Comparison

Sorta Zen vs Unguided 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

Unguided Meditation Timer

This app offers a unique meditation timer that uses AirPods motion sensors to monitor your posture during sits. It provides gentle cues to help you maintain your baseline, focusing on unguided practice with a minimalist interface. Unlock advanced insights and unlimited history with a one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • AirPods posture monitoring
  • Configurable sensitivity
  • Multiple session durations
  • Detailed sit history
  • User practice statistics
  • Unguided practice focus
  • Minimalist UI
Features
Read full description

Stillness is a quiet meditation timer that uses your AirPods to notice when your head drifts. Sit, close your eyes, and press start. The screen goes dark and stays out of the way. The motion sensor inside your AirPods feels when your head starts to drop forward, lean back or tilt, the way it does when attention fades or sleepiness creeps in. A soft sound in your ears brings you back. Then silence again. No voice. No music. No buzzing phone. Just you, a timer and a gentle cue when you need it. HOW IT WORKS • Find your center: sit the way you meditate and stay still for 8 seconds. Stillness learns where your head rests. • Sit for 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45 or 60 minutes, or open-ended. • When your head drifts past your threshold, a soft cue plays in your AirPods. • A bell marks the start and the end of every sit. MADE FOR UNGUIDED PRACTICE Silent meditation, zazen, shikantaza, vipassana, centering prayer or simple mindfulness. Whatever brings you to the cushion, Stillness keeps time and keeps watch, and nothing more. CUES YOU CAN TUNE • Sensitivity: Gentle, Balanced or Precise • Sound cues on or off, with a preview • Set the time between cues • Quiet first 3 minutes, so you can settle in • Optional interval bells YOUR JOURNAL • Every sit, day by day, for the last 5 weeks and beyond • After each sit: how long your head stayed steady, your longest drift and how many cues played • Your 30-day trend, total hours and day streak • Share or export any sit STILLNESS+ A one-time purchase, with Family Sharing. No subscription. After 10 sits, Stillness+ reads your own practice and shows five calm insights: • Drift timing: the minute your head tends to lower • Trend: whether you are getting steadier • Duration sweet spot: the length that suits you best • Side tilt: whether you lean to one side • Time of day: when your sits are steadiest PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your sessions and motion data stay on your iPhone. No account, no ads, no tracking. Only anonymous usage statistics are shared. WORKS WITH AirPods Pro, AirPods Max and AirPods (3rd generation) and later. No compatible headphones? You can still sit with bells, without cues. Available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Catalan. Sit down. Put your AirPods in. Stay.

Screenshots

Sorta Zen4 screens
Unguided Meditation Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Unguided Meditation Timer at every 3 days against Sorta Zen's weekly. Unguided Meditation Timer also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). Sorta Zen's advantage is ratings volume (7 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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 and Unguided Meditation Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Sorta Zen against 5.0 for Unguided Meditation Timer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sorta Zen has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sorta Zen ships an update weekly, Unguided Meditation Timer every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Sorta Zen versus Unguided Meditation Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSorta ZenUnguided Meditation Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings7 — better1
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB66 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperPatrick GriffithBrothapps, SL

Customer experience

Sorta Zen

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

Unguided Meditation Timer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Sorta Zen

Subscriptions1
  • Food For Non-Thought1 Month trial$20.001 Year
1 purchases

Unguided Meditation Timer

One-time1
  • Stillness+ Lifetime$9.99

Questions

Is Sorta Zen free?
Sorta Zen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Unguided Meditation Timer free?
Unguided Meditation Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sorta Zen or Unguided Meditation Timer?
Sorta Zen and Unguided Meditation Timer are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 7 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Sorta Zen or Unguided Meditation Timer have ads?
Neither Sorta Zen nor Unguided Meditation Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sorta Zen or Unguided Meditation Timer?
Sorta Zen ships an update weekly, and Unguided Meditation Timer every 3 days. Most recently, Sorta Zen was updated on October 24, 2026 and Unguided Meditation Timer on October 15, 2026.

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