow: strips, subscription builder and refund policy.
14. MaxFlow: strips, refund policy and shipping policy.
15. Breathe Right: UK product range, and Boots listings for Original Small/Medium 30 and Extra Strength 26: sizes and prices.
16. Resty and Gymside: UK delivery.
17. Airlift's shop, refills, refunds, shipping and help pages: Airlift's products, prices and policies.

Questions people ask