Comparison

Dare vs Return... Meditation Timer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Dare

This app offers an evidence-based training program to help users overcome anxiety and panic attacks. It provides guided audios, a mood journal, and tools to manage worry, negative thoughts, and insomnia, empowering users to regain control of their lives.

Highlights
  • Guided audios for anxiety relief
  • Panic attack cessation tools
  • Mood journaling
  • Breathing exercises
  • Wellness videos
  • Live group sessions
Features
Read full description

Don’t just manage anxiety—overcome it for good. Discover one of the highest-rated apps designed to help you conquer anxiety and panic attacks from day one. How can the DARE App help you? The DARE app is an evidence-based training program designed to help people overcome anxiety, panic attacks, worry, negative and intrusive thoughts, insomnia, and more. Inspired by the best-selling book ‘DARE,’ this app is built to help you quickly regain control of your life. Carry the DARE anxiety relief app with you wherever life takes you. Whether it’s tackling anxious moments like driving, flying, dining out, managing health concerns, dealing with intrusive thoughts, public speaking, hitting the gym, or visiting the doctor—DARE has you covered. No matter your schedule, access the DARE anxiety and panic relief app to swiftly conquer your unique challenges. Plus, monitor your daily progress effortlessly with the mood journal feature. Approved by ORCHA (Organisation for the Review of Care & Health Apps) As featured in The Guardian, GQ, Vice, The Irish Times, Studio 10, and more Best Mobile App Awards 2020, Silver Nominee Named one of Healthline's Best Anxiety Apps of 2019 Best Mobile App Awards 2018, Platinum Nominee Experience the DARE app, designed to: Ease anxiety and stress Halt panic attacks Reduce worry Improve sleep quality Break cycles of negative thinking Cultivate healthier relationships Elevate self-esteem and confidence Rediscover boldness, freedom, and adventure in life Features: 100’s of free audios, including guided meditations for anxiety, with new audios added almost every day Free audio guides to overcome anxiety and panic attacks Unlimited audio downloads to your private personal area Unlimited entries in your personal mood journal Premium members unlock exclusive offerings: Enriching wellness videos fostering the mind-body connection Calming breathing exercises designed to alleviate stress Supportive DARE buddy groups Two live group Zoom sessions each month with our esteemed DARE clinical team Daily Dares, guest master classes, and much more! Read what our users say: “Took a chance with this app, and I’m so glad I did! It’s honestly amazing and the best anxiety app I’ve tried. The ‘Evening Wind Down’ is the absolute best, and I love how the app has so many different tools and meditations! Highly recommend DARE!” - StacyS “This is one of the only apps I’ve continued to pay premium for. It’s truly helped me come off that ledge of anxiety and learn new coping mechanisms that therapy hadn’t even taught me. I love this app, and I love the people that run it. Thank you for what you do.” - Aschom “20 years of fighting anxiety on my own, not knowing what’s going on with me… until I got this app. It’s changed the way I fight this THING forever. Thank you for all the work you do.” - Glitchb1 “DARE is a lifesaver. I recently started using it, but it’s already helped me more than my therapist. The advice and the DARE response are great, but for me, the best are the deep relief and insomnia recordings—they help me go to sleep.” - MartinB “I was sceptical of the claim that within 3 days you’d see improvements, but I have an incredible set of tools. I can’t imagine not having this app now.” - RebeccaM Approved by ORCHA (Organisation for the Review of Care & Health Apps) As featured in The Guardian, GQ, Vice, The Irish Times, Studio 10, and more Terms of service: https://dareresponse.com/terms-of-service-statement/ Privacy policy: https://dareresponse.com/privacy-policy/

About

Return... Meditation Timer

A minimalist, zen-inspired timer for establishing a consistent meditation practice. Offers immersive themes, flexible timer settings, and seamless integration across Apple devices. Prioritizes user privacy with no data collection or ads.

Highlights
  • Minimalist zen design
  • Four immersive themes
  • Customizable timer durations and bell sounds
  • Apple ecosystem support (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch, TV)
  • HealthKit integration for Mindful Minutes
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Privacy-focused, no ads or data collection
Features
Read full description

Return... is a meditation timer with nothing in the way: one tap, a room to sit in, and a bell when it is time. No guided voices, no account, no feed. FIVE ROOMS - Water: a drop and its rings - Fire: flames on stone - Forest: leaves in sunlight - Silence: a black screen and the bell - Music: Still Rooms, an original album made for sitting STILL ROOMS Ten pieces written and recorded for this app play in order while you sit, in Spatial Audio on AirPods. On Apple Watch they play through your paired headphones. Previous and next sit beside pause, and nothing else is on the screen. THE TIMER - 5 to 60 minutes - Three bells: Singing Bowl, Temple Bell or Soft Chime, rung once, twice or three times - Repeat once, a set number of times, until a time of day, or until you stop - A background sound for each room, or none YOUR ICON Choose the cube from the album cover, the water drop, fire or forest. EVERY APPLE SCREEN - iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and iPhone Duo - Mindful Minutes logged to Apple Health - Settings and session history on every device through iCloud - A widget, and a Live Activity for the sit in progress PRIVACY - No account, no sign-in - No ads, no tracking, nothing sold - Anonymous crash reports and usage counts keep the app working, and you can switch them off in Settings

Screenshots

Dare4 screens
Return... Meditation Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dare at Free against Return... Meditation Timer's $9.99. Dare also leads on ratings volume (6.9K vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.4 vs 26.1). Return... Meditation Timer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). On rating and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Dare is free to download; Return... Meditation Timer costs $9.99 up front. Dare sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Return... Meditation Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Return... Meditation Timer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dare has 6.9K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dare ships an update every 3 weeks, Return... Meditation Timer every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Dare versus Return... Meditation Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDareReturn... Meditation Timer
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.8 (6.9K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews91.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6.9K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.4 — better26.1
Further details — not scored
Size93 MB243 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBMD Publishing LtdChristopher Crosley

Customer experience

Dare

All ratings6,846 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral1.2%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews533 reviews
Positive91.0%
Neutral1.7%
Negative7.3%

Return... Meditation Timer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Dare

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes or stops playing audio
  • Subscription issues with repeated charges or inability to access premium content

Requested features

4 requests
  • More written content in addition to audio
  • Ability to log past days in the progress tracker
  • Offline mode for listening to audios without internet
  • Apple Watch companion app

Return... Meditation Timer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Dare

Subscriptions8
  • Dare Subscription$9.991 Month
  • Dare Subscription7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Dare Subscription Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Dare Subscription14 Days trial$53.991 Year
  • Dare Annual Subscription14 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Dare Subscription1 Month trial$59.991 Year
  • Dare Subscription Promotion14 Days trial$65.991 Year
  • Dare Subscription Annual14 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time2
  • Rapid Relief from Anxiety$16.99
  • Rapid Relief from Panic$16.99
None

Return... Meditation Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dare free?
Dare is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Return... Meditation Timer free?
Return... Meditation Timer costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dare or Return... Meditation Timer?
Return... Meditation Timer is rated higher. Dare averages 4.8 out of 5 from 6.9K ratings, while Return... Meditation Timer averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Dare or Return... Meditation Timer have ads?
Neither Dare nor Return... Meditation Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dare or Return... Meditation Timer?
Dare ships an update every 3 weeks, and Return... Meditation Timer every 3 days. Most recently, Dare was updated on October 24, 2026 and Return... Meditation Timer on October 24, 2026.

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