Comparison

Elephant Journal vs Aethera

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

Head to head
About

Elephant Journal

Explore mindful living through articles, videos, and podcasts on topics like meditation, relationships, and environmental tips. Engage with content, support authors, and join discussions to foster a sense of community and personal growth.

Highlights
  • Daily Front Page updates
  • Browse articles by topic
  • Comment and share content
  • Heart articles to boost scores
  • Follow favorite writers
  • Receive notifications
Features
Read full description

From Meditation to Relationships, Family to Environmental Tips, Yoga and Meditation to Travel and Recipes—we cover all the issues and topics that matter with a sense of humor and journalistic integrity—cutting through fads and making fun of spiritual materialism. Our app is simple: it’s not here to clutter your life, but to help open it up. Most apps we enjoy fill the gaps in our lives—whether in line or in a waiting room, or at a restaurant waiting for a friend or colleague to return. Elephant offers space and inspiration within this busyness, enabling us to return to our basic goodness with knowledge and empathy. Every day, check our Front Page for uplifted discussions and new articles, videos and podcasts. Then, your reading, hearting, sharing, and commenting directly increase the article's score, helping that author “win,” get paid by our mindful community, and get featured on our Front Page. FRONT PAGE: A clear scrollable display of our community’s favorite articles, timely issues, and editor’s picks. Scroll ’til you find something that inspires you. TOPICS: Browse articles by category (Yoga, Family, Green, Politics, Recipes…), bookmark those you love, and snooze the ones you don’t. NOTIFICATIONS: See if someone replies to your comment, get alerts from writers who you follow, and find our best new articles. SEARCH: Find that article or subject you’re curious about, and see other trending searches HEART: Tap the “heart” icon on your favorite articles to boost their score to help the issue get featured on our Front Page and increase the author’s chances of winning our weekly Ecosystem payout. COMMENT: Join the uplifted discussions happening on each story to increase the article’s score and create mindful community. SHARE: Share your favorite articles with your network, directly from the app. SUBSCRIBE: You can read two articles free, every day—if you want to read unlimited articles, and see fewer ads, you can subscribe for $3/month (billed annually at $36/year). You can cancel your renewal at any time from the Account Settings of your device at least 24 hours before your renewal date. Questions? Feedback? Confused? Contact our Support at: elephantjournal.com/support We respect your Privacy: elephantjournal.com/privacy Elephant’s Terms of Service: elephantjournal.com/terms-of-service/

About

Aethera

Experience short, immersive sound and visual healing sessions designed to bring calm and clarity. Share how you feel, and receive a personalized audiovisual experience to help you return to your day with greater balance.

Highlights
  • Immersive sound and visual healing experiences
  • Personalized Moments based on your feelings
  • 2-5 minute sessions
  • Over 120 unique healing tones
  • Original compositions and stunning visuals
  • No account required
Features
Read full description

"My body felt like it was being wrapped in a luxurious robe" Aethera features Moments: short, immersive sound and visual healing experiences: 3-5 minutes of full screen audiovisuals designed to meet you exactly where you are. Each Moment is handcrafted from original compositions, specific frequencies, and stunning visuals. Simply share how you feel, and Aethera gently routes you to the Moment made for this version of you, right now A conversation is available after each Moment. Chat about what brought you in, what your experience was like, or integrate more fully. WHAT PEOPLE EXPERIENCE "Clear space in my head for downloads to drop in." "Felt like a psychedelic journey while completely sober." "Brain isn't bouncing like a squirrel anymore." "Wrapping my cells in a luxurious robe." "A remembrance of pure power and divinity." HOW IT WORKS • Open the app → "How are you feeling?" • Share your state through voice or text • Receive a full-screen Moment matched to you • Return to your day with more balance, calm, and clarity WHAT MAKES AETHERA DIFFERENT • 120+ unique Moments across multiple healing tones • Original compositions made with internationally recognized musicians and healers • Visuals designed to be felt, and not just seen • No account required: open to everyone • Rooted in harmonic science and the natural creation/rest cycle of life There is no "bad" emotion in our world. Aethera simply meets you where you are, and offers a Moment of harmony Return to home Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://aethera.love/privacy

Screenshots

Elephant Journal4 screens
Aethera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Aethera at free against Elephant Journal's free with in-app purchases. Aethera also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 84%) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). Elephant Journal's advantage is ratings volume (14K vs 19). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Elephant Journal sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Aethera sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $10.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Elephant Journal against 4.9 for Aethera. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Elephant Journal has 14K ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of Elephant Journal's written reviews are positive against 100% of Aethera's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Elephant Journal ships an update every 3 weeks, Aethera fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Elephant Journal versus Aethera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElephant JournalAethera
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (14K ratings)4.9 (19 ratings)
Positive reviews83.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14K — better19
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB158 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperElephant JournalOssirus LLC

Customer experience

Elephant Journal

All ratings14,205 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews98 reviews
Positive83.7%
Neutral3.1%
Negative13.3%

Aethera

All ratings19 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Elephant Journal

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Subscription cancellation button not working
  • Articles not loading properly
  • Inconsistent reading limits

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Implement a 'read later' feature
  • Improve navigation and article tracking
  • Increase free article limits

Aethera

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Elephant Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Elephant Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Elephant Subscription$35.991 Year
One-time2
  • Article Boost$2.99
  • Big Article Boost$9.99
2 purchases

Aethera

Subscriptions2
  • Aethera Monthly$10.001 Month
  • Aethera Annual$77.001 Year

Questions

Is Elephant Journal free?
Elephant Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Aethera free?
Aethera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Elephant Journal or Aethera?
Elephant Journal and Aethera are both rated 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store, from 14K and 19 ratings respectively.
Do Elephant Journal or Aethera have ads?
Neither Elephant Journal nor Aethera shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Elephant Journal or Aethera?
Elephant Journal ships an update every 3 weeks, and Aethera fortnightly. Most recently, Elephant Journal was updated on October 17, 2026 and Aethera on October 2, 2026.

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