Oku vs Ding
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Oku
A straightforward meditation timer designed for simplicity. It allows users to set meditation durations and choose a completion sound without distractions from subscriptions, guided sessions, or ads. Focus on your practice with just a press of a button.
- Customizable meditation timer (1-90 minutes)
- Choice of completion sounds (singing bowl, bell, chime)
- Ad-free experience
- No subscriptions required
- No account needed
- Simple, distraction-free interface
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A meditation timer that gets out of your way. No subscriptions. No guided sessions. Just press start and sit. I built Oku because every meditation app I tried wanted me to subscribe, watch a tutorial, or pick from a library of guided sessions. I just wanted to sit down, meditate and track my sessions. So that's what this app does. Set your time anywhere from 1 to 90 minutes with a simple drag gesture. Pick a completion sound you like: singing bowl, soft bell, or warm chime. Press begin. That's the whole app. No subscriptions. No account. No ads.
Ding
A simple meditation timer that offers accurate timing, customizable presets, and background sounds. It integrates with Apple Watch, Health app, and Calendar, with optional Discord community features for shared practice.
- Accurate timing with background/lock screen support
- Apple Watch integration for wrist-based timing
- Customizable presets with bells and background sounds
- Optional Discord community for shared practice
- Health app integration for mindful minutes
- iCloud sync for presets and history
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A timer that stays a timer. Free, no paywalls. Two taps to the sit — open a preset and start the timer. The timer needs no account and no internet, and nothing pops up before or after the sit. Less app, more practice. You sit on the cushion by yourself — but you're not alone. If you want company, connect Discord, and the “Together” feed will show which of the people you know sat today. New to Discord? Come to our open Ding community. Visibility is up to you, and you can turn it off at any time. What's inside: — Accurate timing: the timer holds even if you background the app or lock the screen. If the system closes the app, the app will notify you instead. — Apple Watch: the timer on your wrist, works even without the phone. Same presets, vibration instead of bells, sessions count toward your practice and streak. — Presets: each practice keeps its own name, duration, start and end bell, interval bells, and a short note to yourself. — Background sound: breathing (5.5-second inhale and exhale), noise, or shruti — chosen per preset, it ducks under the bells, with an optional fade-out. — A pause before you begin: time to settle on the cushion. — Preset sharing: send a link — they open it and add it to their presets. — Coming from Insight Timer? Your practice imports along with your streak. — Your practice is saved locally on your phone, to Health (mindful minutes) and to Calendar. — Widgets: the streak on the Home Screen and the Lock Screen, a tap opens the app. — Presets and practice history sync through iCloud. — Four color themes: the background is always black, the color is up to you. — Protection from accidental touches: a cat or a sleeve won't end your sit. — Screen dimming: the screen dims a little during a session to save battery. — Interrupted sessions are restored. Questions? Write to us — the Ding community (link in Settings) or support.ding@gmail.com. (( dinnng ))
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Ding at fortnightly against Oku's monthly. Oku's advantage is ratings volume (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Oku against 5.0 for Ding. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Oku ships an update monthly, Ding fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Oku | Ding |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Clarissa Watanabe | Denis Kutuzov |
Customer experience
Oku
Ding
In-app purchases
Oku
No in-app purchases
Ding
No in-app purchases









