Silent 25 minute timer, no music
The silent Pomodoro timer is the Freemato timer with the audio off. There is no music, no ticking, and no ambient loop, only a 25-minute focus block, a 5-minute break, and a longer 15-minute break after every 4 pomodoros. The one sound you will hear is a short chime when a block ends, so you know to stop without watching the clock.
A silent timer suits people who work somewhere already quiet, or who read and write for a living and find that any sound, even wordless sound, competes with the text in front of them. It is also the right choice if you are wearing headphones for a playlist of your own.
Silence is the wrong choice in a loud open office or a shared kitchen, where an unmasked conversation nearby pulls harder at your attention than steady noise would. In that case the white noise or brown noise versions of the same 25/5 timer are one link away. Everything else about the timer is identical, so the only thing you are deciding here is whether your ears get a break too.
Questions
does a pomodoro timer need sound
No. The interval does the work, not the audio. A silent timer counts down 25 minutes, chimes once, and then counts 5 minutes of break. If you find background noise distracting rather than helpful, silence is the simplest setting.
is a silent timer better for reading
Many readers say yes. Words on a page compete with words in the ear, and even wordless noise can pull attention during dense text. Try one silent 25-minute block and one with pink noise, then keep whichever left you rereading less.
will the chime still play if my tab is in the background
Yes. The end-of-block chime plays even after you have switched to another tab or window, as long as the page stays open and your browser is allowed to play audio.