Comparison

Koan Meditation Timer vs Urge Surfin

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

Head to head
About

Koan Meditation Timer

This app offers a distraction-free meditation experience with customizable bell sounds and flexible session scheduling. It allows users to create simple or complex meditation routines without requiring an account or saving data.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free meditation
  • Customizable bell and bowl sounds
  • Flexible session scheduler
  • Simple and complex session creation
  • No account required
  • No data saving
  • No push notifications
Features
Read full description

The Koan Simple Meditation Timer is built so you can sit down and meditate without distraction. It features three real sounds of bells and bowls and a flexible scheduler. You can create a simple session with a bell to start and a bell to finish after 10 minutes. You can just as easily make a complicated bell setup like 30 minutes of sitting meditation followed by 10 minutes of walking mediation. The simplicity is purposeful here. There is no account to create, no data saved, no push notifications of premium subscriptions to shill. We both know you don't need that. Just meditate more and the world will be a better place for it.

About

Urge Surfin

This app helps you quit habits by tracking clean days and offering a "urge surfing" game to manage cravings. It also includes a guided breathing exercise to help you calm down quickly.

Highlights
  • Habit tracking
  • Clean day counter
  • Urge surfing game
  • Guided box breathing
  • Daily check-ins
  • Pattern analysis
Features
Read full description

Urge Surfin tracks one thing: how many days you've stayed clean. Choose the habit you need to quit. Start your count. When a craving hits, you have somewhere to go. Urge Surf — draf the surfer to stay balanced on a wave. Urge surfing is a real DBT technique: cravings peak and pass, usually within minutes. The game holds your attention while that happens. Box Breathing — a guided breathing exercise for when you need to come down fast. Four counts in, hold, out, hold. Clinically simple. Actually works. Track your clean days with honest timestamps. Log daily check-ins so you can see patterns, not just streaks. No grace days. No second chances built into the math. Just your real count.

Screenshots

Koan Meditation Timer2 screens
Urge Surfin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Koan Meditation Timer at every 3 days against Urge Surfin's every 3 months. Koan Meditation Timer also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.4). On price, rating, ratings volume 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 Koan Meditation Timer against 5.0 for Urge Surfin. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Koan Meditation Timer ships an update every 3 days, Urge Surfin every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Koan Meditation Timer versus Urge Surfin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKoan Meditation TimerUrge Surfin
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better26.4
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB7 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperLucas MooreCTXA LLC

Customer experience

Koan Meditation Timer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Urge Surfin

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Koan Meditation Timer

No in-app purchases

None

Urge Surfin

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Koan Meditation Timer free?
Koan Meditation Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Urge Surfin free?
Urge Surfin is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Koan Meditation Timer or Urge Surfin?
Koan Meditation Timer and Urge Surfin are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Koan Meditation Timer or Urge Surfin have ads?
Neither Koan Meditation Timer nor Urge Surfin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Koan Meditation Timer or Urge Surfin?
Koan Meditation Timer ships an update every 3 days, and Urge Surfin every 3 months. Most recently, Koan Meditation Timer was updated on October 31, 2026 and Urge Surfin on October 31, 2026.

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