Comparison · Tarot Apps
The Tarot Almanac vs. Raka
Raka and The Tarot Almanac both open with a card for today and a chart for your birth date. If you’re choosing between them, here’s the actual difference, not the marketing version of it.
Where they agree
Start with what’s actually shared.
- A card for today, tied to your birth date
- A fuller reading built from your birth date, not just one card
- A free way in before you pay anything
- A monthly subscription for the full version
Where they differ
This is the part worth reading slowly.
How the card gets picked
Raka is built AI-native. Ask it for a reading and a language model produces one, card and interpretation together, in the moment you ask. The Tarot Almanac doesn’t ask an AI anything to pick your card. Your birthday and the date go through a fixed formula, the same one every time, and you can run that formula by hand and land on the same card the site shows.
Who wrote what you’re reading
The Tarot Almanac’s card meanings and Bearings are each written once, by a person, and read the same by everyone who lands on that card. Two paid readings work differently: the month-ahead reading in the subscription and the $15 year-ahead reading both use AI to write the narrative that connects your cards, generated once when you first ask and then fixed, not regenerated on your next visit. The cards themselves are never chosen by the model, in any reading on the site, free or paid.
Price
| The Tarot Almanac | Raka | |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Today’s cards, your Bearing, chart preview | Limited daily readings |
| Subscription | $7 / month | $9.99 / month ($79.99 billed yearly) |
| One-off chart | $12, no subscription needed | — |
| How the card is chosen | Fixed arithmetic, checkable by hand | Generated by an AI model |
Common questions
Is The Tarot Almanac an alternative to Raka?
Yes, if what you want out of Raka is a daily card and a birth chart reading. The two apps get there differently: Raka's readings come from an AI model, generated when you ask. The Tarot Almanac's come from a fixed formula run on your birthday and the date, the same card every time, with every meaning written by a person rather than generated per request.
What's the actual difference between The Tarot Almanac and Raka?
Raka is AI-native: ask it for a reading and a language model produces the interpretation in the moment. The Tarot Almanac doesn't ask an AI anything. Your card is worked out by arithmetic, the same rule for every date, and you can do that arithmetic by hand and land on the same card the site shows.
Does The Tarot Almanac use AI to write your reading?
Not for the card or its meaning. Which card you get is always decided by the fixed formula, never a model, and the card meanings on the site were written once, by a person, the same for everyone who lands on them. Two paid products work differently: the month-ahead reading, bundled in the subscription, and the $15 year-ahead reading both use AI to write the connective narrative around your cards, generated once when you first ask and then locked, not rewritten each time you come back. The cards inside those readings are still chosen by the same formula as everywhere else on the site.
Which is cheaper, The Tarot Almanac or Raka?
The Tarot Almanac is $7 a month. Raka's paid Mastery tier is $9.99 a month, or $79.99 billed yearly. Both apps also offer a free tier before you pay anything.
Related: how the math works · your tarot birth chart · your Bearing · all seventy-eight cards · The Tarot Almanac vs. Labyrinthos · subscribe for $7/month