# Bark vs ZK助手

The clearest difference is ads: Bark at none against ZK助手's shown. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bark sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.69 per year and ZK助手 sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Bark against 4.8 for ZK助手. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 110 and 108 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 98% of Bark's written reviews are positive against 96% of ZK助手's.

Bark ships an update every 3 weeks, ZK助手 every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bark | ZK助手 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (110 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-custom-notifications/id1403753865/reviews)** | [4.8 (108 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zk/id1498018958/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **110** | 108 |
| Positive reviews | **98.4% of reviews** | 96.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 32 MB | 79 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [丰 黄](https://appshunter.io/developer/1090589311) | [文雪 程](https://appshunter.io/developer/1533529523) |

## What reviewers say

### Bark

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-custom-notifications/id1403753865)

Send custom push notifications to your iPhone via an HTTP API. Supports advanced features like custom icons, grouping, and critical alerts. Offers privacy-protected, end-to-end encrypted pushes with self-deployable server options.

**Highlights:** HTTP API for push notifications, Custom icons and grouping, Continuous and critical alerts, End-to-end push encryption, Self-deployable server options, Privacy-protected notifications

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Continuous support | $2.69 | per year |
| One-time donation | $2.69 | one-time |


### ZK助手

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zk/id1498018958)

This app offers precise timing tools for various needs, including manual time adjustments and countdowns. It features visual and auditory alerts, customizable skins, and a dedicated alarm function for timely reminders.

**Highlights:** Precise time source selection (Beijing/System), Manual time adjustment (seconds, milliseconds), Millisecond highlighting and display toggle, Countdown mode with smart interval detection, Auditory countdown alerts, Customizable skins (solid & colorful), Dedicated alarm function for reminders

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 请作者喝可乐 | $0.99 | one-time |
| 给作者加鸡腿 | $0.99 | one-time |
| 支付￥12移除广告 | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Very useful for grabbing coupons
- 👍 Excellent for grabbing limited items (e.g., Moutai, Linabell)
- 👍 Accurate time display
- 👍 Flexible time placement and transparency settings
- 👍 Smart and intelligent features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App is too large, takes up space
- 🐛 Picture in Picture not working on iOS 14.8.1
- 🐛 Phone gets hot with Dynamic Island
- 🐛 No calibration option

**Reported bugs**

- Picture in Picture function is not working for ios 14.8.1
- Phone gets hot with Dynamic Island feature
- No calibration available

**Requested features**

- Add virtual location function
- Add calibration function
- Improve Picture in Picture for older iOS versions


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bark free?

Bark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is ZK助手 free?

ZK助手 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Bark or ZK助手?

Bark is rated higher. Bark averages 4.9 out of 5 from 110 ratings, while ZK助手 averages 4.8 from 108 ratings.

### Do Bark or ZK助手 have ads?

ZK助手 shows ads; Bark does not.

### Which is updated more often, Bark or ZK助手?

Bark ships an update every 3 weeks, and ZK助手 every 2 weeks. Most recently, Bark was updated on October 25, 2026 and ZK助手 on October 27, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*