Dharma Seed vs Buddhability
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.
Buddhability
Access daily inspiration, guided Buddhist chanting, and an AI-powered chat for Buddhist wisdom. Engage in courses, challenges, and connect with friends to support your personal growth journey.
- Daily inspiration and wisdom
- Guided Buddhist chanting with progress tracking
- AI-powered Buddhist Q&A
- Social features for friends and encouragement
- Courses and challenges for personal development
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DAILY INSPIRATION Discover 300+ words of inspiration and wisdom to power your day. In a world where each day brings a new set of challenges, dive into your daily routine with hope and bravery. You can also read, watch or listen to a community of Buddhists sharing their stories whether it be about relationships, money or jobs. GUIDED BUDDHIST CHANTING & PERSONAL GOALS Receive guided Buddhist chanting at the best speed for you, whether that’s slow, medium or ideal. You can start or finish your chanting at any time along with an audio guide of how to do it. You can set personal and chanting goals to track your progress and see the positive impact chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo can have in your daily life. ASK BUDDHABILITY Don’t know where to start? Just “Ask Buddhability” and our AI-powered chat will source from our 500+ library of materials any answers to your questions from a Buddhist perspective. TOGETHER WITH FRIENDS Buddhability is more fun with friends! So, invite your friends to do challenge together or just send each other encouragement as you strive toward your personal and chanting goals. COURSES & CHALLENGES Take your Buddhability journey to the next level with courses and challenges that fit your level and interest. Whether it’s a 30 Day Buddhability Challenge to see how chanting can work for you or “How to Get Unstuck in 10 Days” when you’re feeling in a rut. Whatever it may be, these courses and challenges are here to help you take a step forward. Read the terms and conditions here: https://buddhability.org/terms-conditions/ Read the privacy policy here: https://buddhability.org/privacy-policy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Dharma Seed at none against Buddhability's shown. Buddhability's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 11 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Buddhability holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 77 and 28 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 85% of Dharma Seed's written reviews are positive against 78% of Buddhability's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Dharma Seed ships an update every 11 months, Buddhability every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dharma Seed | Buddhability |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (77 ratings) | 4.9 (28 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.3% of reviews — better | 77.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 77 — better | 28 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 117 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Dharma Seed Tape Library, Inc. | Soka Gakkai International - USA |
Customer experience
Dharma Seed
Buddhability
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
Buddhability
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Dharma Seed
No in-app purchases
Buddhability
No in-app purchases









