Apps
5 Best Bible Apps for iPhone, iPad, Android and Kindle Fire
The days of carrying around a heavy paper study Bible with thousands of pages are gone thanks to these awesome Bible apps for iPhone, iPad and Android. The five apps included in this round-up all give Bible students a quick and convenient way to read their Bible, search for passages in the Old and New Testament, and even schedule daily Bible reading with reminders. Some of them also add some great study tools withe digital reference books like Bible commentaries, Bible dictionaries and tools to learn more about the words translated from Greek and Hebrew into English.
The five apps all run on iPhone and iPad. Most also work on any Android device, including the Kindle Fire.
Best Bible Apps: Logos Bible
The left screenshot shows the app’s home page and the right shows the library list.
Faithlife, the company that makes Logos Bible, publishes thousands of digital Bible-based books and reference titles for use in their desktop and mobile apps. The iPhone, iPad and Android apps sync with the computer version of the program so that you can read from your mobile device and then pick up where you left off on your computer.
On the left you see the reader screen showing two books at once. The right shows the store where you can buy more books.
The app lets you read all the books you buy from the company. They also give you some free books when you first download the program and sign up for an account.
Users can open their Bible in one window and then open a reference book, like a commentary that explains the meaning of the passage or a dictionary, in another window.
If you want to share your favorite verses or other content found in other books, you can post to Facebook and Twitter from within the app. They even have a way to post nice pictorial versions of Bible verses.
On the left you see the extra advanced features and the right shows the app’s Bible atlas.
The app comes with dozens of other features we’ve not mentioned here.
The Logos Bible app is free to use the basics. Adding books can cost as little as a buck on up to thousands of dollars for scholarly reference titles. Faithlife gives away at least one free book a month, plus other free books. They sell collections of books, which can save you money over buying books individually.
Accordance Bible Study
Accordance Bible app shows two books at once.
The Accordance Bible Study app presents the Bible and reference books in a simple way that’s easy to use. It doesn’t come with as many features as a couple of the others, but it still helps students of the Bible read, study and research the Bible at many levels. You can read the Bible and other books you buy from the company. You can also study the meaning of words in the Bible in Greek and Hebrew, the ancient languages used to write the Bible originally.
Buy books for Accordance Bible from inside the iPad and iPhone app.
Accordance also presents up to two window panes. Like the other apps, you can change the look of the text to make it easier to read in dark rooms or if you have poor eyesight. The app will also sync with the company’s computer version of the program, but not in real-time like a few of the other apps in this list. You have to start it on the computer and then on the phone or tablet over Wi-Fi.
The library download button lets you install all of your books so you don’t need an Internet connection.
Accordance Bible Study is free to download, but more books can cost from very little up to thousands of dollars for scholarly titles. Consider buying a collection to save some money.
Select a word (see first image in this section) and press and hold and select Amplify to show this page of references.
The above screenshots show the app on the iPad. It has a universal iPhone/iPad app too. The company’s Android app or Kindle Fire app hasn’t come out yet, but will by the end of the year.
Olive Tree Bible by Harper Collins Christian Publishing
The Olive Tree Bible app Resource Guide finds all books with content about the verses shown on the left.
The prettiest user-interface comes from Olive Tree Bible by Harper Collins. Recently Harper Collin bought the company, which means a larger library of books available for purchase. The app stores offer various versions. They all work the same way, but the different versions offer different collections of books. Try the free version and then go directly to the company’s website and buy your books in cost-saving collections.
The right side shows the library window and the left shows the reader with the Resource Guide open as well.
Olive Tree’s Resource Guide changed the way Bible apps work. The company was the first to create a feature that searches your library of books for all the books that related to a Bible verse showing in the Bible book pane on the left. The list of books with relevant information about that verse shows up as a list on the right. Tap the links to open the book quickly.
The left side shows what happens when you select a word in the Bible. The right shows the settings panel.
Press and hold on a word in the Bible and the menu pops up so you can study that word, search for it or do a few other things.
Get the free version of the apps for the following platforms:
YouVersion Bible by Life.church
The screen on the left shows the home page. The center pages shows the reading screen with the audio book reader showing. The right shows the available Bible reading plans.
The other apps above come as free versions but function best when you invest in digital library books to use with them. However, this app doesn’t charge a penny for anything. It also doesn’t offer much more than Bibles and organized reading plans that help you read through the Bible, read through passages based on topics and read devotional books about the Bible.
You can take notes and highlight the app, like you can with the others. You can also share your reading progress and Bible verses. Post just the text of Bible verses or post memes based on verses.
The screen on the left above shows the user’s personal page. The center shows the advanced features. The right shows the reader with a highlighted verse and sharing menu.
YouVersion also works with the Life.church social network that centers on the Bible and church life. Users can comment and encourage each other in their Bible reading. They can track each other and read together. The app works with the Bible.com website, syncing reading with the site and the apps.
Bible.IS Dramatized Bible
In the shots above you see the reader view on the left, the app menu in the middle and the login screen to sync notes etc.
The most unusual of these best Bible apps comes from Bible.IS. The focus is on reading and hearing the Bible. The reader doesn’t come with as many books and translations as the apps above. However, each Bible comes with audio files so that users can listen to the Bible.
The app doesn’t include references works. However, Bible.IS is completely free. It also boast the largest collection of International language Bibles. You will also get video from the Jesus Film project in the app.
See the book and verse chooser on the left to find your Bible verse. The right shows a verse highlighted with the menu popping up to let you add notes, highlights, or bookmarks.
Users can add highlights, bookmarks and notes that sync between apps. Sign in using Facebook or Google.
Get the free Bible.IS app on the app stores using the links below:
Recommendation
So which one of these should you get? Why not try all five if you’re using an iPhone or iPad? If you’re using an Android phone or tablet or a Kindle Fire, then you can’t try Accordance Bible Software yet. If you want to start with just one, then I’d suggest the following:
- Bible reading only – if you only want to read the Bible in one of many translations or languages, then go with the YouVersion Bible app. If you think you’d like to listen to the Bible too, then get Bible.IS instead.
- Advanced scholarly study – if you want to read the Bible and do some advanced scholarly study, then get Logos or Accordance. Give their desktop software a close look too, because you will want to use the app that matches your computer program. Logos computer program will cost more money, but also comes with more features for scholarly study. Accordance runs on Windows and Mac, and it’s faster than Logos on the computer.
- Reading and intermediate study – Olive Tree is the best option for those who want a little more than just a simple Bible reader. It also comes with a syncing app for Windows and Mac.
