Comparison

Brother David vs ZenKoan

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

Head to head
About

Brother David

Explore the philosophy of Brother David Steindl-Rast through an interactive chatbot. Discover themes of gratitude, mindfulness, and trust with daily inspirations and reflection questions. This digital companion supports a conscious and grateful way of life.

Highlights
  • Explore gratitude themes
  • Daily inspiration and exercises
  • Deepen understanding of core concepts
  • Interactive conversations on gratitude
  • Digital companion for conscious living
Features
Read full description

This chatbot is a digital representation of the writings and world of thought of Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast OSB (Ordo Sancti Benedicti). It is based on materials by and about Brother David, with his personal consent and/or the permission of the copyright holders for these materials. The goal of the bot is to make the central themes of his philosophy – especially the practice and attitude of gratitude – easily accessible and to support people in cultivating a conscious and grateful way of life in their daily routines. Even though Brother David’s way of thinking, expression, and even his voice are reproduced as authentically as possible, it is important to clarify that this chatbot is not Brother David Steindl-Rast OSB himself. Rather, it is a technical implementation that strives to convey the essence of his teachings and messages as faithfully as possible. The chatbot serves solely as a support for exploring Brother David’s philosophy and does not speak for or on behalf of Brother David himself. Brother David’s writings, audio, and video recordings are available as a comprehensive reference in the online library, which is maintained under the umbrella of the Via Cordis Foundation by Klaudia Menzi-Steinberger. What can the chatbot be used for? • Exploring gratitude: Get simple and direct access to Brother David’s many thoughts on the topic of gratitude. • Everyday inspiration: Be supported by small exercises, reflection questions, and inspirations to help integrate the attitude of gratitude into your daily life. • Deepening understanding: Ask questions to better understand the central concepts of Brother David’s teachings – such as mindfulness, trust, connectedness, happiness, and joy. • Sharing gratitude: Engage in interactive conversations about personal experiences and challenges in practicing gratitude in daily life. This chatbot thus serves as a digital companion on the path to a conscious, fulfilled life in the spirit of the teachings of Brother David Steindl-Rast OSB. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ZenKoan

Features
Read full description

ZenKoan is a quiet koan practice companion for people who want a daily Zen prompt, a simple sitting timer, and a private reflection log without audio clutter or account setup. WHAT IS INCLUDED - A daily koan with a short practice pointer - A searchable starter library, with the complete library available in Pro - Sitting timer presets for 5, 10, 20, and 40 minutes - Start and end bell sounds using system audio - Optional private reflection after a sitting - Sitting history and practice insights, including total minutes, streak, and weekly rhythm WHY IT IS DIFFERENT Most meditation apps optimize for large audio catalogs. ZenKoan is intentionally focused on koan study and silent sitting. It opens quickly, keeps practice controls obvious, and avoids feeds, ads, social mechanics, and forced login. FREE VERSION Use the daily koan, starter library, reflection flow, and up to three sittings per day. ZENKOAN PRO ZenKoan Pro unlocks the complete koan library, unlimited daily sittings, and the full practice history/insights archive. Monthly and yearly auto-renewing plans are available through the App Store. PRIVACY Your sittings and reflections stay on your device. ZenKoan does not require an account, does not show ads, and does not sell personal data. Terms: https://zenkoan.uptrail.ai/terms Privacy: https://zenkoan.uptrail.ai/privacy Support: https://zenkoan.uptrail.ai/support

Screenshots

Brother David3 screens
ZenKoan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Brother David at 15.1 against ZenKoan's 18.0. 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. Brother David sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and ZenKoan sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference · 7 level
Brother David versus ZenKoan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrother DavidZenKoan
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 7 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWolfgang Pree GmbHMitaanshu Agarwal

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Brother David

Subscriptions2
  • Standard$1.991 Month
  • Premium$5.991 Month
2 purchases

ZenKoan

Subscriptions2
  • ZenKoan Pro Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • ZenKoan Pro Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Brother David free?
Brother David is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ZenKoan free?
ZenKoan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Brother David or ZenKoan have ads?
Neither Brother David nor ZenKoan shows ads.

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