Comparison

Mantra vs Empty Boat

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

Head to head
About

Mantra

This app allows you to write personal affirmations, prayers, or reminders and schedule them to arrive at unexpected moments throughout your day. It focuses on delivering your own words when they matter most, helping you create a more intentional daily rhythm.

Highlights
  • Write custom messages
  • Schedule message delivery times
  • Receive messages at unscheduled moments
  • Pro features for multiple mantras and advanced scheduling
  • Sentence library for inspiration
  • Privacy-focused design
Features
Read full description

The Mantra is a delivery system for words you choose. Write anything: A mantra. A daily prayer. A name. A promise. A focus for the day. A sentence you don’t want to forget. Then set your timing and let it arrive - at unscheduled moments - when it matters. How it works Write your sentence (or choose one and rewrite it in your own words) Set delivery (frequency + active hours) Receive arrivals throughout the day, spaced across your schedule Why it’s different Most apps give you words. Mantra delivers yours. Meaning doesn’t come from the sentence alone. It comes from the moment it shows up. Features Your words, unchanged You write it. The app delivers it. Arrivals across your day Choose how often it arrives and when. Simple controls Frequency, active hours, and delivery settings that reschedule automatically. Mantra scheduling (Pro) Set different sentences for upcoming days. Sentence library Browse, choose, and rewrite sentences in your own voice. Pro (Subscription) Upgrade to Pro to unlock: Schedule different mantras for upcoming days Set multiple active mantras at once Adjust notification frequency and timing Create a more intentional daily rhythm Access a curated list of intentions Privacy Mantra is designed to respect your privacy. We don’t sell your data. Terms of Use: https://mantra-app.my.canva.site/ Privacy Policy: https://mantra-app.my.canva.site/

About

Empty Boat

Read full description

Something happened. You're about to do something about it. Empty Boat is what you open in that gap. You write what happened. You get one story from Zhuangzi - a Taoist text from the 4th century BC - set against your situation, a question, and one thing to stop doing. Not "do this instead." One subtraction. Want another angle, you ask for it. Most people stop at one. Some nights there is nothing to reframe. You are tired and you are reading it correctly. When that is the case the app says so, and tries to name what you are carrying instead of handing you a parable that would only argue with you. Seven days later it asks one question about what you wrote. That is what makes the log worth keeping - not a diary, a record of which things still mattered a week on. WHAT IT ISN'T A chatbot. There is nothing here to have a conversation with. A meditation app. No timers, no breathing, no sounds. A course in Taoism. It will not explain wu wei. A streak. There is nothing to keep up. WHAT IT WON'T DO It will not tell you what to do. It will not comfort you. It will not say everything happens for a reason. It has nothing to say about your body, your eating, or your drinking, and it will tell you that rather than guess. Your log stays on your phone. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Mantra4 screens
Empty Boat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Empty Boat at every 11 days against Mantra's every 6 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Mantra sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month and Empty Boat sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mantra ships an update every 6 weeks, Empty Boat every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Mantra versus Empty Boat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMantraEmpty Boat
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB44 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperKesi ShankarNguyen Manh

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Mantra

Subscriptions1
  • Mantra Pro$1.991 Month
2 purchases

Empty Boat

Subscriptions2
  • EmptyBoat_Monthly$14.991 Month
  • EmptyBoat_yearly$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Mantra free?
Mantra is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Empty Boat free?
Empty Boat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Mantra or Empty Boat have ads?
Neither Mantra nor Empty Boat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mantra or Empty Boat?
Mantra ships an update every 6 weeks, and Empty Boat every 11 days. Most recently, Mantra was updated on June 1, 2026 and Empty Boat on September 19, 2026.

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