Comparison

Dharma Seed vs Daolight

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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 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.

About

Daolight

Features
Read full description

Daolight brings timeless wisdom from the world's great contemplative traditions: Taoism, Buddhism, Zen, Stoicism, and Vedanta into a few quiet minutes each day. Each morning, a thoughtfully chosen quote arrives to ground your day, matched to the mood or intention you set. Sit with it, read a short reflection that unpacks its meaning, and carry one small practice forward. • A DAILY QUOTE, YOUR WAY — one consistent quote of the day, shaped by your chosen mood, shown in the app and in a gentle reminder. • REFLECTIVE INSIGHTS — every quote comes with a warm, practical reflection and a question to sit with. • DISCOVER MORE — a semantic knowledge graph surfaces quotes that resonate with the ones you love. • GUIDED JOURNEYS — multi-day paths for equanimity, compassion, presence, and more. • JOURNAL — capture private reflections; everything stays on your device. • HOME SCREEN WIDGET — keep the day's wisdom in view. • BEAUTIFUL SHARE CARDS — turn any quote into art to share. Over 400 carefully sourced quotes from voices including Lao Tzu, Zhuangzi, Confucius, the Buddha, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus. Free. No account. No ads. No tracking — your reflections never leave your device. Begin your journey toward greater peace, clarity, and presence.

Screenshots

Dharma Seed4 screens
Daolight4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Daolight at every 2 days against Dharma Seed's every 11 months. Daolight also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.1). On price, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dharma Seed ships an update every 11 months, Daolight every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Dharma Seed versus Daolight: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDharma SeedDaolight
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (77 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews85.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings77 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.116.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB32 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperDharma Seed Tape Library, Inc.Thor Matthiasson

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 more
  • 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 more
  • 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

Daolight

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Dharma Seed

No in-app purchases

None

Daolight

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dharma Seed free?
Dharma Seed is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Daolight free?
Daolight is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Dharma Seed or Daolight have ads?
Neither Dharma Seed nor Daolight shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dharma Seed or Daolight?
Dharma Seed ships an update every 11 months, and Daolight every 2 days. Most recently, Dharma Seed was updated on October 12, 2026 and Daolight on October 6, 2026.

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