Dharma Seed vs Mindgem
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
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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.
Mindgem
Engage in guided meditation sessions led by experienced Buddhist monks. Connect with a supportive community focused on sharing wisdom and personal growth.
- Guided meditation sessions
- Led by Buddhist monks
- Community forum
- Wisdom sharing
- Personal growth focus
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Download MindGem today! Meditate with renowned Buddhist monks and be a part of a community built on a foundation of scaling wisdom to learn more visit www.mindgem.org
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Dharma Seed at none against Mindgem's shown. Dharma Seed also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and ratings volume (77 vs 24). Mindgem's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 11 months). On price, review sentiment, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Mindgem holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 77 and 24 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Dharma Seed's written reviews are positive against 88% of Mindgem's.
Dharma Seed ships an update every 11 months, Mindgem every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and July 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dharma Seed | Mindgem |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (77 ratings) | 4.9 (24 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.3% of reviews | 87.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 77 — better | 24 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 40 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dharma Seed Tape Library, Inc. | GEORGIA MEDITATION CIRCLE INC |
Customer experience
Dharma Seed
Mindgem
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
Mindgem
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Dharma Seed
No in-app purchases
Mindgem
No in-app purchases
