Best YouVersion Bible App Alternatives for Catholics

Do Catholics Need an Alternative to YouVersion?

Many Catholics can keep YouVersion and change one setting. YouVersion is made by Life.Church, an evangelical Protestant church in Oklahoma, and the app is free. Its own list of Catholic versions in English includes the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE), the NRSV Catholic Interconfessional edition, the Catholic Public Domain Version and the Douay-Rheims Challoner revision. The NABRE in YouVersion includes Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch.

Catholics usually move for three reasons: they want reading plans and notes written from a Catholic point of view, they want the Bible next to the Catechism and the daily Mass readings, or they want a study Bible with Catholic commentary. YouVersion's plan library comes from many Christian ministries, so check the publisher of any plan you start.

YouVersion Alternatives Compared

The table compares each app's published translations, features and prices for US users, as of November 2026. Scroll sideways on a phone to see every column.

Prices and translation lists from each app's App Store listing or own website, as of November 2026. This is a comparison of published features and prices; confirm in your app store before you pay.

Catholic Bible Apps That Replace YouVersion

These three apps are made for Catholics, so the Bible, the notes and the extras all follow the Church's canon and teaching.

1. Ascension app

Catholic, free tier

The Ascension app carries the full text of The Great Adventure Catholic Bible, which uses the RSV-2CE translation with the Bible Timeline colour coding. Ascension says the free tier includes the Bible, the Catechism, daily Mass readings with reflections, the Rosary and most of its podcasts, including The Bible in a Year and The Catechism in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz. Premium adds the study plans and Bible Answers.

You need to sign in with an email and password, even for the free features.

• Price: Free tier; paid $59.99/year or $8.99/month (US App Store)
• Good for: Catholics who want Fr. Mike's Bible in a Year with the text right beside it.
• Skip it if: you want to read in several translations; Ascension centres on one Bible.

Visit the Ascension app

2. Catholic Study Bible App

Catholic, free text with a paid study Bible

The Catholic Study Bible App gives the full Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, with a complete Old and New Testament audio Bible, free. The paid upgrade is the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible by Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, which the publisher says adds more than 18,000 commentary notes. It also has daily Mass readings and reading plans, and works offline.

The older Truth and Life app has closed; its website says the content now lives in this app.

• Price: Free Bible text and audio; Ignatius Catholic Study Bible notes: $49.99 once
• Good for: serious study with Catholic notes beside every passage.
• Skip it if: you only want a quick verse of the day; the free text alone is plain.

Visit the Catholic Study Bible App

3. Laudate

Catholic, free

Laudate is a free Catholic app with the New American Bible and an offline Douay-Rheims, daily Mass readings with the saint of the day, the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, the Catechism, Vatican II documents and confession guides. Its App Store listing shows no in-app purchases.

• Price: Free, no in-app purchases
• Good for: reading the Bible inside a daily Catholic routine of readings and prayer.
• Skip it if: you want reading plans, highlights and notes synced across devices.

Get Laudate on the App Store

Other Bible Apps Catholics Use

These apps come from Protestant or general Christian publishers. Each can still serve a Catholic reader well when you choose an approved translation.

4. Bible Gateway app

HarperCollins Christian Publishing, free with ads

Bible Gateway hosts more than 200 translations, and its Catholic editions include the NABRE, the RSV Catholic Edition, the NRSV Catholic Edition, the New Catholic Bible and the Douay-Rheims. A free account adds highlights, notes and sync. Bible Gateway Plus removes the ads and adds a library of study resources, with a 7-day free trial.

• Price: Free with ads; Plus: $6.99/month or $69.99/year, 7-day free trial
• Good for: comparing several Catholic translations of the same verse.
• Skip it if: you want Catholic commentary; we found no Catholic study Bible in the Plus resource list.

Visit Bible Gateway

5. Olive Tree Bible App

Olive Tree Bible Software, free app

Olive Tree is a free app with several free translations, a Resource Guide that follows your reading through your library, and full offline use. The NABRE is a paid add-on, and Olive Tree's store page says it includes the deuterocanonical books. Study packs are sold as monthly subscriptions.

• Price: Free app; NABRE add-on: $19.99 once; study packs from $2.99/month
• Good for: building an offline study library on a phone or tablet.
• Skip it if: you want a Catholic translation free; the NABRE costs extra here.

Visit Olive Tree

6. Dwell Audio Bible

Dwell App, LLC, subscription

Dwell is an audio Bible with more than 20 voices, text that follows along as you listen, listening plans and offline downloads. It carries no Catholic edition. For the deuterocanonical books it offers the NRSV with Apocrypha, which places those books in a separate section.

• Price: 7-day free trial; Solo: $9.99/month or $59.99/year; Family: $17.99/month or $109.99/year
• Good for: people who pray best by listening, on a commute or a walk.
• Skip it if: you want a Catholic translation; the Catholic Study Bible App has a free audio RSV Catholic Edition.

Visit Dwell

How to Choose a Bible App as a Catholic

Choose by three checks, in this order.

1. The translation is approved. Church law requires Catholic editions of Scripture to carry the approval of the Apostolic See or a conference of bishops (Code of Canon Law, canon 825). The NABRE, the RSV-2CE, the RSV Catholic Edition, the NRSV Catholic Edition and the Douay-Rheims all qualify.
2. All 73 books are there. The Catholic canon has 46 Old Testament and 27 New Testament books (CCC 120). Look for Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch in the book list.
3. The extras fit your day. Bible in a Year listeners do best with Ascension. Students do best with the Catholic Study Bible App. People who pray the Hours or follow the Mass readings do best with Laudate.

The Second Vatican Council asked that "easy access to Sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful" (Dei Verbum 22), and any of these apps gives you that. If you are new to reading the Bible, our Catholic Bible study for beginners guide gives you a simple method and a four-week plan to start with.

Want to compare Bible websites as well? Our guide to Bible Gateway alternatives covers the free online Bibles, including the bishops' own NABRE site.

How to Switch Without Losing Your Reading Habit

1. Keep your time and place. Read at the same time you did in YouVersion, and set the new app's reminder to match.
2. Finish or pause your current plan. Note the day you reached so you can pick up the same passage in the new app.
3. Copy the highlights you care about. Write your key verses in a notebook or the new app before you delete anything.
4. Try YouVersion's Catholic translations first if what you miss is the friends and plans features. Switching to the NABRE takes a few taps.