Comparison

Zen Stories vs ZenKoan

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

Head to head
About

Zen Stories

Features
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Zen Stories is a calm, ad-free audio app for short Zen-inspired stories and quiet reflection. Listen to a story in a few minutes, track what you've heard, and come back with your own thoughts when something stays with you. What you'll find: - A calm library of short reflective stories - Gentle audio playback with low-noise controls - Simple progress tracking as you listen - Reflections from listeners, plus space to write your own - A one-time unlock for the full library, with restore support Zen Stories keeps the experience simple: listen, reflect, return. No ads. No subscription pressure. Just short stories with room to think.

About

ZenKoan

Features
Read full description

ZenKoan is a quiet koan practice companion for people who want a daily Zen prompt, a simple sitting timer, and a private reflection log without audio clutter or account setup. WHAT IS INCLUDED - A daily koan with a short practice pointer - A searchable starter library, with the complete library available in Pro - Sitting timer presets for 5, 10, 20, and 40 minutes - Start and end bell sounds using system audio - Optional private reflection after a sitting - Sitting history and practice insights, including total minutes, streak, and weekly rhythm WHY IT IS DIFFERENT Most meditation apps optimize for large audio catalogs. ZenKoan is intentionally focused on koan study and silent sitting. It opens quickly, keeps practice controls obvious, and avoids feeds, ads, social mechanics, and forced login. FREE VERSION Use the daily koan, starter library, reflection flow, and up to three sittings per day. ZENKOAN PRO ZenKoan Pro unlocks the complete koan library, unlimited daily sittings, and the full practice history/insights archive. Monthly and yearly auto-renewing plans are available through the App Store. PRIVACY Your sittings and reflections stay on your device. ZenKoan does not require an account, does not show ads, and does not sell personal data. Terms: https://zenkoan.uptrail.ai/terms Privacy: https://zenkoan.uptrail.ai/privacy Support: https://zenkoan.uptrail.ai/support

Screenshots

Zen Stories4 screens
ZenKoan4 screens

Verdict

The call

Zen Stories and ZenKoan are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters โ€” price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Zen Stories sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and ZenKoan sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Zen Stories versus ZenKoan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZen StoriesZenKoan
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsโ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.7.10 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size21 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFable LabsMitaanshu Agarwal

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Zen Stories

One-time1
  • Full Unlock$2.99
2 purchases

ZenKoan

Subscriptions2
  • ZenKoan Pro Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • ZenKoan Pro Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Zen Stories free?
Zen Stories is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ZenKoan free?
ZenKoan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Zen Stories or ZenKoan have ads?
Neither Zen Stories nor ZenKoan shows ads.

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