Comparison

Temple Mind vs Ben

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

Head to head
About

Temple Mind

Features
Read full description

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.

About

Ben

Features
Read full description

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

Temple Mind4 screens
Ben4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Temple Mind ships an update weekly, Ben every 6 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Temple Mind versus Ben: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTemple MindBen
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 6 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size54 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRenew LLCMatthias Frey

In-app purchases

None

Temple Mind

No in-app purchases

None

Ben

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Temple Mind free?
Temple Mind is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ben free?
Ben is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Temple Mind or Ben have ads?
Neither Temple Mind nor Ben shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Temple Mind or Ben?
Temple Mind ships an update weekly, and Ben every 6 days. Most recently, Temple Mind was updated on October 31, 2026 and Ben on October 31, 2026.

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