The Mandala App vs Mantra Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Mandala App
This app combines Buddhist wisdom and modern psychology to help users manage stress, anxiety, and improve relationships. It offers guided meditations, expert talks, and community features to foster peace, meaning, and joy in daily life.
- Guided meditations
- Expert talks and conversations
- Stress and anxiety management
- Mindset and emotion regulation
- Community discussions
- Goal setting and intention monitoring
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The Mandala app brings together Buddhist wisdom and meditation techniques with the latest insights of psychology and neuroscience to handle the challenges and complexities of modern life. In contemporary terms, our suffering may take the form of excessive stress at work, breakdown of relationships, and a pervasive sense of anxiety and confusion about the world we live in. Much of these sufferings arise from excessive competitiveness, our desire in the form of attachment to material things, to status, and to fame, as well as distorted beliefs about what makes us truly happy. So the Buddha’s insight that transforming the way we view ourselves and the world around us is key to our happiness remains potent even today. From changing our basic Mindset and the very way in which we see ourselves to regulating our emotions, the Mandala App enables us to create greater synergy between our day-to-day life and our values and deeper aspirations. The App offers a series of engaging talks and conversations with experts on a wide variety of topics, such as managing stress, dealing with adversity, developing greater resilience, cultivating empathy and compassion, creating healthy relationships, and many more. These topics are explored to help find greater peace, meaning and joy in our lives. Our panel of experts include Dr, Thupten Jinpa, Daniel Goleman, Kelly McGonigal and others. The App also offers step-by-step guided meditations aimed at quieting the mind, learning to focus, and developing mindful awareness. Starting from basic meditation practice, the App guides us through more advanced levels and also offers meditations for specific purposes. The Mandala app allows you to connect with other subscribers in your region, as well as engage with others in discussions around every topic. It also lets you set and monitor your intentions to help you focus on outcomes. The Digital Bead in the app helps you meditate while commuting or walking. Being part of the Mandala community you are choosing to live your life consciously and with purpose. Once again, welcome to Mandala. Subscription Plan: The Mandala App – Download from the store is free. On download, introduction to The Mandala App and 30 – 40 secs preview of most of the content is available free. (Includes video lectures by Thupten Jinpa, conversations with global expert, introduction to meditation, guided meditations, talk on ‘Buddha the Psychologist’, events and publications). Subscription - Annual Subscription at US$ 24.99 (or equivalent). Half yearly Subscription at US$ 13.49 (or equivalent). Quarterly Subscription at US$ 6.99 (or equivalent). The subscription entitles the subscriber access to all the content of The Mandala App including video, audio and text and all updates (new content) published during the subscription period. To access interactive features like My Community, Open Forum, My Intentions, Digital Beads and My Library, you need to create your profile in the app after subscribing. Your payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will automatically renew 24 hours before end of the current period, and your credit card will be charged through your iTunes account unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can turn off auto renew at any time from your iTunes account settings. When the user cancels a subscription, iTunes does not offer a refund for the current billing cycle. Instead, it allows the user to have access to the cancelled subscription until the end of the current billing cycle, at which time it terminates the subscription. Terms of use: http://mandalaapp.org/terms-conditions/ Privacy policy: http://mandalaapp.org/privacy-policy/
Mantra Reader
This app helps you practice mantra recitation for mental clarity and spiritual growth. It allows you to use preset or custom mantras, track your progress, and sync data across devices. Enjoy a user-friendly interface with widgets for easy access.
- Preset and custom mantra support
- Track reading statistics
- Favorites list for mantras
- User-friendly interface
- Home and Lock Screen widgets
- iCloud data sync
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The repetition of mantras has a beneficial effect on a person in many areas of his life. This process is able to remove suffering on the mental and physical levels and to clarify consciousness. Recite mantras and keep track of your level. In this app: - Use preset mantras or create and set up your own. - Add most actual mantras to Favorites. - Track your readings statistics over time. - Enjoy the user-friendly interface and beautiful design on your iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac (with M-chip). - Use all kinds of widgets with the necessary data on Home Screen and Lock Screen. - Take advantage of data sync across all your devices via iCloud (works automatically for signed-in users). All data is saved in iCloud and won’t be lost even if the application is deleted. Important information: Recitation of mantras - is a sacrament. Approach this issue with all your awareness. In order for the practice of reciting to be correct, one must receive the transmission of the mantra from the teacher. Transmission is essential to maintain the strength of the original source of the mantra. It is not enough just to read it in a book or on the Internet. For this reason, application doesn't include the mantra texts themselves (except Vajrasattva). They must be given to you by your spiritual mentor and can be added manually later. We wish you deep awarenesses and spiritual growth!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: The Mandala App at 4.4 against Mantra Reader's 3.8. The Mandala App also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly) and ratings volume (27 vs 4). Mantra Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (100% vs 68%). On price, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. The Mandala App sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 3 months. Mantra Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
The Mandala App holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Mandala App has 27 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 68% of The Mandala App's written reviews are positive against 100% of Mantra Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
The Mandala App ships an update every 2 weeks, Mantra Reader monthly. Both last shipped on June 4, 2026.
| Parameter | The Mandala App | Mantra Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (27 ratings) — better | 3.8 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 68.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 27 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Industory PTE LTD | Aleksandr Vorobev |
Customer experience
The Mandala App
Mantra Reader
In-app purchases
The Mandala App
- Mandala 3 Months Subscription$6.993 Months
- Mandala 6 Months Subscription$13.496 Months
- Mandala Annual Subscription$24.991 Year
Mantra Reader
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Mandala App free?
Is Mantra Reader free?
Which has better reviews, The Mandala App or Mantra Reader?
Do The Mandala App or Mantra Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Mandala App or Mantra Reader?
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