Comparison

Mindful Timer vs ZenWorkout

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

Head to head
About

Mindful Timer

This app provides a simple, unguided interval timer for self-guided meditation, breathwork, and yoga practices. It features customizable timers, gentle bells, and a distraction-free interface. Save your favorite routines and track your weekly sessions without any ads or subscriptions.

Highlights
  • Multiple automatic timers
  • Customizable interval bells
  • Save preset routines
  • Weekly session tracking
  • Gentle bell sounds
  • Distraction-free design
  • Offline functionality
Read full description

A simple meditation timer for unguided practice. No ads. No subscriptions. No distractions. Just gentle bells to keep time while you practice. Set your session, put your phone down, and let the bells guide you. Mindful Timer is built for people who just want the space to meditate—no courses, no sleep sounds, no content library. Just timers, soothing sounds, and you. Perfect for meditation, yin and restorative yoga, breathwork, zazen, or any self-guided practice. NEW + 20+ curated sounds: singing bowls, bells, and simple voice cues + Choose how many times the bells ring —once, twice, or three times + Practice insights and heat maps to help you build consistency + Sync sessions to Apple Health as Mindful Minutes CORE FEATURES + Sequential timers that flow automatically from one to the next, so you never check the clock + Interval bells at your chosen frequency (e.g. every 5 minutes) + Fully custom timer durations + Save your routines as presets and start them in one tap + Track streaks, weekly and monthly sessions, and lifetime minutes + Play your own music (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) + Runs in the background and while your phone is locked + Large countdown display. DESIGNED FOR CALM FROM DAY ONE + No ads, ever + No subscriptions, ever — one simple purchase, yours forever + No guided meditations, courses, or content to wade through + No social feeds or comparison + Dark mode so it's easy on the eyes + Works fully offline + Gentle sounds to guide you through transitions (unlike most interval timers) PERFECT FOR + Any self-guided or silent meditation + Zen, zazen, vipassana, and insight meditation + Yin yoga and restorative yoga + Breathwork and pranayama + Practicing at home before a vipassana or meditation retreat + Building a daily unguided meditation or yoga habit + Yoga teachers keeping time during class + Interval walking, Japanese interval walking, and Pomodoro focus blocks WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT + Incredibly simple and intuitive design. + Keeps time in the background, so you never pick up your phone mid-practice. + Carefully curated, soothing sounds. No jarring alarms. + No clutter, no distractions, nothing you don't need.

About

ZenWorkout

Design custom HIIT and interval workouts with flexible timers, repeating groups, and untimed steps. Share your plans, sync across devices, and control your training with voice commands. Enjoy seamless audio playback over your music.

Highlights
  • Customizable workout design
  • Repeating exercise groups
  • Untimed workout steps
  • Workout sharing via links
  • Cloud sync across devices
  • Voice command control
  • Text-to-speech announcements
Features
Read full description

ZenWorkout - The Ultimate HIIT & Interval Timer Stop letting rigid apps control your training. With ZenWorkout, you build workouts your way - from simple timers to advanced circuits with repeating groups of exercises and rests. Why ZenWorkout? - Unlimited flexibility – design workouts with intervals, rests, and repeating groups. Even untimed workout steps so you can plan your entire workout! - Workout sharing – send your plans via simple shareable links. - Cloud sync – keep your workouts backed up and ready on all your devices. - Voice recognition – control your workout without leaving the zone with push-to-talk voice commands. - Text-to-speech announcements – hear countdowns, exercise names, and rest cues. - Seamless audio – TTS and sounds play over your music without interruptions. Free to start – all the essentials are included right away. Perfect for HIIT, Tabata, circuit training, strength sessions, or any workout where timing matters. Take control of your fitness. Train on your terms with ZenWorkout. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Mindful Timer4 screens
ZenWorkout4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Mindful Timer at none against ZenWorkout's shown. Mindful Timer also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). ZenWorkout's advantage is update cadence (daily vs weekly) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.6). On price, review sentiment, 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. Mindful Timer sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and ZenWorkout sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mindful Timer ships an update weekly, ZenWorkout daily. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Mindful Timer versus ZenWorkout: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMindful TimerZenWorkout
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (10 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings10 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBurnt Cinnamon LabsGreg Gage

Customer experience

Mindful Timer

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ZenWorkout

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Mindful Timer

One-time2
  • Premium: Bell Sounds, Insights$2.99
  • Premium: Bell Sounds, Insights$4.99
1 purchases

ZenWorkout

Subscriptions1
  • ZenWorkout Premium$0.991 Month

Questions

Is Mindful Timer free?
Mindful Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ZenWorkout free?
ZenWorkout is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Mindful Timer or ZenWorkout have ads?
ZenWorkout shows ads; Mindful Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Mindful Timer or ZenWorkout?
Mindful Timer ships an update weekly, and ZenWorkout daily. Most recently, Mindful Timer was updated on October 12, 2026 and ZenWorkout on October 2, 2026.

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