Comparison

般若文海 vs Sutra

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

Head to head
About

般若文海

Features
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般若文海收集了各类佛教经论,注解,开示,讲义等书籍2000余本。

About

Sutra

Features
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Sutra — A pocket Tripitaka. An offline, distraction-free reader for the Chinese-Buddhist canon, with text sourced from CBETA (Chinese Buddhist Electronic Texts Association, latest open release), grounded in the Taishō Tripitaka. Translations by Kumārajīva, Xuanzang, Yijing and others — organized for daily reading. ■ 35 scriptures The Dharma-Drum daily-recital selection: Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Amitābha Sutra, Universal Gate of Avalokiteśvara, Samantabhadra's Vows, 42 Sections, Medicine Buddha, Earth Treasury, Śūraṅgama, Perfect Enlightenment … Four major repentance liturgies: Liang Emperor, Threefold Samādhi Water, Great Compassion, Earth Treasury Jeweled, 88 Buddhas, Ten Small Mantras. Oldest-stratum short collections: Dhammapada, Aṭṭhakavagga, Itivuttaka, Saṃyukta-āgama selections (including Pabhassara Sutta, Mahāparinibbāna verse). ■ Four-language parallel reading Four core scriptures carry four reading modes:  Chinese — Classical Chinese translation (Xuanzang, Kumārajīva …)  Sanskrit — IAST + Devanāgarī, the original sound  English — translation, opening the meaning  English→Chinese — modern Mandarin transcribed from the English An in-app "Reading Languages" essay explains why each mode exists. ■ Traditional vertical ↔ modern horizontal One tap to switch. Vertical preserves the handwritten-sutra ritual feel; horizontal suits commuting and night reading. Four font sizes (S/M/L/XL); the size stays put when TTS playback is on. ■ Cinnabar-stamp aesthetic, sprinkled-gold paper Visual identity drawn from Song-Yuan sutra manuscripts: cream cotton-paper texture in light mode, royal navy with sprinkled gold in dark mode. Restrained palette designed to be easy on the eyes during long readings. ■ Recitation TTS Built-in Mandarin voices (Tingting / Meijia / Sinji) read along with you — useful when driving or eyes closed. ■ Six reflective essays  • Textual Strata — what layer of "the Buddha's word" we are reading  • Three Buddhas — the three shapes the Buddha takes in text  • Path of Deification — the five stages from man to god  • "Are all sentient beings originally Buddha?" — tracing the lineage of a Chan koan  • Reading Languages — positioning the four modes  • Sources & Attribution — CBETA license + acknowledgements ■ Reminders Daily passage push at 06:00; 16 major Buddhist holidays (Buddha's bath day, Avalokiteśvara's anniversary, Earth-Treasury Bodhisattva's anniversary …) push at 09:00. Optional integration with the system Reminders app. ■ Privacy Zero data collection. No tracking, no analytics, no upload. The sutra database ships with the app; your reading progress and bookmarks stay on your device. No ads, no IAP, no subscription, free forever. — Sutra text © CBETA (Chinese Buddhist Electronic Texts Association), latest open release. Base: Taishō Tripitaka © Daizo Shuppan K.K. (CBETA holds input and publication permissions). License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 Taiwan — https://www.cbeta.org/copyright.php This app is non-commercial. Sutra texts are unaltered in substance, with CBETA attribution and version noted.

Screenshots

般若文海4 screens
Sutra4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: 般若文海 at every 3 days against Sutra's every 3 weeks. 般若文海 also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

般若文海 ships an update every 3 days, Sutra every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
般若文海 versus Sutra: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter般若文海Sutra
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size258 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCong Wang一創系統有限公司

In-app purchases

None

般若文海

No in-app purchases

None

Sutra

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is 般若文海 free?
般若文海 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sutra free?
Sutra is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do 般若文海 or Sutra have ads?
Neither 般若文海 nor Sutra shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 般若文海 or Sutra?
般若文海 ships an update every 3 days, and Sutra every 3 weeks. Most recently, 般若文海 was updated on September 16, 2026 and Sutra on September 12, 2026.

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