Comparison

禪典 vs Sutra

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

Head to head
About

禪典

Features
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佛教經典是佛教文化的重要組成部分,包含了佛陀的教誨和哲學思想,對於佛教徒來說至關重要。隨著智能手機的普及,「彿心」應運而生,成為佛教徒學習佛教經典的重要工具。 「彿心」提供了豐富的佛教經典資源,使用者可以通過搜索功能搜尋自己感興趣的經文,也可以通過書籤功能標記自己感興趣的章節或頁面,方便之後查看。此外,「彿心」還提供了注解和翻譯,讓使用者可以更好地理解佛教經典的內容。 「彿心」還提供了不同語言版本的佛經,包括漢語、英語、法語、德語、日語等多種語言,讓使用者可以根據自己的需要選擇不同的語言閱讀佛經。這樣做不僅方便了國外的佛教徒閱讀佛經,也有助於促進不同國家和地區之間的文化交流和理解。 除了提供佛教經典閱讀的功能外,「彿心」還提供了討論區功能,讓使用者可以與其他熱愛佛教的人交流和分享自己的想法。這樣做不僅可以激發學習佛教經典的興趣,還可以促進人與人之間的交流和互動。 總之,「彿心」的出現為學習佛教經典的人們提供了一個方便、快捷、豐富的學習平台,讓更多人可以通過手機隨時隨地閱讀佛經,深入了解佛教的教義和思想,從而對自己的生命和內心產生積極的影響。

About

Sutra

Features
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Sutra — A pocket Tripitaka. An offline, distraction-free reader for the Chinese-Buddhist canon, with text sourced from CBETA (Chinese Buddhist Electronic Texts Association, latest open release), grounded in the Taishō Tripitaka. Translations by Kumārajīva, Xuanzang, Yijing and others — organized for daily reading. ■ 35 scriptures The Dharma-Drum daily-recital selection: Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Amitābha Sutra, Universal Gate of Avalokiteśvara, Samantabhadra's Vows, 42 Sections, Medicine Buddha, Earth Treasury, Śūraṅgama, Perfect Enlightenment … Four major repentance liturgies: Liang Emperor, Threefold Samādhi Water, Great Compassion, Earth Treasury Jeweled, 88 Buddhas, Ten Small Mantras. Oldest-stratum short collections: Dhammapada, Aṭṭhakavagga, Itivuttaka, Saṃyukta-āgama selections (including Pabhassara Sutta, Mahāparinibbāna verse). ■ Four-language parallel reading Four core scriptures carry four reading modes:  Chinese — Classical Chinese translation (Xuanzang, Kumārajīva …)  Sanskrit — IAST + Devanāgarī, the original sound  English — translation, opening the meaning  English→Chinese — modern Mandarin transcribed from the English An in-app "Reading Languages" essay explains why each mode exists. ■ Traditional vertical ↔ modern horizontal One tap to switch. Vertical preserves the handwritten-sutra ritual feel; horizontal suits commuting and night reading. Four font sizes (S/M/L/XL); the size stays put when TTS playback is on. ■ Cinnabar-stamp aesthetic, sprinkled-gold paper Visual identity drawn from Song-Yuan sutra manuscripts: cream cotton-paper texture in light mode, royal navy with sprinkled gold in dark mode. Restrained palette designed to be easy on the eyes during long readings. ■ Recitation TTS Built-in Mandarin voices (Tingting / Meijia / Sinji) read along with you — useful when driving or eyes closed. ■ Six reflective essays  • Textual Strata — what layer of "the Buddha's word" we are reading  • Three Buddhas — the three shapes the Buddha takes in text  • Path of Deification — the five stages from man to god  • "Are all sentient beings originally Buddha?" — tracing the lineage of a Chan koan  • Reading Languages — positioning the four modes  • Sources & Attribution — CBETA license + acknowledgements ■ Reminders Daily passage push at 06:00; 16 major Buddhist holidays (Buddha's bath day, Avalokiteśvara's anniversary, Earth-Treasury Bodhisattva's anniversary …) push at 09:00. Optional integration with the system Reminders app. ■ Privacy Zero data collection. No tracking, no analytics, no upload. The sutra database ships with the app; your reading progress and bookmarks stay on your device. No ads, no IAP, no subscription, free forever. — Sutra text © CBETA (Chinese Buddhist Electronic Texts Association), latest open release. Base: Taishō Tripitaka © Daizo Shuppan K.K. (CBETA holds input and publication permissions). License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 Taiwan — https://www.cbeta.org/copyright.php This app is non-commercial. Sutra texts are unaltered in substance, with CBETA attribution and version noted.

Screenshots

禪典4 screens
Sutra4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Sutra at every 3 weeks against 禪典's every 20 months. 禪典's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). 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

禪典 ships an update every 20 months, Sutra every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level
禪典 versus Sutra: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter禪典Sutra
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 20 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerstephen alamdin一創系統有限公司

In-app purchases

None

禪典

No in-app purchases

None

Sutra

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is 禪典 free?
禪典 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sutra free?
Sutra is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do 禪典 or Sutra have ads?
Neither 禪典 nor Sutra shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 禪典 or Sutra?
禪典 ships an update every 20 months, and Sutra every 3 weeks. Most recently, 禪典 was updated on October 9, 2026 and Sutra on October 11, 2026.

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