Comparison

I Ching Lite vs Ulysses

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

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.

Highlights
  • Nightly self-control journaling
  • Guided breathing exercises
  • Insight into effective strategies
  • No streak tracking
  • Cultural ropes exploration
  • Apple Watch integration
  • iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

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

I Ching Lite4 screens
Ulysses4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

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 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
I Ching Lite versus Ulysses: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterI Ching LiteUlysses
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.9 (1.1K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.1K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrian WalkerHessam Zahedi

Customer experience

I Ching Lite

All ratings1,056 ratings
Positive97.3%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews182 reviews
Positive82.4%
Neutral3.8%
Negative13.7%

Ulysses

All ratings1 ratings
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

Ulysses

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
3 purchases

Ulysses

One-time3
  • 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?
I Ching Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ulysses free?
Ulysses costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, I Ching Lite or Ulysses?
Ulysses is rated higher. I Ching Lite averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Ulysses averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do I Ching Lite or Ulysses have ads?
Neither I Ching Lite nor Ulysses shows ads.
Which is updated more often, I Ching Lite or Ulysses?
I Ching Lite ships an update every 3 months, and Ulysses every 2 months. Most recently, I Ching Lite was updated on September 27, 2026 and Ulysses on September 25, 2026.

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