Comparison

Zenways vs Awaken Now

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

Head to head
About

Zenways

This app combines nature sounds, guided Zen meditations from a Buddhist monk, and binaural beats to promote relaxation and inner peace. Users can customize meditation duration and sound mix, or use it as a free sound source.

Highlights
  • Guided Zen meditation
  • Relaxing nature sounds
  • Binaural beats
  • Customizable meditation timer
  • Adjustable sound mix
  • Free sound source option
Features
Read full description

Zenways is a Zen app. It uses a combination of relaxing sounds of nature, guided Zen meditation from Buddhist monk Julian Daizan Skinner and powerful binaural beats to help you relax and find your Zen. Set the meditation time from 21 to 90 minutes, and adjust the balance of the sounds, guide voice and binaural beats to suit you. You can even turn them off entirely, so this app can be used as a free sound source for meditation or relaxation. However, we strongly suggest you look at our Chillax app for the complete relaxation experience using soothing music, sound and binaural beats. This Zen app is made in partnership with Zenways, who provide yoga, meditation and teacher training. The Buddhist monk Julian Daizan Skinner (Juran Daizan 寿鸞 大山), is a British Rinzai Zen Buddhist Rōshi. He has also received Dharma Transmission in the Sōtō tradition of Zen. Daizan Roshi is the founder of the Zenways Sangha and head abbot of Yugagyo Dojo (Zen Yoga Camberwell) in London, United Kingdom. The Mindfulness of the breath meditation was found to be one of the most powerful and effective meditation techniques in extensive testing, and is presented to you here, totally free. Enjoy!. Binaural Beats Binaural beats or binaural tones are auditory processing artifacts, or apparent sounds, the perception of which arises in the brain for specific physical stimuli. This effect was discovered in 1839 by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, and earned greater public awareness in the late 20th century based on claims that binaural beats could help induce relaxation, meditation, creativity and other desirable mental states. The effect on the brainwaves depends on the difference in frequencies of each tone: for example, if 300 Hz was played in one ear and 310 in the other, then the binaural beat would have a frequency of 10 Hz

About

Awaken Now

Access teachings on Presence and Mastery from Leonard Jacobson. Explore new audio and video resources monthly, join a conscious community, and learn to live in the Now. Deepen your understanding of self and integrate awakened consciousness into daily life.

Highlights
  • Monthly audio and video resources
  • Conscious community with groups and messaging
  • Guidance on Presence and Mastery
  • Meditations for deeper consciousness
  • Healing limiting beliefs
  • Right relationship with ego and inner child
Features
Read full description

The Awaken Now App gives direct access to Leonard Jacobson’s simple yet profound teachings on the transformative power of Presence and Mastery of the mind and ego. Each month brings new audio and video resources with clear guidance by Leonard on the Way of Awakening. Subscribers to the platform can connect to an engaging conscious community with groups, notifications, friends and messaging. Leonard’s teaching is about Presence and Mastery. It is about awakening into the truth of who you are, the truth of life, the truth of love and the truth of Oneness. It is about coming back to yourself in a full and complete way, so that you no longer lose yourself in others, or in your story. It's about coming into right relationship with every aspect of who you have become. The Awaken Now app gives unlimited access to a wide collection of resources to support your deepening in Presence and integration of awakened consciousness into everyday life. There are monthly updates to articles, and exclusive video and audio content from teaching sessions and retreats. Meditations will guide you into deeper levels of consciousness. Subscribers will learn how to: • Become instantly present without effort or practice • Heal and release limiting beliefs from the past • Liberate reservoirs of repressed emotions that you have been living with all of your life • Come into right relationship with the ego, so that it is no longer involuntarily pulling you out of Presence • Come into right relationship with the inner child so you can come out of the child's story, and that child can relax and feel safe • Express more fully and authentically Mystic, author and teacher, Leonard Jacobson, is deeply committed to helping others break through to the joyous experience of living in the Now. For almost 40 years, Leonard has been sharing a direct path to awakening which is infused with love, compassion, and truth. Leonard is the author of five books, Words from Silence, Journey into Now, Embracing the Present, Bridging Heaven & Earth and In Search of the Light, a children’s book. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina and offers regular teaching sessions, workshops, and longer residential retreats in the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. This app is free to download and use. Please find a link to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy below: https://awakennow.disciplemedia.com/onboarding_documents

Screenshots

Zenways4 screens
Awaken Now3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Awaken Now at none against Zenways's shown. Awaken Now also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 12 months) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). Zenways's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and device support (3 vs 1). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Zenways sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Awaken Now sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Awaken Now holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Awaken Now has 51 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Zenways's written reviews are positive against 82% of Awaken Now's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zenways ships an update every 12 months, Awaken Now every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Zenways versus Awaken Now: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZenwaysAwaken Now
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (9 ratings)4.9 (51 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.0% of reviews81.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings951 — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB71 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperWimbledon SoundConscious Living Foundation

Customer experience

Zenways

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive70.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative30.0%

Awaken Now

All ratings51 ratings
Positive98.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative18.2%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Zenways

One-time1
  • remove ads$1.99
2 purchases

Awaken Now

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$19.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$239.991 Year

Questions

Is Zenways free?
Zenways is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Awaken Now free?
Awaken Now is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Zenways or Awaken Now?
Awaken Now is rated higher. Zenways averages 4.6 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Awaken Now averages 4.9 from 51 ratings.
Do Zenways or Awaken Now have ads?
Zenways shows ads; Awaken Now does not.
Which is updated more often, Zenways or Awaken Now?
Zenways ships an update every 12 months, and Awaken Now every 2 months. Most recently, Zenways was updated on November 1, 2026 and Awaken Now on November 3, 2026.

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