Comparison

Touchstones vs Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

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

Head to head
About

Touchstones

This app offers daily meditations and insights specifically for men, focusing on masculinity, recovery, and personal growth. It provides tools for navigating life's challenges, supporting self-help programs, and fostering balanced living.

Highlights
  • Daily readings for recovery and personal growth
  • Meditations exploring masculinity
  • Includes Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
  • Bookmark favorite meditations
  • Search all daily readings
  • Daily notification reminders
  • Light/dark mode and font size settings
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Designed specifically for men, Touchstones explores masculinity through informative, inspirational meditations and offers profound advice for life’s many changes. While the daily readings help with recovery, they also help men create a better, more balanced life. Continued awareness and involvement with the ideas in this app provide ongoing personal growth. Although this growth is entirely our own, its benefits are shared and spread to every relationship--friends and family alike. Here, every struggle meets an insight. And in this app, the cycle of addiction can meet its end. In addition to a meditation for each day of the year, Touchstones includes lists of the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions. Whether you participate in Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or another self-help program, Touchstones can serve as a reliable companion on any recovering man’s journey. Features: PRESS the “Today” button to access today’s reading. SWIPE forward or back to easily access more daily readings. SHARE the daily reading with friends by e-mail or text. BOOKMARK your favorite meditations (press the star in the upper right-hand corner) and easily return to them (press the star in the bottom toolbar). SEARCH all 366 daily readings. RECEIVE a notification every day to remind you to read the daily meditation. JUMP to a specific reading using the calendar button. SET your font size using your device settings. CHOOSE between light or dark mode.

About

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Explore timeless Stoic wisdom with this app, featuring an elegant carousel interface and customizable reading options. Save your favorite passages for easy revisiting and navigate through profound teachings with simple swipes.

Highlights
  • Elegant carousel interface for chapters
  • Customizable fonts and font sizes
  • Favorite and revisit passages
  • User-friendly swipe navigation
  • Highlighted favorites in content list
Read full description

Embark on a Journey of Stoic Wisdom: Marcus Aurelius Meditations brings the timeless philosophy of the Roman Emperor directly to your fingertips. Designed for modern readers, this app offers an intuitive and enriching way to explore one of history’s most influential works. CORE FEATURES: -Elegant Carousel Interface: Each of the sections in the 12 chapters of "Meditations" unfolds in a beautifully designed carousel interface. This unique feature allows you to leisurely absorb the wisdom in each numbered section, making the profound teachings of Marcus Aurelius more accessible and engaging. -Customizable Reading Experience: Tailor your reading experience with six different font types and adjustable font sizes. Whether you're reading at home or on the go, this app ensures a comfortable and personalized reading journey. -Favorite and Revisit: Click the heart symbol to favorite any section. Your chosen passages are then conveniently listed on your favorites page, making it easy to return to the sections that resonate with you the most. -User-Friendly Navigation: Glide through the teachings of Marcus Aurelius with simple left or right swipes. The app’s content section provides a seamless way to navigate directly to any chapter or section, enhancing your exploration of Stoic philosophy. -Golden Touches for Favorites: Your favorited sections are not only stored for quick access but are also highlighted in golden font in the contents list, adding a visually pleasing and practical element to your reading journey. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is a gateway to ancient knowledge and personal growth through Stoicism. Immerse yourself in the meditative words of one of history's greatest philosophers and find inspiration in his reflections on life, virtue, and resilience. Let this app be your guide to understanding and integrating timeless wisdom into your daily life.

Screenshots

Touchstones4 screens
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Touchstones at 4.9 against Meditations by Marcus Aurelius's 2.0. Touchstones also leads on monetization model (free vs paid) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 1). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Touchstones costs $7.99 and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius $7.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Touchstones holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Touchstones has 1.6K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Touchstones versus Meditations by Marcus Aurelius: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTouchstonesMeditations by Marcus Aurelius
Price$7.99$7.99
Rating4.9 (1.6K ratings) — better2.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews97.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.6K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 11 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank#54 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better13.4
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB32 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBookMobileAmund Ring

Customer experience

Touchstones

All ratings1,634 ratings
Positive98.8%
Neutral0.9%
Negative0.4%
Written reviews95 reviews
Positive97.9%
Neutral2.1%
Negative0.0%

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Touchstones

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashing or not opening on iOS 8.3
  • Text size issues after iOS 10 upgrade

Requested features

3 requests
  • Audio narration of daily readings
  • Ability to create custom folders/bookmarks
  • Notification reminders to read daily

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Touchstones

No in-app purchases

None

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Touchstones free?
Touchstones costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius free?
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Touchstones or Meditations by Marcus Aurelius?
Touchstones is rated higher. Touchstones averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Meditations by Marcus Aurelius averages 2.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Touchstones or Meditations by Marcus Aurelius have ads?
Neither Touchstones nor Meditations by Marcus Aurelius shows ads.

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