Lotus Bud Meditation Timer vs Meditation Timer-ZenMinder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lotus Bud Meditation Timer
This app helps you establish a regular meditation practice with a beautiful, intuitive interface. It offers customizable timers, gentle sound cues, and interactive reminders to support your well-being. Enhance your experience with optional features for tracking history and setting intentions.
- Customizable meditation duration
- Gentle singing bowl sound alerts
- Interactive reminders
- Today widget for quick access
- Apple Watch integration
- Meditation history and notes (in-app purchase)
- Intention setting for gradual duration increase (in-app purchase)
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Built to support your practice Lotus Bud is a meditation timer built for practitioners who want a focused tool that respects the work they do. No content library, social network, music player or other distractions standing between you and the cushion. Just you and the cushion. FREE FEATURES • Simple timed or untimed meditation • Widgets and Live Activities: Start a session directly from your Home Screen or Lock Screen. Track elapsed time throughout your sit with Live Activities on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. °Siri Shortcuts: Start, pause, or end sessions with your voice. Create automations using your meditation data to make regular practice easier to maintain. • Apple Watch app • Assistive Access: For those using Assistive Access Lotus Bud offers a dramatically simplified user experience. PAID FEATURES (one time purchase) • Custom Meditation Plans: Create structured sessions with multiple steps, custom durations, and lead-in countdowns. Build a sequence that matches your practice, whether you need a simple timer or a detailed progression. On devices that support Apple Intelligence, you can just describe the plan you want to create a new one. • Insights: Understand how your practice develops over time with streaks, rolling averages, tag breakdowns, and calendar heat maps. Review your consistency and identify patterns in your sessions. • Intentions: Set daily, weekly, or monthly goals for meditation time or session frequency. Progress updates help you stay connected to the intentions you set. • Private logs: Write private notes about your sits, observations, and experiences. Keep your reflections alongside your practice without sharing them publicly. With Apple Intelligence you get tag suggestions that help you categorize your notes. ----- I started building Lotus Bud more than fifteen years ago to support my own daily practice. My hope was to create a tool that could support others as they develop a deeper meditation practice. Meditation has profoundly changed my life for the better, but that change required ongoing effort and focus. I had to do the work myself, and Lotus Bud has helped me stay on track. Many meditation apps focus on relaxation and stress reduction. Meditation can certainly support both, but it can also become a deeper, long-term practice that fundamentally changes how you relate to the world, your loved ones and yourself. Lotus Bud is designed for people who want to build and understand that practice without unnecessary distractions or dependence on extra content. I am the sole designer and developer of Lotus Bud. I built it, along with the related Lotus Bud Mindfulness Bell app, because I use these tools in my own practice and hope they can benefit others. I aim to make Lotus Bud useful, simple, accessible and beautiful while giving you the space to practice on your own terms. ----- Try Lotus Bud Mindfulness Bell to support mindfulness throughout the day. It plays randomized bells that invite you to pause and return your attention to the present moment.
Meditation Timer-ZenMinder
Develop awareness and peace of mind with tools designed to help you achieve calm and focus. This app offers guided sessions, goal setting, daily reminders, and progress tracking to enhance your meditation journey. Personalize your experience with user-friendly themes and enjoy a mindful practice.
- Guided meditation sessions
- Meditation goal setting
- Daily reminders and affirmations
- Progress tracking
- Customizable themes
- Light mode option
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ZenMinder is your ultimate mate in developing awareness and peace of mind in your daily life. It offers a set of tools that helps you attain a state of calm and focus in the midst of life's stressful situations. Designed with simplicity and efficiency, it is meant to transform your meditation journey. Key Features: Guided Meditation It offers a wide range of pre-recorded audio and video sessions that help you to practice effortlessly as a beginner. Immerse yourself in a moment of mindfulness with ZenMinder. Meditation Goals Set realistic goals with ZenMinder and cultivate healthy yoga practices in your daily routine. Select from a range of meditation lengths and ambient sounds to improve your practice and increase your level of relaxation. Daily reminders Get daily doses of knowledge, motivation, and inspiration sent directly to your device. Allow ZenMinder's inspirational sayings and affirmations to elevate your spirits and nourish your soul. You can also share it with your loved ones. User Friendly Themes Select your favorite theme that reflects your personality and keeps you connected with the app. These themes are designed to uplift your mood and take out some time for yourself. Progress Tracking Keep an eye on your mindfulness practice and record your advancements over time. ZenMinder helps you stay motivated and dedicated to your goals by offering insights into your overall well-being, gratitude practices, and meditation routines. Light Mode Now enjoy your favorite meditation app in light mode that helps you experience peace and ecstatic. It provides a calming aesthetic that improves your mindfulness practice and calms the senses. Personalized Experience You can change the themes, colors, and styles of Animation Mode to fit your own tastes. ZenMinder provides countless customisation options, regardless of your preference for simple or elaborate graphics. ZenMinder helps you to discover the power of mindfulness and be more peaceful, calmer and joyful in life. Take a step towards healthy life and inner content with our free meditation app. *Premium Upgrade required to unlock. Optional auto-renewing subscription is available (price varies by territory) located in the app Settings page. Payments will be charged to your iTunes Account after confirmation. Subscription automatically renewed unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the subscription period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed in your iTunes Account’s Settings after purchasing. Privacy Policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/7803420 Terms of Use: https://waterminder.com/terms.html Note: HealthKit integration is to read/write mindful minutes.
Screenshots
Verdict
Lotus Bud Meditation Timer and Meditation Timer-ZenMinder both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 50% of Meditation Timer-ZenMinder's written reviews are positive against 41% of Lotus Bud Meditation Timer's. Meditation Timer-ZenMinder also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 27.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Lotus Bud Meditation Timer sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Meditation Timer-ZenMinder sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Lotus Bud Meditation Timer against 4.6 for Meditation Timer-ZenMinder. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 5 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 41% of Lotus Bud Meditation Timer's written reviews are positive against 50% of Meditation Timer-ZenMinder's.
Lotus Bud Meditation Timer ships an update monthly, Meditation Timer-ZenMinder every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lotus Bud Meditation Timer | Meditation Timer-ZenMinder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (5 ratings) | 4.6 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 41.2% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 5 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 27.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 60 MB | 352 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chad Sager | Funn Media, LLC |
Customer experience
Lotus Bud Meditation Timer
Meditation Timer-ZenMinder
In-app purchases
Lotus Bud Meditation Timer
- Tip$0.99
- Kind Tip$1.99
- Generous Tip$4.99
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- Intention and Reflection (Goals and Journaling)$6.99
- Very Generous Tip$9.99
- Extraordinary Tip$14.99
Meditation Timer-ZenMinder
- ZenMinder Premium Monthly3 Days trial$1.491 Month
- ZenMinder Premium Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Premium Plus Bundle1 Year trial$59.991 Year
- ZenMinder Premium One Time$14.99
Questions
Is Lotus Bud Meditation Timer free?
Is Meditation Timer-ZenMinder free?
Which has better reviews, Lotus Bud Meditation Timer or Meditation Timer-ZenMinder?
Do Lotus Bud Meditation Timer or Meditation Timer-ZenMinder have ads?
Which is updated more often, Lotus Bud Meditation Timer or Meditation Timer-ZenMinder?
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