Comparison

Mindful Timer vs MindBell

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

MindBell

Features
Read full description

MindBell is a minimal, beautiful meditation timer designed to get out of your way. Set three gentle phases - a prep time to settle, your main meditation, and a wind-down to ease back out. Choose a calming bell or chime to mark each transition, and a visual to rest your gaze on during your session. FEATURES - Simple three-phase sessions: prep, meditate, wind-down - A curated set of warm, high-quality bells and chimes - Choose your meditation visual: blank, a flickering candle, or a calm Buddha face - Calming wind-down colours, including a sleep-friendly deep red for evenings - No accounts, no sign-in, no clutter - just sit and breathe Whether you have two minutes or an hour, MindBell helps you quiet the noise.

Screenshots

Mindful Timer4 screens
MindBell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MindBell at none against Mindful Timer's 2. MindBell also leads on update cadence (daily vs weekly) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.6). Mindful Timer's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price 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. MindBell asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mindful Timer ships an update weekly, MindBell daily. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Mindful Timer versus MindBell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMindful TimerMindBell
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (10 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBurnt Cinnamon LabsANDREW JONATHON TAYLOR

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Mindful Timer

One-time2
  • Premium: Bell Sounds, Insights$2.99
  • Premium: Bell Sounds, Insights$4.99
None

MindBell

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mindful Timer free?
Mindful Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MindBell free?
MindBell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Mindful Timer or MindBell have ads?
MindBell shows ads; Mindful Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Mindful Timer or MindBell?
Mindful Timer ships an update weekly, and MindBell daily. Most recently, Mindful Timer was updated on September 26, 2026 and MindBell on September 8, 2026.

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