Comparison

Sorta Zen vs Koan Meditation Timer

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

Head to head
About

Sorta Zen

This app provides a minimalist meditation timer with optional background sounds and interval bells. It focuses on a simple, distraction-free experience without gamification or tracking features. Designed for quiet contemplation, it offers a straightforward way to practice mindfulness.

Highlights
  • Meditation timer
  • Background sounds
  • Interval bells
  • Ad-free experience
  • No user accounts
  • Distraction-free interface
Features
Read full description

It’s a meditation app. Eventually, you meditate. If you need a little help getting there, you can start with Touchscreen Meditation or a short daily talk. Then the app shuts up. The timer, Touchscreen Meditation, background sounds, and interval bells are free. The first 10 daily talks are free too. After that, the talks are an optional $20/year subscription that renews until canceled. There are no courses to complete. No libraries to browse. No streaks, badges, leaderboards, notifications, user accounts, mood tracking, sleep stories, ads, or little graphs implying you’re becoming a better person. Just a simple place to sit quietly for a while. Enlightenment not guaranteed. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.sortazen.com/privacy

About

Koan Meditation Timer

Features
Read full description

The Koan Simple Meditation Timer is built so you can sit down and meditate without distraction. It features three real sounds of bells and bowls and a flexible scheduler. You can create a simple session with a bell to start and a bell to finish after 10 minutes. You can just as easily make a complicated bell setup like 30 minutes of sitting meditation followed by 10 minutes of walking mediation. The simplicity is purposeful here. There is no account to create, no data saved, no push notifications of premium subscriptions to shill. We both know you don't need that. Just meditate more and the world will be a better place for it.

Screenshots

Sorta Zen4 screens
Koan Meditation Timer2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Koan Meditation Timer at none against Sorta Zen's 1. Koan Meditation Timer also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, ads 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. Sorta Zen sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $20.00 per year. Koan Meditation Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sorta Zen ships an update weekly, Koan Meditation Timer every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Sorta Zen versus Koan Meditation Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSorta ZenKoan Meditation Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB46 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperPatrick GriffithLucas Moore

Customer experience

Sorta Zen

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Koan Meditation Timer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Sorta Zen

Subscriptions1
  • Food For Non-Thought1 Month trial$20.001 Year
None

Koan Meditation Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sorta Zen free?
Sorta Zen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Koan Meditation Timer free?
Koan Meditation Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Sorta Zen or Koan Meditation Timer have ads?
Neither Sorta Zen nor Koan Meditation Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sorta Zen or Koan Meditation Timer?
Sorta Zen ships an update weekly, and Koan Meditation Timer every 3 days. Most recently, Sorta Zen was updated on September 24, 2026 and Koan Meditation Timer on September 16, 2026.

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