Illustrated Dhammapada vs OpenTipitaka
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Illustrated Dhammapada
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Dhammapada has 423 Gatha under 26 Vagga. This app consist of the Pali texts, respective Sinhala translations, illustrations elaborating the meaning and related stories of each of the 423 Gatha. The stories has been extracted from Dhammapada Atuwa of Khuddhaka Nikaya. Read offline without an internet connection. Give a five star rating and encourage us. Distribute as much as possible. Let your parents and children read. Also install on mobile phones of Bhikkus if possible. "Sabba Danam Dhamma Danam Jinathi".
OpenTipitaka
Access and study the Pali Tipiṭaka with multilingual translations and offline capabilities. Features include paragraph-by-paragraph comparison, fast search, and study tools like bookmarks and dictionary lookup.
- Pali Tipiṭaka reading
- Multilingual paragraph-by-paragraph translations
- Offline access
- Fast search
- Study tools (bookmarks, dictionary)
- Community correction suggestions
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OpenTipitaka is a focused reader for the Pali Tipiṭaka, built for study, reference, and daily reading on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Read the Pali canon with multilingual, paragraph-by-paragraph translations, fast search, offline access, and study tools designed for close reading. Multilingual Translations OpenTipitaka supports AI-generated translations in multiple languages, including: Chinese, English, Vietnamese, Thai, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Myanmar, Sinhala, Spanish, Marathi, and Tibetan. The translations are generated with reference to Myanmar translations and Nissaya materials. While they are not a substitute for the Pali original or qualified human guidance, most translations have reached a level close to human translation quality and are continually improved through review and community correction suggestions. Key Features Pali Tipiṭaka reading Browse and read the Pali texts in a clean, study-focused interface. Multilingual paragraph-by-paragraph reading Display available translations together with the Pali original, aligned by paragraph for easier comparison and understanding. Offline access Keep texts available on your device and continue reading without an internet connection. Fast search Find passages, terms, and references quickly across the collection. Comfortable reading experience A quiet layout designed for long reading sessions on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Study tools Use features such as bookmarks, dictionary lookup, multi-tab reading, split-screen reading, auto-scroll, and translation read-aloud where available. Community corrections Help improve the texts by submitting correction suggestions where supported.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Illustrated Dhammapada at daily against OpenTipitaka's every 3 weeks. Illustrated Dhammapada also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Illustrated Dhammapada ships an update daily, OpenTipitaka every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Illustrated Dhammapada | OpenTipitaka |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.2 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Daily — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 59 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Path Nirvana Foundation | Dhamma Sarana |
In-app purchases
Illustrated Dhammapada
No in-app purchases
OpenTipitaka
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Illustrated Dhammapada free?
Is OpenTipitaka free?
Do Illustrated Dhammapada or OpenTipitaka have ads?
Which is updated more often, Illustrated Dhammapada or OpenTipitaka?
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