Dharma Seed vs Buddhist Sun
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.
Buddhist Sun
This app helps users find the Solar Noon based on their GPS location, crucial for observing Uposatha Sīla. It includes a countdown timer, Uposatha calendar, meditation timer, and a compass for sacred sites.
- Solar Noon GPS calculator
- Uposatha Sīla eating time
- Countdown timer for Solar Noon
- Uposatha Calendar
- Meditation Timer
- Vitamin D Sun GPS Timer
- Compass to sacred sites
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Know the Solar Noon based on your GPS Coordinates. Know the time when to stop eating for Buddhist monks and those who follow Uposatha Sīla. Countdown Timer for Solar Noon Uposatha Calendar Meditation Timer Vitamin D Sun GPS Timer / Calculator Sun Shade Screen Compass to point you in the direction of Sacred Buddhist Sites
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Buddhist Sun at 5.0 against Dharma Seed's 4.4. Buddhist Sun also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 11 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 85%). Dharma Seed's advantage is ratings volume (80 vs 11). 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.
Buddhist Sun holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dharma Seed has 80 ratings behind it against 11, 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 100% of Buddhist Sun's.
Dharma Seed ships an update every 11 months, Buddhist Sun every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dharma Seed | Buddhist Sun |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (80 ratings) | 5.0 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 80 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 83 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Dharma Seed Tape Library, Inc. | Path Nirvana Foundation |
Customer experience
Dharma Seed
Buddhist Sun
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
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- 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
Buddhist Sun
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Dharma Seed
No in-app purchases
Buddhist Sun
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Dharma Seed free?
Is Buddhist Sun free?
Which has better reviews, Dharma Seed or Buddhist Sun?
Do Dharma Seed or Buddhist Sun have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dharma Seed or Buddhist Sun?
Other comparisons
