Dishika Singh was not trying to build an app. She was trying to finish a mala.

"I lost count of my mala 30 times before I built this," said Singh, founder of JaapDaily. "JaapDaily exists as seva, selfless service. It will always be free, with no ads and no subscription, because a spiritual practice shouldn't sit behind a paywall."

The free japa counter she built for iPhone, Android and Apple Watch has now counted more than 22 million mantra repetitions since it launched in June 2026. It asks for no account and shows no advertising, and there is no paid tier to upgrade to.

The app is deliberately small in what it asks of a user. A 108-bead digital mala fills as they tap; the phone's volume buttons work too, for chanting with the eyes closed. A standalone Apple Watch app counts on the wrist, including with the Digital Crown, and an Anushthan mode runs a second counter alongside the first for anyone keeping a fixed-count vow.

Where the app is less small is in its library. It carries 74 naams and 39 mantras, and 114 chalisa and aarti texts, each with the full Devanagari, a Roman transliteration and an English meaning. Every one of those texts is checked against at least two independently transcribed sources before it is published, and a text that cannot be verified that way is left out rather than guessed at. The policy is published openly at jaapdaily.com/learn/editorial-policy.

The interface is available in 20 languages. The naam and mantra text itself is never translated or machine-transliterated: it is stored and shown exactly as written in its own script, whichever language the app is set to.

This month the texts reached a bigger screen. A new "Recite Along" view opens any of them on a laptop, a projector or a television, one verse at a time in large Devanagari, with a QR code in the corner that devotees scan to follow along on their own phones. Nothing is installed and no account is created, and it keeps working without a connection once loaded, which matters in a mandap or a hall with poor signal. It was released ahead of Navratri, which begins on 11 October.

Practice data stays on the device. Signing in is optional and syncs a user's practice only across their own devices. Donations made through the app go to SPARK WA Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, for its non-profit work.

JaapDaily is available on the App Store and Google Play, and at jaapdaily.com. The full release: jaapdaily.com/press/recite-along-navratri-2026/