Comparison

Oku vs Ding

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Oku3 screens
Ding4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Oku ships an update monthly, Ding fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Oku versus Ding: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOkuDing
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperClarissa WatanabeDenis Kutuzov

Customer experience

Oku

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Ding

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

In-app purchases

None

Oku

No in-app purchases

None

Ding

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Oku free?
Oku is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ding free?
Ding is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Oku or Ding?
Oku and Ding are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Oku or Ding have ads?
Neither Oku nor Ding shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Oku or Ding?
Oku ships an update monthly, and Ding fortnightly. Most recently, Oku was updated on September 30, 2026 and Ding on October 15, 2026.

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