Simple Meditation Timer vs Grid Diary
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Simple Meditation Timer
A minimalist timer designed for meditation and restorative yoga. It offers a peaceful countdown experience with a gentle chime, free from distractions. Users can optionally log their sessions as Mindful Minutes in the Health app.
- Minimalist timer interface
- Peaceful countdown
- Zen bowl chime
- No distractions
- Record Mindful Minutes
- Health App integration
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A minimalist timer. Elegant and peaceful way to meditate or practice restorative yoga. Simply counts down your session, then chimes the Keisu zen bowl. No additional "stuff" or distractions. Set your Simple Timer, take a few deep breaths and relax. You can choose to record your session as Mindful Minutes in the Health App.
Grid Diary
This app offers a guided journaling experience to foster personal development and mindfulness. It helps users build positive habits, manage stress, and enhance various aspects of their lives through customizable prompts and unique layouts.
- Prompted journaling with custom questions
- Unique grid and mandala layouts
- Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly planning
- Supports various journaling methods
- Mindfulness and self-care focus
- Stress and anxiety alleviation techniques
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Introducing Grid Diary: More than just a journaling app, it's your comprehensive personal development system. Embark on a personal growth journey that covers all aspects: • Embrace mindfulness & self-love • Establish morning & evening routines • Enhance personal health & wellbeing • Develop self-care habits • Alleviate stress and anxiety through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy • Acquire new skills • Boost productivity • Strengthen relationships • Ignite creativity ...and so much more. At Grid Diary, we understand that personal development is a holistic endeavor, not a singular pursuit. Grid Diary empowers you to create a diary system that goes beyond simple daily entries. By utilizing features such as custom prompts, tags, and categories, you can build a personalized framework for cultivating happiness and developing positive habits such as proactivity, optimism, and gratitude. Use Grid Diary to unlock the true power of keeping a diary and start your journey towards a happier, healthier you. # Feature Highlights • Prompted Journaling: Guided Self-Reflections Avoid writer's block with our question library or customize your own prompts for deeper self-reflection. • Unique Grid Format: Elegant and Comprehensive Organize all that matters to you on a single page with our customizable grid layout, fostering a holistic personal development system. • Mandala Layout: Journal like a Mind Map Our 9-grid Mandala-inspired layout, featuring a fixed center, emulates the artful representation of life's organization and connection to the cosmos. Journaling becomes intuitive and mirrors the way our minds work. • Day/Week/Month/Year Dimensions: Create Your Own Rituals Establish rituals that anchor you in time, crafting a framework for planning, acting, and reviewing on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. • Compatibility with Various Journaling Methods Whether you prefer morning diaries, success diaries, manifestation journals, or bullet journals, Grid Diary's flexibility accommodates your preferred approach. Discover the transformative power of Grid Diary and unlock your full potential today! # Don't Just Take Our Word for It "New Apps We Love" - Apple "If you've wanted to journal but don't know where to start, meet Grid Diary. Swappable prompts in a lovely, flexible grid format invite you to record and reflect on life's happenings - from noting your habits and goals to sharing affirmation and gratitude." - Google "Grid Diary is a good option for journal writers pressed for time or inspiration." - The New York Times --- As a dedicated three-person team, we believe that privacy is paramount for a journaling app. With no venture capital or advertisers backing Grid Diary, our long-term development relies solely on our members' paid subscriptions. We never sell your data to third parties for profit. # Note about Health App integration: After you have authorized access to health data, you can insert information such as steps or activity energy into your diary. Additionally, you can save your journaling time as mediation minutes to Health app. Grid Diary won't use your health data for other purposes. Privacy Policy https://griddiaryapp.com/support/privacy Terms of Service https://griddiaryapp.com/support/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Simple Meditation Timer at none against Grid Diary's 4. Simple Meditation Timer also leads on review sentiment (81% vs 48%) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 26.0). Grid Diary's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (963 vs 110). On price, rating, 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. Grid Diary sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Simple Meditation Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Grid Diary holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Grid Diary has 963 ratings behind it against 110, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 81% of Simple Meditation Timer's written reviews are positive against 48% of Grid Diary's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Simple Meditation Timer ships an update every 3 months, Grid Diary every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Simple Meditation Timer | Grid Diary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (110 ratings) | 4.6 (963 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 81.0% of reviews — better | 48.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 110 | 963 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 80 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Never Can Tell | Sumi Interactive |
Customer experience
Simple Meditation Timer
Grid Diary
User reviews
Simple Meditation Timer
From 110 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Simple and minimalistic design
- 🧘♀️ Perfect for meditation practice
- ✨ Elegant and clean interface
- 🚫 No ads or upsells
- ✅ Does one thing and does it well
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bell/gong doesn't always work
- 🔇 No sound when screen is off/phone locked
- 🔊 Volume too loud for headphones
- ⏳ Timer doesn't work reliably in background
- 🎛️ Limited customization options
Grid Diary
From 963 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Excellent journaling app
- 📚 Customizable templates and prompts
- 🧠 Helps with self-reflection and mental health
- 🗓️ Organized grid layout
- 🔍 Useful search and timeline features
Room to improve
- 🐛 Sync issues and data loss
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🔒 Lack of account deletion or data export options
- 🤔 Confusing onboarding and upgrade process
- 🕰️ Slow loading times and app freezes
Bugs and requests
Simple Meditation Timer
Reported bugs
7 issues- Bell/gong doesn't ring sometimes
- Timer doesn't work when phone is locked or screen is off
- Gongs don't stop until manually stopped
- Timer fell asleep and didn't go off
- Bell stopped working after an update
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- Circle graphic doesn't fully reset
- App not found in DND allowed apps settings
Requested features
15 requests- Add Apple Watch app
- Vibration feedback when timer ends
- Option to set number of bells/gongs
- Allow timer to run in background with screen off
- Option to change volume of the bell/gong
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- Media controls for lock screen
- Option to hide clock/interface elements
- Interval timer with short signals
- Singing bowl chime at the beginning
- Open-ended timer that counts up
- Silent (no bell) option
- Visual hint when timer ends
- Ability to select ringtone/music file
- Add lock-screen support
- Haptic feedback on Apple Watch
Grid Diary
Reported bugs
4 issues- Entries disappearing or not syncing properly
- Password reset functionality not working
- Subscription issues and inability to access premium features
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
Requested features
6 requests- Add Apple Pencil support
- Improve sync reliability across devices
- Provide more customization options for layouts and fonts
- Integrate with other productivity apps and calendars
- Implement a one-time purchase option
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- Allow randomized daily prompts
In-app purchases
Simple Meditation Timer
No in-app purchases
Grid Diary
- Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Monthly3 Months trial$4.991 Month
- Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
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- Annual6 Months trial$29.991 Year
Questions
Is Simple Meditation Timer free?
Is Grid Diary free?
Which has better reviews, Simple Meditation Timer or Grid Diary?
Do Simple Meditation Timer or Grid Diary have ads?
Which is updated more often, Simple Meditation Timer or Grid Diary?
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