Elephant Journal vs Buddhability
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Daily Front Page updates
- Browse articles by topic
- Comment and share content
- Heart articles to boost scores
- Follow favorite writers
- Receive notifications
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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/
Buddhability
Access daily inspiration, guided Buddhist chanting, and an AI-powered chat for Buddhist wisdom. Engage in courses, challenges, and connect with friends to support your personal growth journey.
- Daily inspiration and wisdom
- Guided Buddhist chanting with progress tracking
- AI-powered Buddhist Q&A
- Social features for friends and encouragement
- Courses and challenges for personal development
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DAILY INSPIRATION Discover 300+ words of inspiration and wisdom to power your day. In a world where each day brings a new set of challenges, dive into your daily routine with hope and bravery. You can also read, watch or listen to a community of Buddhists sharing their stories whether it be about relationships, money or jobs. GUIDED BUDDHIST CHANTING & PERSONAL GOALS Receive guided Buddhist chanting at the best speed for you, whether that’s slow, medium or ideal. You can start or finish your chanting at any time along with an audio guide of how to do it. You can set personal and chanting goals to track your progress and see the positive impact chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can have in your daily life. ASK BUDDHABILITY Don’t know where to start? Just “Ask Buddhability” and our AI-powered chat will source from our 500+ library of materials any answers to your questions from a Buddhist perspective. TOGETHER WITH FRIENDS Buddhability is more fun with friends! So, invite your friends to do challenge together or just send each other encouragement as you strive toward your personal and chanting goals. COURSES & CHALLENGES Take your Buddhability journey to the next level with courses and challenges that fit your level and interest. Whether it’s a 30 Day Buddhability Challenge to see how chanting can work for you or “How to Get Unstuck in 10 Days” when you’re feeling in a rut. Whatever it may be, these courses and challenges are here to help you take a step forward. Read the terms and conditions here: https://buddhability.org/terms-conditions/ Read the privacy policy here: https://buddhability.org/privacy-policy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Buddhability at none against Elephant Journal's 4. Buddhability also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). Elephant Journal's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (14K vs 28). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Elephant Journal sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Buddhability asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Elephant Journal against 4.9 for Buddhability. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Elephant Journal has 14K ratings behind it against 28, 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 78% of Buddhability's.
Elephant Journal ships an update every 3 weeks, Buddhability every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Elephant Journal | Buddhability |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (14K ratings) | 4.9 (28 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 83.7% of reviews — better | 77.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 14K — better | 28 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 117 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Elephant Journal | Soka Gakkai International - USA |
Customer experience
Elephant Journal
Buddhability
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
Buddhability
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Elephant Journal
- Elephant Monthly$6.991 Month
- Elephant Subscription$35.991 Year
- Article Boost$2.99
- Big Article Boost$9.99
Buddhability
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Elephant Journal free?
Is Buddhability free?
Which has better reviews, Elephant Journal or Buddhability?
Do Elephant Journal or Buddhability have ads?
Which is updated more often, Elephant Journal or Buddhability?
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