Comparison

Mindful Timer vs Zazen Meditation Timer

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 your self-guided meditation, restorative/yin yoga, Vipassana or other mindfulness 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. Set multiple timers for a session — say, 2 minutes to settle, 20 minutes of silent sitting, 5 minutes of metta — and Mindful Timer moves from one to the next with a bell at each transition, plus optional interval bells along the way. No courses, no sleep sounds, no content library. Just timers to structure your session, soothing sounds, and you. 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 + Simple, minimal and intuitive UX + 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 + 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 PERFECT FOR + Any self-guided or silent meditation + Zen, zazen, vipassana, and insight meditation + Yin yoga and restorative yoga + Breathwork and pranayama + Shambhavi Mahamudra Kriya + 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 + Prayer or mantra meditation + Kundalini yoga + Timed stretches WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT + Intuitive design that easier to use than most other timer apps out there. + 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

Zazen Meditation Timer

A straightforward meditation timer designed for simplicity. It includes essential features like interval bells and progress tracking, with no advertisements or unnecessary additions.

Highlights
  • Interval bells
  • Statistics tracking
  • Streak tracking
  • Ad-free experience
  • No upsells or bloat
Features
Read full description

A simple meditation timer. Has the essentials: - interval bells - stats - streaks No ads, upsells, or bloat.

Screenshots

Mindful Timer4 screens
Zazen Meditation Timer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Zazen Meditation Timer at none against Mindful Timer's 2. Mindful Timer's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Zazen Meditation Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Mindful Timer against 4.9 for Zazen Meditation Timer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 18 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mindful Timer ships an update weekly, Zazen Meditation Timer every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Mindful Timer versus Zazen Meditation Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMindful TimerZazen Meditation Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (12 ratings) — better4.9 (18 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1218 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBurnt Cinnamon LabsJake Sager

Customer experience

Mindful Timer

All ratings12 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Zazen Meditation Timer

All ratings16 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 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
None

Zazen Meditation Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mindful Timer free?
Mindful Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Zazen Meditation Timer free?
Zazen Meditation Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mindful Timer or Zazen Meditation Timer?
Mindful Timer is rated higher. Mindful Timer averages 5.0 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Zazen Meditation Timer averages 4.9 from 18 ratings.
Do Mindful Timer or Zazen Meditation Timer have ads?
Neither Mindful Timer nor Zazen Meditation Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mindful Timer or Zazen Meditation Timer?
Mindful Timer ships an update weekly, and Zazen Meditation Timer every 6 weeks. Most recently, Mindful Timer was updated on October 24, 2026 and Zazen Meditation Timer on October 24, 2026.

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