Mokurai vs Timber
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Mokurai
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Mokurai β "silent thunder" β is a focused meditation timer designed in the Sanbo Zen tradition. It does one thing: helps you sit, with the bells that mark the rhythm of practice. Plan a session in seconds. Choose the number of rounds, your zazen length, and kinhin (walking meditation) β between rounds as usual, or opening and closing the sitting. Pick from six authentic bell sounds β keisu, rin, inkin, meditation, temple, and Tibetan β and two wooden han clappers used to time kinhin. Then make it match how your sangha actually practises. Set how many strikes open zazen, how many close it before kinhin, and how many end the sitting. Set every pause in between β standing after the closing gongs, walking back to your seat, settling before the next round β down to the second. Mokurai ships with the Sanbo Zen pattern and will return to it whenever you want. Sitting where someone else rings the real bell? Switch the signal to vibration. The phone stays silent and the timekeeper feels each cue β three pulses for a bell, one for the han β so nothing but the real keisu is heard in the room. A lights-out mode dims the screen for sitting in a dark zendo β a single tap, and the only thing left is the bell. The timer runs quietly in the background, so you can lock your phone or place it face-down and just sit. Your setup is remembered, so the next sit starts where the last one left off. Your session history is recorded locally so you can see the consistency of your practice over weeks and months. No accounts, no logins, no ads, no trackers, no analytics. Nothing leaves your device. Just a timer, bells, and your sit. Features: β’ Rounds, zazen length, and kinhin β between rounds, or opening and closing the sitting β’ Set the bell counts to your lineage: opening zazen, closing before kinhin, ending the sitting β’ Every pause adjustable, down to the second β with the Sanbo Zen defaults one tap away β’ Six bell sounds and two han clappers rooted in real practice traditions β’ Vibration-only mode for retreats, when someone else rings the real bell β’ Lights-out mode for sitting in a dark zendo β’ Local session history β see your practice over time β’ Background audio so bells play even when the screen is locked β’ Your setup remembered between sits β’ Dark, distraction-free interface β’ No tracking, no accounts, no data collection For sitters at any level β beginning, returning, or longstanding.
Timber
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Timber is a customizable interval timer and routine builder. Whether you're crushing a HIIT workout, sinking into a deep focus session, or perfecting your morning schedule, Timber lets you build your routine, your way. Create simple countdowns or advanced multi-step routines with reusable blocks, groups, repeats, nested timers, media cues, and background playback. Stop switching between separate apps for HIIT, Tabata, Pomodoro, meditation, stretching, coaching, and cooking. Timber lets you build the exact routine you need. BUILD ONCE, REUSE ANYWHERE Create simple or highly advanced timers using our flexible block-based system. β’ Create reusable timer blocks β’ Group blocks into circuits, sets, and rounds β’ Repeat blocks, groups, or full timers β’ Nest timers inside other timers β’ Merge blocks into groups or split them apart β’ Edit linked blocks once to update them everywhere, or unlink for a custom version β’ Duplicate timers and blocks for easy modification GUIDE EVERY STEP WITH RICH MEDIA CUES Don't just watch the clock. Attach rich media to any timer step so you know exactly what to do and when to do it: β’ Add YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion video demos β’ Attach local video, audio, image, recording, and text prompts β’ Use text-to-speech voice cues for hands-free guidance β’ Add music, countdown sounds, and instructions to individual timer steps β’ Keep cues running with native background playback ONE TIMER FOR EVERY ACTIVITY β’ Workouts & Training: HIIT, Tabata, EMOM, boxing rounds, circuit training, stretching, and mobility. Add exercise demo videos right into your rest and work intervals. β’ Focus & Productivity: Pomodoro, deep work, studying, reading, and work sprints β’ Mindfulness: yoga, breathwork, meditation, and guided practice β’ Daily life: morning routines, cooking steps, speaking practice, and coaching plans TRACK YOUR PROGRESS See how consistently youβre completing your routines. β’ View weekly timer time, completed sessions, and streaks β’ Explore seven-day activity bars and a monthly heatmap β’ See per-timer stats including times run, total time, and average completion β’ Review completed, skipped, and unplayed sections of each session SHARE AND IMPORT COMPLETE TIMERS β’ Share lightweight timers with a QR code β’ Share media-rich timers as a Timber zip file β’ Choose which media files to include before sharing β’ Preview media before exporting or importing β’ Scan QR codes from another phone or from a saved image β’ Review, rename, and confirm shared timers before adding them β’ Imported timers stay clearly marked so you know where they came from RELIABLE BACKGROUND PLAYBACK Run timers with a focused, distraction-free display or continue while using other apps. Timber keeps your countdown, audio cues, TTS prompts, and notifications moving in the background. β’ Use a focused full-screen playback view β’ Follow and control timers with Live Activities on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island β’ Keep timers and supported media cues running in the background FULL BACKUP & RESTORE Keep a portable copy of your Timber data. β’ Back up timers, blocks, history, media, and your theme preference β’ Export everything as a .timber.zip file β’ Preview a backup before restoring it β’ Choose individual timers to restore β’ Restore nested timers and their required media automatically PRIVATE & OFFLINE-FIRST Your data belongs to you. Timers, blocks, history, and local media are stored on your device. You decide when to export, share, back up, or restore them. No account required, no forced logins WHY CHOOSE TIMBER? β’ Replaces basic countdown timers, stopwatches, and routine apps β’ Reusable blocks make advanced timers faster to build β’ Rich media cues help you know exactly what to do next β’ QR and zip sharing make it easy to move routines between devices β’ Flexible enough for simple tasks and complex schedules Create once. Reuse anywhere with Timber. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mokurai at none against Timber's 2. Mokurai also leads on ads (none vs shown). Timber's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Timber sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Mokurai asks for nothing beyond the download.
Mokurai ships an update fortnightly, Timber every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mokurai | Timber |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 days β better |
| Ads | No β better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No β better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 β better | 16.2 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sooties LLC | SREEHARI P C |
In-app purchases
Mokurai
No in-app purchases
Timber
- Timber Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
- Timber Pro Lifetime$7.99









