Mandala vs BardoNow
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Mandala
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Provides mantras and thanks to help beginner to practice visualizing and chanting mantras.
BardoNow
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BardoNow is a free offering for the Yuthok Nyingthig sangha. It holds the practical things in one place: the NgΓΆndro you sit each morning, the eleven practices it is made of, and Shabkar's Flight of the Garuda read aloud. It does not teach and it does not lead. It holds. YUTHOK'S NGΓNDRO The last seven recorded sessions, a new one most mornings. Each a little different β practice alongside whichever morning you like. The eleven practices are here in the order of the liturgy, each with its text in phonetics or Tibetan, a line on why it is in the ngΓΆndro at all, and the recitation to listen to. FLIGHT OF THE GARUDA All twenty-three songs of Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol, as translated by Dr. Nida Chenagtsang, read aloud in one voice. Audio continues with the screen locked, with lock-screen controls, and the app remembers where you stopped. MEDITATION A sit, the length you choose. PRACTICING WITH THE MOON The four lunar days of the month, and when each one next falls. WHAT IS YOUR TYPE? Dr. Nida Chenagtsang's own constitutional self-assessment, from Foundations of Sowa Rigpa. Twenty-four questions, taken once. Wind, Fire and Earth/Water β loong, tripa and beken. It quietly changes what the app offers you; it does not tell you who you are. DΔNA Offered without expectation. NO ACCOUNTS, NOTHING COLLECTED There is no sign-in and no profile. Nothing is collected, nothing is sent, and there are no ads, no analytics, no tracking and no purchases. The recordings stream from a plain file host, and nothing identifies who asked for them. An internet connection is needed to play the audio. Free, and made to be used.
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Verdict
Mandala and BardoNow are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters β price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them β neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Mandala | BardoNow |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | β |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad β better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 β better | 17.0 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chen-Hai Teng | JAMES HENRY DOVE |
In-app purchases
Mandala
No in-app purchases
BardoNow
No in-app purchases









