Comparison

Lion's Roar vs SUFI JOURNAL

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

Head to head
About

Lion's Roar

Access Buddhist teachings and insights on modern life through a digital magazine. Explore practical wisdom, philosophy, and meditation techniques from renowned teachers and writers. Enjoy enhanced readability and social sharing features.

Highlights
  • Digital magazine edition
  • Easy-to-read design
  • Social sharing functionality
  • Integrated website content
  • Buddhist teachings
  • Practical life insights
Features
Read full description

The Lion's Roar digital edition delivers all the same great content from the print edition, now enhanced with an easy-to-read design, social sharing functionality, and integrated with must-reads from the website. Today’s most widely-read Buddhist magazine, Lion's Roar offers accessible, practical, and profound teachings from across the Buddhist spectrum. Lion's Roar applies Buddhist insight, philosophy, and meditation techniques to all the important issues in life today—from livelihood, parenting, and relationships to politics, social action, and the arts. In the pages of Lion's Roar, ancient wisdom shares the stage with some of today’s finest writers, thinkers, and teachers, including Pema Chödrön, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama, Sylvia Boorstein, bell hooks, Pico Iyer, Diane Ackerman, George Saunders, Charles Johnson—and many others. Lion's Roar Pricing: • Subscription 6 Month - USD 12.99* • Subscription 1 Year - USD 24.99* * For non-US app stores, the equivalent currency charges will apply. Please note: App subscriptions do not include access to subscription-only content on our website. Additional Subscription Information: • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. • No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Privacy Policy - https://bit.ly/2J5Ujfh Terms of Use - https://bit.ly/2J1YZqL • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable.

About

SUFI JOURNAL

Explore mystical thought and spiritual practice through articles, interviews, poetry, music, and video. This non-profit publication offers an immersive, multi-medium experience for those seeking meaning and connection.

Highlights
  • Immersive multi-medium content
  • Articles, interviews, poetry
  • Music, podcasts, and videos
  • Spiritual and interfaith perspectives
  • Art and narrative contributions
  • Focus on Unity and Love
Features
Read full description

SUFI explores diverse aspects of mysticism, spiritual thought and practice through articles, interviews, poetry, narratives, art, reviews and much more. Sufism is a spiritual path of mystical experience and expression, grounded in the experience of Unity, Love and loving kindness. For over 30 years in print form, the SUFI Journal shared Sufi and interfaith perspectives about mystical life and the language of the heart, featuring contributions from artists, scholars and activists from around the world. SUFI is now transformed to be so much more than a print or ordinary online magazine, offering an expansive and lush experience. SUFI content is an immersive, multi-medium encounter of spiritual expression. Content includes an ongoing series of art, thoughtful essays and poetry, organized around relevant themes. Even more, subscribers can click to savor music, listen to interviews and podcasts, and watch videos. During this unsettled time in society, SUFI speaks to those who are yearning to explore spiritual traditions and connect to heartful sources of meaning and experience. Did you know that SUFI is a non-profit? SUFI is published by Khaniqahi Nimatullahi and is produced by a dedicated team of volunteers. For more information on SUFI please visit www.sufijournal.org SUFI JOURNAL offers the following auto-renewable subscriptions: - Annual Subscription ($19.99) Payment will be charged to your Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by you and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your user's Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription to SUFI JOURNAL. For more information please see our privacy policy at https://www.sufijournal.org/privacy/ and our terms of use at https://www.sufijournal.org/terms-and-conditions-2020/.

Screenshots

Lion's Roar4 screens
SUFI JOURNAL3 screens

Verdict

The call

Lion's Roar and SUFI JOURNAL both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of SUFI JOURNAL's written reviews are positive against 51% of Lion's Roar's. SUFI JOURNAL also leads on ads (none vs shown). Lion's Roar's advantage is ratings volume (1.6K vs 38) and update cadence (every 6 months vs every 26 months). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Lion's Roar sells 19 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per 6 months and SUFI JOURNAL sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Lion's Roar against 4.9 for SUFI JOURNAL. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lion's Roar has 1.6K ratings behind it against 38, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 51% of Lion's Roar's written reviews are positive against 100% of SUFI JOURNAL's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lion's Roar ships an update every 6 months, SUFI JOURNAL every 26 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Lion's Roar versus SUFI JOURNAL: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLion's RoarSUFI JOURNAL
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (1.6K ratings)4.9 (38 ratings) — better
Positive reviews51.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.6K — better38
Update frequencyEvery 6 months — betterEvery 26 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLion's Roar Foundationkhaniqahi Nimatullahi

Customer experience

Lion's Roar

All ratings1,627 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral0.7%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews39 reviews
Positive51.3%
Neutral10.3%
Negative38.5%

SUFI JOURNAL

All ratings37 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Lion's Roar

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App not functioning or loading content
  • Subscription issues and inability to access past issues
  • Login problems and app crashes

Requested features

3 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Highlighting and dictionary features
  • Improved accessibility for visually impaired users

SUFI JOURNAL

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

19 purchases

Lion's Roar

Subscriptions2
  • 6 Months Subscription$12.996 Months
  • Lion's Roar magazine1 Month trial$24.991 Year
One-time17
  • November 2015$7.99
  • January 2016$7.99
  • March 2016$7.99
Show 14 more
  • May 2016$7.99
  • July 2016$7.99
  • September 2016$7.99
  • November 2016$7.99
  • January 2017$7.99
  • Lion's Roar Feed 72$7.99
  • Lion's Roar Feed 67$7.99
  • Lion's Roar Feed 70$7.99
  • Lion's Roar Feed 71$7.99
  • Lion's Roar Feed 65$7.99
  • Lion's Roar Feed 63$7.99
  • Lion's Roar Feed 64$7.99
  • Lion's Roar Feed 62$7.99
  • Lion's Roar Feed 60$7.99
2 purchases

SUFI JOURNAL

Subscriptions1
  • SUFI - Mobile Subscription$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • SUFI Journal Issue 99$9.99

Questions

Is Lion's Roar free?
Lion's Roar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SUFI JOURNAL free?
SUFI JOURNAL is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lion's Roar or SUFI JOURNAL?
SUFI JOURNAL is rated higher. Lion's Roar averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while SUFI JOURNAL averages 4.9 from 38 ratings.
Do Lion's Roar or SUFI JOURNAL have ads?
Lion's Roar shows ads; SUFI JOURNAL does not.
Which is updated more often, Lion's Roar or SUFI JOURNAL?
Lion's Roar ships an update every 6 months, and SUFI JOURNAL every 26 months. Most recently, Lion's Roar was updated on October 24, 2026 and SUFI JOURNAL on October 24, 2026.

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