Comparison

Return... Meditation Timer vs CaLoMei

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

Head to head
About

Return... Meditation Timer

A minimalist, zen-inspired timer for establishing a consistent meditation practice. Offers immersive themes, flexible timer settings, and seamless integration across Apple devices. Prioritizes user privacy with no data collection or ads.

Highlights
  • Minimalist zen design
  • Four immersive themes
  • Customizable timer durations and bell sounds
  • Apple ecosystem support (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch, TV)
  • HealthKit integration for Mindful Minutes
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Privacy-focused, no ads or data collection
Features
Read full description

Return... is a meditation timer with nothing in the way: one tap, a room to sit in, and a bell when it is time. No guided voices, no account, no feed. FIVE ROOMS - Water: a drop and its rings - Fire: flames on stone - Forest: leaves in sunlight - Silence: a black screen and the bell - Music: Still Rooms, an original album made for sitting STILL ROOMS Ten pieces written and recorded for this app play in order while you sit, in Spatial Audio on AirPods. On Apple Watch they play through your paired headphones. Previous and next sit beside pause, and nothing else is on the screen. THE TIMER - 5 to 60 minutes - Three bells: Singing Bowl, Temple Bell or Soft Chime, rung once, twice or three times - Repeat once, a set number of times, until a time of day, or until you stop - A background sound for each room, or none YOUR ICON Choose the cube from the album cover, the water drop, fire or forest. EVERY APPLE SCREEN - iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV and iPhone Duo - Mindful Minutes logged to Apple Health - Settings and session history on every device through iCloud - A widget, and a Live Activity for the sit in progress PRIVACY - No account, no sign-in - No ads, no tracking, nothing sold - Anonymous crash reports and usage counts keep the app working, and you can switch them off in Settings

About

CaLoMei

This app uses AI to automatically identify food from photos and calculate its nutritional content. It tracks daily calories, macronutrients, and weight changes, offering personalized feedback. A free version is available with limited scans, while a Pro subscription unlocks unlimited features.

Highlights
  • AI food scanning from photos
  • Automatic nutritional calculation
  • Daily calorie and macronutrient tracking
  • Weight change monitoring
  • Personalized AI feedback
Features
Read full description

CaLoMei 用 AI 幫你計卡路里,影張相就搞掂。 主要功能 AI 食物掃描 — 影相自動認食物同計營養 每日熱量追蹤 — 蛋白質、碳水、脂肪一眼睇晒 AI 寸嘴評語 — 每次 scan 完都嘴你一句 體重追蹤 — 記錄體重變化,睇下你有冇進步 免費 vs Pro 免費版每日有 3 次 AI 掃描。升級 Pro 解鎖無限掃描、體重追蹤、所有寸嘴語氣模式。 訂閱會經 App Store 帳戶扣錢,到期前 24 小時內自動續訂。隨時可以喺 App Store 設定管理或取消訂閱。 Terms of Use: https://www.calomei.com/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://www.calomei.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Return... Meditation Timer4 screens
CaLoMei4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: CaLoMei at Free against Return... Meditation Timer's $9.99. CaLoMei also leads on ratings volume (21 vs 1) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.1). Return... Meditation Timer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ads (none vs shown). On rating 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

CaLoMei is free to download; Return... Meditation Timer costs $9.99 up front. CaLoMei sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Return... Meditation Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Return... Meditation Timer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CaLoMei has 21 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Return... Meditation Timer ships an update every 3 days, CaLoMei weekly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Return... Meditation Timer versus CaLoMei: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReturn... Meditation TimerCaLoMei
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.8 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews—33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings121 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterWeekly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS26.118.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size243 MB54 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperChristopher CrosleyTin Lok Chan

Customer experience

Return... Meditation Timer

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

CaLoMei

All ratings19 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral5.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

In-app purchases

None

Return... Meditation Timer

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

CaLoMei

Subscriptions7
  • CaLoMei Pro 月費$4.991 Month
  • CaLoMei Pro 月費$7.991 Month
  • CaLoMei Pro 月費$9.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • CaLoMei Pro 年費3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • CaLoMei Pro 年費3 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • CaLoMei Pro 年費7 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • CaLoMei 年費3 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Return... Meditation Timer free?
Return... Meditation Timer costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is CaLoMei free?
CaLoMei is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Return... Meditation Timer or CaLoMei?
Return... Meditation Timer is rated higher. Return... Meditation Timer averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while CaLoMei averages 4.8 from 21 ratings.
Do Return... Meditation Timer or CaLoMei have ads?
CaLoMei shows ads; Return... Meditation Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Return... Meditation Timer or CaLoMei?
Return... Meditation Timer ships an update every 3 days, and CaLoMei weekly. Most recently, Return... Meditation Timer was updated on October 24, 2026 and CaLoMei on October 24, 2026.

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