My Favorite Bible Apps
Our phones are good for something after all!
We live in a world enslaved to technology. It’s possible to live without a smartphone–I did for six months last year–but it isn’t easy. We all need to show restraint with our use of technology and ensure we are in control and not addicted to our screens. That said, as a card-carrying geek who sometimes listens to the This Week in Tech podcast and reads gadget reviews, I also think technology has positive uses. One of them is having the Bible on your phone. So, in this post, I’ll highlight a few of my favorite Bible apps.
Disclosure statement: I was not asked to write a review or receive any remuneration or other benefit for doing so. I am also not a professional tech reviewer. I am sure you can find more in-depth reviews from professionals online. The information below is shared from the real-world-use perspective of a normal, if slightly geeky, pastor.
My Go-To Bible App: Logos Bible
Logos Bible Software is a fully-featured Bible study application produced by Faithlife. It has desktop, mobile, and web apps. Logos is incredibly scalable and can function at its most basic level as simply a digital Bible with the ability to highlight and take notes, all the way up to serving as a research tool for PhD-level biblical and theological research. I use Logos desktop for sermon study, and using the mobile app as my phone-Bible makes the most sense. All my notes and highlights sync both ways.
Logos has built-in reading plans as well as the capability of allowing you to create custom reading plans. In addition, it has audio Bibles if you prefer to listen. It also has thousands upon thousands of additional Bible study resources, including commentaries, Bible encyclopedias, dictionaries, original language tools, maps, media, and more. These all can be purchased, usually much cheaper than buying them in print. Over the years, I’ve added to my Logos library, and I now have access to 3,949 books in my pocket at any given time!
Logos is easy to use, free to download, and can be scaled up to whatever level you desire. It works on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.
The Best All-Around Bible App: YouVersion
YouVersion was created by Life.Church as an app for their congregation. It has since skyrocketed to the #1 Bible app in the world and for good reason. It has audio Bibles, digital print Bibles, notes, highlights, journals, devotionals, verses of the day, video clips, reading plans, topical searches, and even an in-app community of people you can connect with as you read the Bible together. In short, YouVersion is the best Bible app in the app store of whatever mobile device you use. If I weren’t embedded in Logos for sermon study and research, I’d be using YouVersion.
Honorable Mention: Tecarta Bible
Tecarta Bible is a newer Bible app with all of the previously mentioned features in Logos and YouVersion, plus one super helpful feature: its TouchPoints library. There are various topics, like abuse, belonging, crisis, fun, and more–over 400 life-topic questions and answers! You type in your question or select a topic from the list, and Tecarta Bible gives you relevant Scriptures and additional questions with verses related to your topic. So if you want to know what the Bible says about abortion, relationships, money, or almost anything else, tap, and you’ll have a selection of verses on the subject in less than a second!
What Bible app do you use?