Comparison

Urban Zazen Timer vs Mindful Timer

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

Head to head
About

Urban Zazen Timer

Features
Read full description

Simple Zazen Meditation App. Included Zazen periods: – 15 min (no interval bell) – 20 min (interval bell at 10 min) – 30 min (interval bell at 10 and 20 min) – 40 min (interval bell at 13 and 27 min) Acknowledgments – Sounds by sfzc.org – Enso circle by Shunryu Suzuki

About

Mindful Timer

This app provides a simple, unguided interval timer for self-guided meditation, breathwork, and yoga practices. It features customizable timers, gentle bells, and a distraction-free interface. Save your favorite routines and track your weekly sessions without any ads or subscriptions.

Highlights
  • Multiple automatic timers
  • Customizable interval bells
  • Save preset routines
  • Weekly session tracking
  • Gentle bell sounds
  • Distraction-free design
  • Offline functionality
Read full description

A simple meditation timer for your self-guided meditation, restorative/yin yoga, Vipassana or other mindfulness practice. No ads. No subscriptions. No distractions. Just gentle bells to keep time while you practice. Set your session, put your phone down, and let the bells guide you. Set multiple timers for a session — say, 2 minutes to settle, 20 minutes of silent sitting, 5 minutes of metta — and Mindful Timer moves from one to the next with a bell at each transition, plus optional interval bells along the way. No courses, no sleep sounds, no content library. Just timers to structure your session, soothing sounds, and you. NEW + 20+ curated sounds: singing bowls, bells, and simple voice cues + Choose how many times the bells ring – once, twice, or three times + Practice insights and heat maps to help you build consistency + Sync sessions to Apple Health as Mindful Minutes CORE FEATURES + Simple, minimal and intuitive UX + Sequential timers that flow automatically from one to the next, so you never check the clock + Interval bells at your chosen frequency (e.g. every 5 minutes) + Fully custom timer durations + Save your routines as presets and start them in one tap + Track streaks, weekly and monthly sessions, and lifetime minutes + Play your own music (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) + Runs in the background and while your phone is locked + Large countdown display DESIGNED FOR CALM FROM DAY ONE + No ads, ever + No subscriptions, ever + No guided meditations, courses, or content to wade through + No social feeds or comparison + Dark mode so it's easy on the eyes + Works fully offline + Gentle sounds to guide you through transitions PERFECT FOR + Any self-guided or silent meditation + Zen, zazen, vipassana, and insight meditation + Yin yoga and restorative yoga + Breathwork and pranayama + Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya + Practicing at home before a vipassana or meditation retreat + Building a daily unguided meditation or yoga habit + Yoga teachers keeping time during class + Interval walking, Japanese interval walking, and Pomodoro focus blocks + Prayer or mantra meditation + Kundalini yoga + Timed stretches WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT + Intuitive design that easier to use than most other timer apps out there. + Keeps time in the background, so you never pick up your phone mid-practice. + Carefully curated, soothing sounds. No jarring alarms. + No clutter, no distractions, nothing you don't need.

Screenshots

Urban Zazen Timer2 screens
Mindful Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Urban Zazen Timer at none against Mindful Timer's 2. Urban Zazen Timer also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.6). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Mindful Timer sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Urban Zazen Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Urban Zazen Timer ships an update fortnightly, Mindful Timer weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Urban Zazen Timer versus Mindful Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUrban Zazen TimerMindful Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—12 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWhitesmith LdaBurnt Cinnamon Labs

In-app purchases

None

Urban Zazen Timer

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Mindful Timer

One-time2
  • Premium: Bell Sounds, Insights$2.99
  • Premium: Bell Sounds, Insights$4.99

Questions

Is Urban Zazen Timer free?
Urban Zazen Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mindful Timer free?
Mindful Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Urban Zazen Timer or Mindful Timer have ads?
Neither Urban Zazen Timer nor Mindful Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Urban Zazen Timer or Mindful Timer?
Urban Zazen Timer ships an update fortnightly, and Mindful Timer weekly. Most recently, Urban Zazen Timer was updated on October 7, 2026 and Mindful Timer on October 24, 2026.

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