QueryDial vs Ember
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
QueryDial
Instantly search your favorite websites with custom shortcuts. Assign simple keywords or !bang commands to quickly find content on platforms like YouTube, Wikipedia, and X directly from your browser's search bar or a toolbar window. Streamline your online searches and enhance your productivity.
- Custom website shortcuts
- !Bang command syntax
- Safari search bar integration
- Toolbar window search
- Site search services
- Shortcuts app integration
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With QueryDial, you can: - Use “yt cats" to search for cute cat videos on YouTube - Use "w Gravity" to easily find the content you want on Wikipedia - Use “!x #trending" to view real-time trending topics on X - or, assign shortcut for any websites you like! *Getting started is easy* 1. Add your frequently used searchable websites (e.g., YouTube, Quora, Twitter, etc.) to QueryDial's search library. 2. Set up simple and easy-to-remember shortcuts (e.g., “yt” for YouTube, “w” for Wikipedia). 3. Enter your search terms directly in the Safari's search bar* or in the QueryDial toolbar window. 4. Include the shortcut in your search terms (e.g., “!yt funny cats") or as the first word in your search (e.g., “yt funny cats"). *Different ways to enter shortcuts* - !Bang commands: Use commands like “!wiki grey fox” or “grey fox wiki!” to quickly open a search on the specified website. The syntax here is same as the !Bangs from DuckDuckGo. - Keyword shortcuts: Add the shortcut before or after your search terms, separate them with a space, such as “yt cat videos” or “cat videos yt”. *Site Search and Snapshot Services* Save time entering "site:domain.com". Use QueryDial’s Safari popup to easily view the website snapshots or search the domain with site search services. *Enhance your “Shortcuts” app* QueryDial provides a number of useful shortcuts that you can use to customize your own workflows in the “Shortcuts” app. Try build your own workflow using shortcuts! *To use QueryDial directly in the search bar, you need to enable shortcuts for the browser's default search engine in QueryDial's settings. QueryDial currently supports using shortcuts in the following search engines: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Yahoo, Baidu, Naver, Ecosia, Brave Search, Startpage, Kagi, Qwant, Swisscows
Ember
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Ember is a focus timer with something at stake. Start a session and a small flame begins to burn. Stay out of other apps and it holds steady to the end. Leave to scroll and it goes out — quietly, and you'll see it happen. Finish, and Ember lights a candle for your collection. Longer sessions make bigger candles, so the shelf becomes an honest record of how you've actually spent your attention. Sessions you gave up on leave a melted stub. Those stay too. WHY IT WORKS Most timers just count down. Ember gives you something small to protect, and that turns out to be the difference between closing the app and staying with the work. FEATURES • 15, 25, and 50 minute presets, or any length from 1 to 180 minutes • Focus guard — switching apps puts the flame out; locking your device doesn't • Runs on your Lock Screen while you work, and in the Dynamic Island on supported iPhones • Home Screen widget with a live countdown • A candle for every finished session, sized to its length • Daily streaks — keep the flame alive • A warm chime when you're done, so you can look away entirely • Seven themes that recolor the whole app, flame included PRIVATE BY DEFAULT No account. No sign-up. No ads, no analytics, no tracking of any kind. Every session you run stays on your device and is never sent anywhere. Ember is free. Six extra themes are available as one-time purchases, or take the bundle for every theme including all future ones.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Ember at every 5 days against QueryDial's every 3 weeks. QueryDial's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. QueryDial sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per year and Ember sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
QueryDial ships an update every 3 weeks, Ember every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | QueryDial | Ember |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yuhao Zhang | Ciel Labs LLC |
In-app purchases
QueryDial
- Annual Subscription2 Months trial$1.991 Year
- Lifetime Access$3.99
Ember
- Verdant theme$0.99
- Glacier theme$0.99
- Amethyst theme$0.99
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- Rose theme$0.99
- Sapphire theme$0.99
- Moonlight theme$0.99
- Ruby theme$0.99
- All themes$2.99







