Comparison

Lion's Roar vs Advance! LA

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

Advance! LA

Access exclusive content from the Advanced Organization Los Angeles, including success stories and spiritual insights. This digital magazine is optimized for mobile devices and provides notifications for new issues and videos.

Highlights
  • Exclusive content from AOLA
  • Digital magazine optimized for mobile
  • Save favorite articles and videos
  • Exclusive video access
  • Notifications for new issues
  • Access with IAS membership number
Features
Read full description

A magazine for Scientologists from the Advanced Organization Los Angeles. The Advance! magazine app is accessible to anyone with an IAS membership number. It’s time to enter the gateway to spiritual freedom, where abilities are heightened and a world of wins awaits. From the City of Angels in the US, the exclusive services and the soaring success stories are at your fingertips with the Advance! magazine app. Tap into OT power with the Advance! magazine app The backdrop: famed Sunset Boulevard and the hills of Hollywood. The setting: a series of iconic blue buildings on L. Ron Hubbard Way. The story: ascending to new spiritual heights in the City of Angels. At AOLA, you are the star, shining as you soar to OT. Now you can tap into all the excitement, the news and the stories from AOLA with a digital edition of Advance! magazine. Download and read anytime, anywhere It’s Advance! magazine enhanced and optimized for viewing on your phone or tablet. Save your favorites Bookmark any article or video for easy viewing anytime you open the app. You are there The Advance! app is your backstage pass, granting you access with exclusive videos that let you take in the sights and share the adventure of those moving to the upper spans of the Bridge. Stay up-to-date As soon as a new issue or new video drops, you’ll be notified, so you’re always plugged into AOLA. AOLA at your fingertips Connect to AOLA anytime, from any device. L. Ron Hubbard Way is just a tap away with the Advance! magazine app. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3 1. Download the app 2. Log on with your IAS membership number to gain access to content 3. Tap into OT power at AOLA Swipe to Advance! Get the Advance! magazine app today

Screenshots

Lion's Roar4 screens
Advance! LA4 screens

Verdict

The call

Lion's Roar and Advance! LA both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Advance! LA's written reviews are positive against 51% of Lion's Roar's. Advance! LA also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). Lion's Roar's advantage is ratings volume (1.6K vs 42) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, rating and device support 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 10 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per 6 months. Advance! LA asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Lion's Roar against 5.0 for Advance! LA. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lion's Roar has 1.6K ratings behind it against 42, 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 Advance! LA's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lion's Roar ships an update every 6 months, Advance! LA every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Lion's Roar versus Advance! LA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLion's RoarAdvance! LA
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (1.6K ratings)5.0 (42 ratings) — better
Positive reviews51.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.6K — better42
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB139 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperLion's Roar FoundationChurch of Scientology International

Customer experience

Lion's Roar

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

Advance! LA

All ratings41 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 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

Advance! LA

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Lion's Roar

Subscriptions2
  • 6 Months Subscription$12.996 Months
  • Lion's Roar magazine1 Month trial$24.991 Year
One-time8
  • November 2015$7.99
  • January 2016$7.99
  • March 2016$7.99
Show 5 more
  • May 2016$7.99
  • July 2016$7.99
  • September 2016$7.99
  • November 2016$7.99
  • January 2017$7.99
None

Advance! LA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lion's Roar free?
Lion's Roar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Advance! LA free?
Advance! LA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lion's Roar or Advance! LA?
Advance! LA is rated higher. Lion's Roar averages 4.9 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Advance! LA averages 5.0 from 42 ratings.
Do Lion's Roar or Advance! LA have ads?
Lion's Roar shows ads; Advance! LA does not.
Which is updated more often, Lion's Roar or Advance! LA?
Lion's Roar ships an update every 6 months, and Advance! LA every 2 months. Most recently, Lion's Roar was updated on November 1, 2026 and Advance! LA on November 3, 2026.

Other comparisons