禪典 vs Sutra
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
禪典
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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。
Sutra
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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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
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.
| Parameter | 禪典 | Sutra |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 20 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | stephen alamdin | 一創系統有限公司 |
In-app purchases
禪典
No in-app purchases
Sutra
No in-app purchases









