Comparison

Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) vs Buddhist Sun

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

Head to head
About

Saigon Meditation Project(SMP)

Access dharma talks and guided meditations inspired by Sayadaw U Jotika's teachings. This free app offers relaxation scripts, meditation bells, and reminders to support your daily mindfulness practice and inspire further learning.

Highlights
  • Library of dharma talks
  • Suggested guided meditations
  • Relaxation scripts
  • Meditation bells with intervals
  • Reminder bells
Features
Read full description

Saigon Meditation Project mobile app is a free app for everyone with library of dharma talks, and some suggested guided meditation and relaxation scripts. Most of the content is from Sayadaw U Jotika’s teaching. Please note that in order to seriously learn and practise Vipassana meditation, you need to attend formal classes with meditation masters. All the information shared in this app should be only your pure source of reference, inspiration and motivation in order for you to find your mindfulness way, the one and only one way to completely liberate your mind from suffering. If you can regularly practise short relaxation sessions (10-20 minutes) each day, it would certainly let your mind rest in the most effective manner. That’s when your mental energy is refilled, re-charged, and renewed. You can directly experience those benefits by yourself. That would encourage you to invest more into relaxation and Vipassana meditation by attending formal meditation classes with official guidances from meditation masters. For Vipassana tradition, you can look up Theravada meditation centers nearby and see if you can find suitable retreats there to attend. Besides those dharma talks and guided scripts, SMP app also provides meditation bells with different time intervals, as well as the reminder bells in between. It’s useful for meditators to use at home. Hope this small app can be beneficial to everyone as well as can be the source of inspiration and motivation to all meditators. May all of peace and mindfulness stay with you.

About

Buddhist Sun

This app helps users find the Solar Noon based on their GPS location, crucial for observing Uposatha Sīla. It includes a countdown timer, Uposatha calendar, meditation timer, and a compass for sacred sites.

Highlights
  • Solar Noon GPS calculator
  • Uposatha Sīla eating time
  • Countdown timer for Solar Noon
  • Uposatha Calendar
  • Meditation Timer
  • Vitamin D Sun GPS Timer
  • Compass to sacred sites
Features
Read full description

Know the Solar Noon based on your GPS Coordinates. Know the time when to stop eating for Buddhist monks and those who follow Uposatha Sīla. Countdown Timer for Solar Noon Uposatha Calendar Meditation Timer Vitamin D Sun GPS Timer / Calculator Sun Shade Screen Compass to point you in the direction of Sacred Buddhist Sites

Screenshots

Saigon Meditation Project(SMP)4 screens
Buddhist Sun4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Buddhist Sun at every 5 days against Saigon Meditation Project(SMP)'s every 2 months. Buddhist Sun also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Saigon Meditation Project(SMP)'s advantage is ratings volume (47 vs 11) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Buddhist Sun holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 47 and 11 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 97% of Saigon Meditation Project(SMP)'s written reviews are positive against 100% of Buddhist Sun's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) ships an update every 2 months, Buddhist Sun every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) versus Buddhist Sun: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSaigon Meditation Project(SMP)Buddhist Sun
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (47 ratings)5.0 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews97.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings47 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB83 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperTai LePath Nirvana Foundation

Customer experience

Saigon Meditation Project(SMP)

All ratings46 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive97.1%
Neutral2.9%
Negative0.0%

Buddhist Sun

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Saigon Meditation Project(SMP)

No in-app purchases

None

Buddhist Sun

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) free?
Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Buddhist Sun free?
Buddhist Sun is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) or Buddhist Sun?
Buddhist Sun is rated higher. Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) averages 4.8 out of 5 from 47 ratings, while Buddhist Sun averages 5.0 from 11 ratings.
Do Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) or Buddhist Sun have ads?
Neither Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) nor Buddhist Sun shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) or Buddhist Sun?
Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) ships an update every 2 months, and Buddhist Sun every 5 days. Most recently, Saigon Meditation Project(SMP) was updated on November 2, 2026 and Buddhist Sun on November 3, 2026.

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