Comparison

Mindful Timer vs Metta 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 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

Metta Timer

This app provides a customizable interval timer for various activities like training, meditation, and daily rituals. It offers unique visual styles, text-to-speech cues, and a variety of sounds to enhance focus and presence during practice.

Highlights
  • Customizable interval sequences
  • Text-to-speech spoken cues
  • Six unique visual styles
  • Zen Mode for distraction-free sessions
  • Import custom sounds
  • Timer presets and history tracking
  • Data backup and sharing
Features
Read full description

Metta Timer: train, sit, brew. A beautifully crafted interval timer for physical training, meditation, and mindful daily rituals. Set a different photo for every interval — your meditation cushion, the trail ahead, the tea kettle, the stance you're holding — and let each phase of your practice have its own visual anchor. PHOTO BACKGROUNDS FOR EVERY INTERVAL This is what makes Metta Timer different. Assign your own image to each interval in a timer. Not one wallpaper for the whole session, but a unique photo per phase. Warm-up, work, rest, cool down: each can show the image that keeps you focused. Photos display on the Current screen and in Zen Mode fullscreen, with a subtle progress bar so you always know where you are. Share timers with photos embedded in `.mttimer` files so friends and students see your setup before they import. TRAIN Build custom interval sequences with groups and rounds. Chain phases together, each with its own duration, sounds, spoken cues, and photo. Keep your eyes on your practice, not your phone. SIT Gentle temple bells mark your meditation transitions. No jarring alarms. A photo of your altar during sitting, incense or candle visuals during transition, whatever helps you stay present. Swipe to change animated visuals without breaking your session. BREW A mindful bell when your patience is rewarded. A photo of the cup while the water steeps. Set it and forget it. SCHEDULE MODE Plan intervals by clock time, not just duration. Set start and end times for each phase, ideal for a morning routine, timed tea steps, or a class on a schedule. The timer waits until the right moment and can join mid-schedule if you open the app late. SIX ANIMATED VISUALS PLUS PHOTO Breathing Circle, Spiral Incense, Vertical Incense, Diagonal Incense, Hourglass, and Burning Candle, each crafted with care. Or choose Photo on any interval. Mix freely: photo for meditation, hourglass for exercise, candle for cool-down, all in one timer. ZEN MODE Tap the fullscreen icon for a distraction-free screen. Animated visuals fill the darkness; photo intervals go edge-to-edge with time and progress along the bottom. Swipe to cycle styles mid-session. Tap anywhere to exit. TEXT-TO-SPEECH Type any phrase and hear it at the start or end of any interval. Customize voice, speed, and pitch. Works with voice packs on iPhone and Android. SOUNDS Bell, Chime, Gong, Beep, Singing Bowl, Temple Brass Bell, Temple Bell, Temple Chime, Wooden Fish (1x and 3x), Big Temple Bell, Giant Temple Bell. Import your own MP3, M4A, WAV, or AIFF files. TIMER BUILDER Unlimited timers and intervals. Groups organize phases with independent round counts. Per interval: name, duration, color, sounds, announcements, animated visual or photo. Duplicate presets with one tap. Reorder with drag and drop. STREAKS AND HISTORY Completed timers are recorded automatically. Track consecutive practice days, total completions, and total time. Delete individual records anytime. SHARE Send any preset as a `.mttimer` file via AirDrop, Messages, email, Quick Share, or any app. Photos travel with the timer. Recipients preview everything before importing. PRESETS One Minute of Silence, Chan (Zen) Meditation, Brew High Mountain Green Tea, Horse Stance, Kung Fu Stances, and HIIT Training, ready out of the box. Set any preset as your default. BACKUP AND RESTORE Export presets and completion history as JSON. On Android, files save to Downloads automatically. Import presets or merge history onto a new device. PRIVACY All data stays on your device. No accounts. No ads. No tracking. Ever. PERFECT FOR Meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, yoga, HIIT, circuit training, martial arts, tea ceremony, kung fu, qi gong, taiji, Chan, Zen, Pomodoro, and any practice where a picture is worth a thousand reminders. Made with love and care by Metta Grove.

Screenshots

Mindful Timer4 screens
Metta Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Metta Timer at none against Mindful Timer's 2. Metta Timer also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.6). Mindful Timer's advantage is ratings volume (10 vs 3). On price, rating, ads and monetization model 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. Metta 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 5.0 for Metta Timer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mindful Timer ships an update weekly, Metta Timer every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Mindful Timer versus Metta Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMindful TimerMetta Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (10 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better3
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.616.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBurnt Cinnamon LabsLoc Huynh

Customer experience

Mindful Timer

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

Metta Timer

All ratings1 ratings
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

Metta Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mindful Timer free?
Mindful Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Metta Timer free?
Metta Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mindful Timer or Metta Timer?
Mindful Timer and Metta Timer are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 10 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Mindful Timer or Metta Timer have ads?
Neither Mindful Timer nor Metta Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mindful Timer or Metta Timer?
Mindful Timer ships an update weekly, and Metta Timer every 3 days. Most recently, Mindful Timer was updated on October 12, 2026 and Metta Timer on October 14, 2026.

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