Temple Mind vs Ben
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Temple Mind
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Temple Mind is a quiet place to think. It brings philosophy, psychology and the great ideas of human history into one calm app: articles to read, podcasts to listen to, films and talks to watch, quotes, facts and a dictionary of ideas - all organised around the thinkers behind them. WISDOM - Read articles and short explainers on ideas worth knowing - Listen to podcasts, watch films and talks - Browse quotes, facts and a dictionary of philosophical terms - Explore thinkers and follow their work - Save anything for later and search the whole library I THINK... A place to write a thought down and see what other people are thinking. Post, comment, like and share. You can report or block anything you would rather not see, and delete your own posts at any time. MEANING A Memento Mori view of your own life: your age set against the global life expectancy, how much of your life has already passed, and the meaning you have written for yourself. Change it whenever it changes. TEMPLE PREMIUM Temple Mind is free to download. An optional Temple Premium plan - 1 month, 3 months or 1 year - unlocks premium content. These are one-time purchases that do not renew automatically; payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. SIGNING IN No password to remember: enter your email address and we send you a one-time code. You can change your username, email, age and goal from your profile, or delete your account and all of its content whenever you want.
Ben
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ben-kyo turns the Japanese you actually hear in daily life into vocabulary you remember. Record a conversation โ a lesson, a chat with a friend, something overheard on the train โ or import an audio file you already have. ben-kyo transcribes it on your device, no account or internet connection required. STUDY AT YOUR LEVEL Choose a JLPT level from N5 to N1, and ben-kyo scans the transcript for vocabulary at exactly that level, using a built-in Japanese dictionary. Each word it finds gets translated and added to your personal word list, tagged with the sentence it came from โ so you always remember where you first heard it. REVIEW THE SMART WAY Every word you save gets its own flashcard, scheduled with the same spaced-repetition algorithm (SM-2) that Anki is built on. Grade yourself Again, Hard, Good, or Easy after each card, and ben-kyo adjusts when you'll see it next โ so you spend your time on the words you actually struggle with, not the ones you already know. PRACTICE WITH YOUR OWN WORDS Generate a short practice conversation built entirely from words in your own list, at the difficulty level you choose. It's a quick, low-pressure way to see your vocabulary used in context before you try it out in real life. PRIVATE BY DESIGN ben-kyo runs entirely on-device using Apple's Speech, Translation, and on-device language frameworks. There's no sign-up, no account, no server, and your recordings and word list never leave your phone. Whether you're studying for the JLPT or just trying to hold onto the Japanese you pick up day to day, ben-kyo turns real conversations into a vocabulary list โ and a study habit โ that actually sticks.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Temple Mind at 15.0 against Ben's 18.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Temple Mind ships an update weekly, Ben every 6 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Temple Mind | Ben |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 6 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 โ better | 18.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 54 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Renew LLC | Matthias Frey |
In-app purchases
Temple Mind
No in-app purchases
Ben
No in-app purchases









