Dharma Seed vs SGI
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dharma Seed
Access a vast library of dharma talks and guided meditations. Stream content, download for offline listening, and search by keyword or teacher. Support teachers through donations.
- Stream dharma talks and guided meditations
- Download talks for offline playback
- Search talks by keyword and teacher
- Browse recent talks
- View previously played talks
- Support teachers via donations
Read full descriptionHide full description
Features: • Stream dharma talks and guided meditations • Download your favorite dharma talks for offline playback • Search talk titles and descriptions by keyword • Browse the most recent talks • Find talks by specific teachers • Search a teacher's talks by keyword • View talks you have previously played • View teacher information • Support teachers with your donations Limitations: • Access to talks using a “retreat code” is not supported. Teachers offer their talks via Dharma Seed with the kind intention of dana, or generosity. These teachings are held to be priceless and made available to anyone who is interested, regardless of financial means. It is our deep wish and the wish of the teachers who offer teachings here that this continue. We also want our meditation teachers and Dharma Seed to thrive and continue their good work! To learn how you can offer support, please go to About - Donate in the app, or visit: https://dharmaseed.org/donate We hope you enjoy the app.
SGI
Support your daily Buddhist practice with tools for chanting, recitation, and goal tracking. Find local facilities and access Buddhist resources.
- Chanting calculator with target tracking
- Audio guide for daily recitation
- Goal setting and progress monitoring
- SGI-USA facility locator
- Links to World Tribune website
Read full descriptionHide full description
This app provides resources to support your daily practice of SGI Nichiren Buddhism. First, there is a chanting calculator that allows you to set and track chanting targets (campaigns). There is also an audio guide useful as an aid in learning the daily recitation of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and the Lotus Sutra. You can set your goals and watch your progress! There are several other useful tools such as a location finder for SGI-USA facilities and links to the new World Tribune website.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Dharma Seed at 85% against SGI's 50%. Dharma Seed also leads on rating (4.4 vs 4.1). SGI's advantage is update cadence (every 4 months vs every 11 months) and ratings volume (744 vs 80). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Dharma Seed holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SGI has 744 ratings behind it against 80, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Dharma Seed's written reviews are positive against 50% of SGI's.
Dharma Seed ships an update every 11 months, SGI every 4 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | Dharma Seed | SGI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (80 ratings) — better | 4.1 (744 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.3% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 80 | 744 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Dharma Seed Tape Library, Inc. | Soka Gakkai International - USA |
Customer experience
Dharma Seed
SGI
User reviews
Dharma Seed
From 80 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📚 Vast library of talks
- 💎 Invaluable resource
- 🙏 Grateful for free content
- ✨ Wonderful app
- 💡 Easy to use interface
Room to improve
- 🐌 Clunky and antiquated interface
- 🤔 Lacking modern features
- 📉 No longer opens
- 🚫 App not loading
- 🪲 Faulty tech
SGI
From 744 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful for practice
- 🚀 Comprehensive app with many features
- 💡 Ability to chant with audio
- 💡 Access to publications and study materials
- 👍 Great for beginners and experienced users
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches after updates
- 🔒 Login issues and need to log in frequently
- 🔋 Timer/stopwatch issues when phone is locked or app is closed
- 👎 Slow chanting/gongyo speed options
- 👎 Difficulty navigating and finding content
Bugs and requests
Dharma Seed
Reported bugs
12 issues- Never completes install
- Stalls at 90%
- Unable to complete app download
- No longer opens on iPhone
- App isn't opening at all
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Loading bar stalls halfway
- Great talks, rubbish app
- App started interrupting itself with network connection error
- Trouble loading lately
- Only two talks on history list after update
- Latest update frequently cuts out sound
- Can't access older talks due to iOS 7 update
Requested features
22 requests- Add a favorite/like button for talks
- Support for playlists
- Follow authors/teachers
- Transcripts
- Ability to download talks
Show 17 moreShow fewer
- Access private talks using retreat codes
- Listen later feature
- Playlist tab with '+' symbol
- Ability to reorder playlists
- View all talks for a retreat
- Default talks for beginners
- Direct ways to contribute dana
- Privacy policy display
- Offline mode
- Dark mode
- 15-second rewind feature
- Save/favorite meditations for offline listening
- History tab for listened talks
- Android version
- Caching or downloading to phone
- Rating system for talks
- Wishlist/later section
SGI
Reported bugs
4 issues- Daimoku count not updating accurately
- Writings of Nichiren Daishonin not loading
- Crashes or freezes when using certain features
- Incorrect or outdated content displayed
Requested features
6 requests- Ability to adjust chanting/gongyo speed
- Seamless looping of chanting audio
- Sync daimoku counts across devices
- More customization options (e.g. font size, themes)
- Improved navigation and organization of content
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Ability to maintain active campaigns/goals across updates
In-app purchases
Dharma Seed
No in-app purchases
SGI
No in-app purchases
