Comparison

Simple Zen vs Orbit

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

Head to head
About

Simple Zen

Features
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Simple Zen turns your iPhone into a calm, intentional tool. Instead of endless app grids and dopamine-driven notifications, you get a minimalist text launcher that puts you back in control. YOUR PHONE, SIMPLIFIED Choose only the apps you actually need. Simple Zen replaces your home screen with a clean, monospaced list โ€” no icons, no badges, no distractions. Just the essentials. MINDFUL FRICTION THAT WORKS Every time you reach for a distracting app, Simple Zen pauses you with a breathing exercise, a reflection prompt, or a simple countdown. This small moment is enough to break the autopilot habit. BLOCK APPS FOR REAL (Premium) With Screen Time access, a focus session doesn't just ask โ€” it holds the apps you choose shut until the timer ends. iOS enforces it, so willpower isn't the plan. Which apps you pick never leaves your device. REAL LIFE TODAY See exactly how much of your day remains before bedtime. Track phone usage as a percentage of your waking hours. The less time on your phone, the more real life you have. SLEEP SCHEDULE Set your bedtime and wake time with an intuitive circular dial. Simple Zen uses this to calculate your real life remaining and track how much of your day goes to your phone. ADD ANY APP VIA SHORTCUTS With Premium, add any app to your launcher โ€” even the one released yesterday. Browse 70+ popular apps or enter any app manually using Apple Shortcuts. Step-by-step guides walk you through setup. ZEN GARDEN (Premium) Earn zen stones for mindful behavior โ€” surviving delays, maintaining streaks, and staying focused. Watch your garden grow as your relationship with your phone improves. VOICE REFLECTIONS (Premium) Record voice memos about your phone habits. On-device speech recognition and smart categorization help you spot patterns. Audio never leaves your phone. CONTEXTUAL BLOCKING Automatically increase delays or block apps when your calendar shows you're busy or when you're at your work location. FOUR DARK THEMES (Premium) OLED-optimized Zen Brush, Quill & Scroll, Typewriter, and Stone Tablet. FEATURES AT A GLANCE - Minimalist text-based app launcher - Mindful delay with breathing animation - Real app blocking during focus sessions (Screen Time) - Real Life countdown until bedtime - Phone usage percentage tracking - Sleep schedule with circular picker - Escalating delays per app - Custom reflection prompts - Time limits per app - Contextual blocking (calendar + location) - Focus profiles and focus timer - 4 dark themes + 1 light (Zen Pearl) theme - Home screen widgets (launcher, clock, quote) - NFC tap-to-focus - Live Activities / Dynamic Island - Siri and App Intents - Apple Health mindful minutes sync - Complete dumb phone setup guide - Privacy-first: no data leaves your device. No analytics. No accounts. Simple Zen is a one-time purchase. No subscriptions. Yours forever. Privacy Policy: https://williamjiamin.github.io/simple-zen-site/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Orbit

Read full description

Set a timer, put the phone down, and actually stay off the apps that pull you away. Orbit is a focus timer built for ADHD brains that set timers and then ignore them. Most timers just count down in the background. Orbit shields your distracting apps for real, using iOS Screen Time, so the pull is gone while you work. A single hand-drawn tangle of line sits on a black screen and slowly threads with color as your session runs. It is your clock, your progress bar, and something calm to rest your eyes on instead of a feed. Touch it and the strands spring and swirl back into place. Why it fits an ADHD brain: - One tap to start. Pick a preset and you are focusing, no setup wall. - Real app blocking, not a nag. The apps you choose stay shielded until the session ends. - A calm, no-shame stop. Sessions wind down gently instead of slamming shut on a hyperfocus. - Focused days, not guilt streaks. Orbit counts the days you showed up and never punishes a miss. - Nothing to read while you focus. Black screen, one moving thing, silence. Free forever: - Focus sessions with the live tangle - A basic streak of your focused days Orbit Pro: - Unlimited sessions and full app blocking - Complete history and insight into where your time actually goes - Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets No ads. No account. Works offline. Your session data stays on your device. Untangle your time. Terms of Use: https://readbuildship.com/apps/orbit/terms

Screenshots

Simple Zen4 screens
Orbit4 screens

Verdict

The call

Simple Zen and Orbit are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters โ€” price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them โ€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Simple Zen sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Orbit sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Zen ships an update every 2 weeks, Orbit weekly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Simple Zen versus Orbit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple ZenOrbit
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size110 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer็ซ‹ๆดพ ๆฑชJan Piotrzkowski

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Simple Zen

One-time2
  • Simple Zen Premium_$3.99
  • Simple Zen Premium$3.99
3 purchases

Orbit

Subscriptions3
  • Orbit Pro Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Orbit Pro Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Orbit Pro Yearly$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Simple Zen free?
Simple Zen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Orbit free?
Orbit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Simple Zen or Orbit have ads?
Neither Simple Zen nor Orbit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple Zen or Orbit?
Simple Zen ships an update every 2 weeks, and Orbit weekly. Most recently, Simple Zen was updated on October 31, 2026 and Orbit on October 31, 2026.

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