Comparison

I Ching Lite vs Gather

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

Head to head
About

I Ching Lite

This app provides access to the ancient Chinese oracle, the Book of Changes, for guidance on life's challenges. It offers an elegant and accessible way to consult its wisdom, helping users find balance, perspective, and peace of mind.

Highlights
  • I Ching consulting tool
  • Complete odd-numbered passages
  • Coin tossing simulation
  • Elegant and easy-to-use interface
  • Access to ancient Chinese wisdom
Features
Read full description

For years the #1 I Ching app in the world, and perhaps the most elegant, distilled version of the I Ching there is. For centuries, the Book of Changes has been consulted for sage advice at life's turning points. When its wisdom is sought with sincerity and sensitivity, this ancient Chinese oracle will promote success and good fortune and impart balance and perspective to your life. Its lasting popularity lies in the profound lessons it teaches about how reliance on one's higher qualities leads to life's greatest rewards: well-being, understanding, and peace of mind.

 Now available as an elegantly designed and easy to use iOS app, it is both highly accessible to new users and a revelation to those long familiar with the text. Throw your own coins, or let the app cast for you, and make the wisdom of the sages your own. This lite version contains the I Ching consulting tool and complete odd-numbered passages. Additional content and emailing feature is available through an In App Purchase. Brian Browne Walker is the author of celebrated contemporary translations of the I Ching, Tao te Ching, Hua hu Ching, and Art of War which are published by Harper and St. Martin's Press and translated into over a dozen languages around the world. His "I Ching, or Book of Changes", long beloved for its clarity and accessibility, has received five star reviews on Amazon consistently for over a decade.

About

Gather

Capture and organize your ideas, moments, and inspirations with a multimedia field recorder. This privacy-focused app allows quick collection of text, images, and videos, with offline functionality and on-device storage.

Highlights
  • Offline functionality
  • Privacy-focused, no ads or tracking
  • Quick multimedia capture
  • Organize and connect notes
  • Review moments in a feed
  • Are.na integration
  • Open-source
Features
Read full description

Develop your curiosity and personal taste with Gather, a multimedia field recorder for cultivating your personal archive of ideas, moments, and rituals. Key Features: * Offline-Capable: Full functionality without internet connection * Privacy-Focused: No ads, no logins, no tracking and all data is stored on-device* * Quick Capture: Collect everyday inspiration and moments on-the-go as fast as texting yourself * Organize: Connect unorganized blocks later while in transit or after getting home, so you don’t have to worry about organizing when collecting. * Review: Revisit your favorite moments and curb your social media addiction while scratching your scroll itch in a TikTok-like feed Additional Benefits: * Multimedia support: collect text, images, videos, and links! Support for more types like audio on the horizon * Are.na Integration: Sync selected collections and blocks to give them an online home * Personalization: Customize app icons and configure the interface through detailed settings * Share extension: quickly save text, images, and links from other apps * Open-Source: Transparent, secure, and community-driven Gather was developed by a person (Spencer) for their own use, which means it has the best interests of the person using it in mind. No dark patterns or corporate shenanigans, ever. * this doesn’t include content that you decide to sync to external providers --- Gather is made and maintained by Spencer Chang, an indie engineer and internet artist based in San Francisco, California. You can learn more about the philosophy behind Gather in this interview with Are.na (https://www.are.na/editorial/an-interview-with-spencer-chang) Gather emerged from a personal need for a tool to facilitate my own archival practice—something that helped me collect the daily inspiration I encountered, connect them to relevant containers, and revisit ideas that important to me. More info: https://gather.directory/ Privacy Policy: https://gather.directory/privacy

Screenshots

I Ching Lite4 screens
Gather4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: I Ching Lite at 1.1K against Gather's 32. I Ching Lite also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.5). Gather's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 83%). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. I Ching Lite sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Gather sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for I Ching Lite against 5.0 for Gather. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: I Ching Lite has 1.1K ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of I Ching Lite's written reviews are positive against 100% of Gather's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

I Ching Lite ships an update every 3 months, Gather every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
I Ching Lite versus Gather: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterI Ching LiteGather
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (1.1K ratings)5.0 (32 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.1K — better32
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrian WalkerSpencer Chang

Customer experience

I Ching Lite

All ratings1,056 ratings
Positive97.3%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews183 reviews
Positive82.5%
Neutral3.8%
Negative13.7%

Gather

All ratings29 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

I Ching Lite

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when trying to save journal entries
  • Paid upgrade not working as expected
  • Inconsistent or incomplete hexagram readings

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to save and review past journal entries
  • Option to adjust font size and background
  • Support for multiple translations or versions
  • Sharing capabilities to connect with others

Gather

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

I Ching Lite

One-time2
  • I Ching: Book of Changes$5.99
  • Wei Wu Wei Ching$5.99
7 purchases

Gather

One-time7
  • Gather Contribution$2.99
  • Gather Contribution$5.99
  • Gather Contribution$9.99
Show 4 more
  • Gather Contribution$12.99
  • Gather Contribution$34.99
  • Gather Contribution$59.99
  • Gather Contribution$99.99

Questions

Is I Ching Lite free?
I Ching Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Gather free?
Gather is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, I Ching Lite or Gather?
Gather is rated higher. I Ching Lite averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Gather averages 5.0 from 32 ratings.
Do I Ching Lite or Gather have ads?
Neither I Ching Lite nor Gather shows ads.
Which is updated more often, I Ching Lite or Gather?
I Ching Lite ships an update every 3 months, and Gather every 6 weeks. Most recently, I Ching Lite was updated on November 1, 2026 and Gather on October 27, 2026.

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