I Ching Lite vs Ulysses
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- I Ching consulting tool
- Complete odd-numbered passages
- Coin tossing simulation
- Elegant and easy-to-use interface
- Access to ancient Chinese wisdom
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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.
Ulysses
This journal app helps you build self-control by reflecting on daily temptations and the strategies used to overcome them. It offers guided breathing exercises and insights into what works for you, without any pressure of streaks.
- Nightly self-control journaling
- Guided breathing exercises
- Insight into effective strategies
- No streak tracking
- Cultural ropes exploration
- Apple Watch integration
- iCloud sync
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Sailing home from Troy, Ulysses had to pass the Sirens — whose song pulled every sailor into the sea. He didn't trust willpower. He had himself tied to the mast. It wasn't strength that saved him. It was the rope. Ulysses & the Sirens is a nightly self-control journal built on that three-thousand-year-old trick. Each evening, one question: what did you resist today — and what was the rope that held you? An alarm across the room. A rule you set. The phone charging in the kitchen. Name the rope, tie the knot, and watch your voyage grow. NO STREAKS. EVER. Knots only count up. Nothing you have tied can be untied by a missed day. Quiet weeks are part of every voyage. WHEN THE SIREN SINGS Temptation doesn't wait for your evening review. One tap opens a minute of guided breathing with the rope — and the ropes that have held you before, ready to use. Hold on, then tie the knot while the win is fresh. YOUR ROPES, TESTED See which ropes actually hold you and which sirens keep returning. Insight, not guilt. THE BIGGER PICTURE Art, law, ritual, science — everything people build together is a rope against some siren that sings to all of us. Read the deck of cultural ropes, anchor the ones that hold you, attach your own thoughts and photos, and braid cards of your own. ALSO ABOARD • A knot-tying ceremony for every entry, with milestones at 7, 30, and 100 • Your journal as a golden rope of knots • Apple Watch app — tie a knot from your wrist, with the question on your watch face • Home screen widgets, evening reminder, search, and full export (PDF & JSON) • iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No servers. No analytics, no trackers, no ads. Your journal lives on your devices and in your private iCloud — nowhere else. Leave any time with everything. ONE PRICE, YOURS FOREVER No subscription, no paywalls, no ads — every feature aboard, and one purchase covers iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro. If the rope has held you and you'd like to give more, an optional patron's tip unlocks nothing but a golden lantern icon and our gratitude.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: I Ching Lite at Free against Ulysses's $4.99. I Ching Lite also leads on ratings volume (1.1K vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
I Ching Lite is free to download; Ulysses costs $4.99 up front. I Ching Lite sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Ulysses sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for I Ching Lite against 5.0 for Ulysses. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: I Ching Lite has 1.1K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
I Ching Lite ships an update every 3 months, Ulysses every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | I Ching Lite | Ulysses |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (1.1K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Brian Walker | Hessam Zahedi |
Customer experience
I Ching Lite
Ulysses
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
Ulysses
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
I Ching Lite
- I Ching: Book of Changes$5.99
- Wei Wu Wei Ching$5.99
Ulysses
- Tip — A coil of rope$2.99
- Tip — A new sail$6.99
- A ship for the fleet$14.99
Questions
Is I Ching Lite free?
Is Ulysses free?
Which has better reviews, I Ching Lite or Ulysses?
Do I Ching Lite or Ulysses have ads?
Which is updated more often, I Ching Lite or Ulysses?
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