Shantideva vs iMala
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shantideva
Access daily verses from a classic Buddhist text, "Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior." Explore the entire work by a renowned 8th-century Indian Buddhist master. This app offers a practical and inspiring guide to the Buddhist path.
- Daily verse display
- Full text access
- Buddhist teachings
- Practical guide
- Inspiring content
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This App displays one verse a day from Shantideva's text "Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior" (Bodhisattvacharyavatara) and allows to read through the entire text. "Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior" is an outstandingly practical and inspiring Buddhist text that covers all the aspects of the Buddhist path. Shantideva was a great Indian Buddhist master who lived during the 8th century CE. Two of his texts survive - the Bodhicharyavatara (the text that is displayed in this app) and the Shikshasamuccaya ("Compendium of Trainings"). Both texts are still used to the present day by and especially the Bodhicharyavatara is one of the most cherished and most frequently taught texts in the Tibetan tradition. Please report bugs to shantideva@christian-steinert.de
iMala
This app assists in counting mantras for Buddhist practices like Ngondro. It allows users to create and edit practices, track progress with statistics, and predict completion times. Data is safely synchronized across devices.
- Create and edit practices
- Add mantra texts and settings
- Track progress with statistics
- Predict practice completion time
- Cloud data synchronization
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iMala is an app designed to help you count mantras in Buddhist practices, especially in Ngondro. The app offers the following features: - Create and edit practices: easily create and edit your practices, add mantra texts and settings. - Convenient statistics: track your progress with clear and detailed statistics. - Practice completion prediction: get forecasts on the completion time of your practice based on your current pace. - Cloud data synchronization: keep your data safe and accessible from any device. KARMAPA CHENNO
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shantideva at none against iMala's 1. Shantideva also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). iMala's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 20 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. iMala sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Shantideva asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Shantideva against 5.0 for iMala. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Shantideva ships an update every 20 months, iMala weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shantideva | iMala |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 20 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Berzin Archives e.V. | Alexander Senin |
Customer experience
Shantideva
iMala
In-app purchases
Shantideva
No in-app purchases
iMala
- Donate this app$1.99
