Comparison

Center Meditation Timer vs Fable Journal

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

Head to head
About

Center Meditation Timer

A silent meditation timer designed for serious practitioners. It offers a minimalist interface with customizable session lengths, intervals, and sounds. Track your progress without pressure or gamification.

Highlights
  • Silent timer with optional bells
  • Customizable session lengths and intervals
  • Minimalist interface with themes
  • Daily reminders and widgets
  • Apple Watch support
  • iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

Center is a silent meditation timer for serious practice. No guides, no voices, no lessons, and no music. Center exists for people who already know why they meditate and want a calm, precise tool to support long-term practice. Start a session in one tap. Practice in silence or with simple bells. Customize session lengths, intervals, sounds, and themes to match your ritual. Center works across all Apple platforms and stays out of your way. # Designed for real practice • Silent timer with optional bells and intervals • Fully customizable session lengths • Minimal interface with multiple themes • Widgets and daily reminders • Apple Watch support • Syncs seamlessly with iCloud # Optional tracking, never pressure • View trends and streaks if you want them • Manually log sessions when needed • No rankings, no goals, no gamification # Built to last • No subscriptions • No ads • No data harvesting • Supported by optional donations Center is not a course, a coach, or a content platform. It is a quiet instrument for mindfulness, offered with restraint and intention. If Center supports your practice, you may choose to support its continued development.

About

Fable Journal

This app transforms spoken thoughts into written journal entries, offering various writing styles and lengths. It provides features like search, weekly summaries, and mood analytics, all designed with user privacy in mind.

Highlights
  • Voice-to-journal entries
  • Multiple writing styles
  • Customizable entry length
  • Searchable entry archive
  • Weekly letter summaries
  • Mood analytics
  • One-tap export
Features
Read full description

Most journals die on the blank page. You sit down, the cursor blinks, and you close the app. Fable Journal removes that moment entirely. Speak for ten seconds about your day. Fable — the writer inside the app — turns what you said into a real journal entry: written properly, in your voice, worth reading back in a year. HOW IT WORKS 1. Tap once and talk. A sentence is enough. Ramble if you want. 2. Fable writes the entry. 3. Read it back, keep it, and get on with your day. That's the whole thing. Most entries take under a minute. WRITTEN THE WAY YOU WANT Choose how your entries read, and change your mind whenever: - Literary — imagery and rhythm. Reads like a novel. - Plain — clear and honest. No flourish. - Warm — like a kind friend retelling your day. Pick the length too, from a few lines to a full page. WHAT YOU GET - Voice-to-journal entries in three writing styles - Your full entry archive, searchable and dated - Weekly letter — your week, gathered into something readable - Memory search — find the day you're half-remembering - Year in review — what the year actually held - Mood analytics — how your emotional life has shifted over time - Export everything, any time, in one tap PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your journal is yours. Entries are protected by per-account database rules, so no other account can read them. We don't sell your data, we don't show ads, and we never use your journal to train AI models. Export or delete everything whenever you want. FOR THE PEOPLE WHO'VE QUIT BEFORE If you've started a journal three times and stopped three times, this was built for you. The people who keep journaling are the ones who never had to face a blank page. That's the entire idea. PLANS Start free with up to 5 entries — they don't expire. Student ($4/month or $39/year) adds the weekly letter and memory search. Pro ($9/month or $79/year) adds year in review, mood analytics, and export. Subscriptions are billed through your Apple ID and renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel any time in your Apple ID settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.fablejournal.com/privacy Terms: https://www.fablejournal.com/terms

Screenshots

Center Meditation Timer4 screens
Fable Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Fable Journal at every 3 days against Center Meditation Timer's every 4 weeks. Fable Journal also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Center Meditation Timer's advantage is ratings volume (783 vs 1) and device support (6 vs 3). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Center Meditation Timer sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Fable Journal sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Fable Journal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Center Meditation Timer has 783 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Center Meditation Timer ships an update every 4 weeks, Fable Journal every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Center Meditation Timer versus Fable Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCenter Meditation TimerFable Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (783 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings783 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB2 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperTanner ChristensenOLGA MIKHAILOVNA VAKULICH

Bugs and requests

Center Meditation Timer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Interval sounds not playing consistently
  • Timer stopping when screen locks or goes to sleep
  • Sync issues between iPhone and Apple Watch app
  • Inability to change screen sleep settings

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add Apple Watch complications and background tracking
  • Allow manual entry of meditation sessions
  • Extend bell/chime duration for better resonance
  • Add option to play background nature sounds

Fable Journal

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Center Meditation Timer

One-time6
  • Donate $1$0.99
  • Donate $2$1.99
  • Donate $3$2.99
Show 3 more
  • Donate $4$3.99
  • Donate $5$4.99
  • Donate $18$17.99
4 purchases

Fable Journal

Subscriptions4
  • Student Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly$8.991 Month
  • Student Yearly$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro Yearly$79.991 Year

Questions

Is Center Meditation Timer free?
Center Meditation Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fable Journal free?
Fable Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Center Meditation Timer or Fable Journal?
Fable Journal is rated higher. Center Meditation Timer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 783 ratings, while Fable Journal averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Center Meditation Timer or Fable Journal have ads?
Neither Center Meditation Timer nor Fable Journal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Center Meditation Timer or Fable Journal?
Center Meditation Timer ships an update every 4 weeks, and Fable Journal every 3 days. Most recently, Center Meditation Timer was updated on November 8, 2026 and Fable Journal on November 6, 2026.

Other comparisons