# Pencil Bible: Journal & Study — Sermon Notes, Study & Drawing > Digital Bible study app with annotation, note-taking, and drawing features. (iPhone/iPad app by Launch Round.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pencil-bible-journal-and-study/id1612587185 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Launch Round](https://appshunter.io/developer/1580265297) - Category: Reference, Books - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.20/5 from 1,447 App Store ratings · 324 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 16.6 · 209 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2022-03-08 - Data updated: 2026-09-01 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pencil-bible-journal-and-study/id1612587185/reviews.md ## What is Pencil Bible? Since 2022. The Bible you can write in. -- Pencil Bible turns Scripture into a canvas. Highlight verses, sketch in the margins, journal your reflections, and let every reading become part of your story — all with the natural feel of Apple Pencil. Unlike iPad-only journaling apps, Pencil Bible works seamlessly on both iPhone and iPad — annotate on your tablet at home, then pick up right where you left off on your phone. Your Bible study goes everywhere you do. Whether you're deep in study, journaling a quiet morning, or capturing a sermon note in the pew, Pencil Bible is built for how you actually meet with God. 14 translations free, forever: Read NLT, NASB, AMP, TPT, KJV, ASV, WEB, OJB, WMB, DRA, LBLA, NBLA, RV1909, BSB and NBV — completely free, with no paywall on God's Word. Premium translations including ESV, NIV, CSB, and NVI are also available. Your Bible, your way: • Draw, highlight, and annotate directly on Scripture • Full Apple Pencil Pro and PencilKit support • Shapes, stickers, pictures and text box (NEW!) • Seamless on iPad and iPhone — annotate on both • Jesus' words in red • Built-in search to find any verse instantly • Dark Mode for late-night devotionals • Left-hand mode and customizable fonts, backgrounds, and layouts • Edit your Bible pages anytime — no need to start over Perfect for: • Daily devotionals and quiet time • Sunday sermon and study notes • Bible journaling, lettering, and creative worship • Students and pastors taking margin notes Free to read. Free to explore: Read the Bible free, forever. Annotate up to 10 pages at no cost — upgrade anytime for unlimited journaling. Your support helps us serve more believers around the world. Pencil Bible isn't just an app. It's your daily sanctuary, your digital journal, your space to meet with the One who wrote the Word. The Word is alive. Now your Bible can be too. Download Pencil Bible today. Apple Pencil features require a compatible iPad. Annotations are available on iPhone without a subscription. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ ## Key features - Write notes on scripture - Highlight verses - Draw directly on Bible pages - Support for multiple Bible translations - Annotation on iPad and iPhone - Dark Mode ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Weekly | $0.99 | per 7 days | | Monthly | $8.99 | per month | | 2025 Christmas Sale | $28.99 | per year | | Weekly 2026 | $2.99 | per 7 days | | Yearly | $39.99 | per year | | 2025 Easter Special | $18.99 | per year | | Christmas Discount | $19.99 | per year | **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | ESV | $8.99 | one-time | | TPT | $12.99 | one-time | | CSB | $9.99 | one-time | | NLT (New Living Translation) | $9.99 | one-time | | New King James Version | $9.99 | one-time | | Lifetime Access | $79.99 | one-time | | NVI Santa Biblia (NIV Spanish) | $4.99 | one-time | | NVIP | $4.99 | one-time | ## What do users think of Pencil Bible? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Excellent concept and idea - 👍 Sleek and appealing design - 👍 User-friendly interface - 👍 Customizable layout and settings - 👍 Ability to write, highlight, and annotate - 👍 Potential for digital Bible journaling **Cons** - 🐛 Laggy and glitchy writing/drawing experience - 🐛 Lack of palm rejection causing unintended input - 🐛 Scrolling issues and limitations - 🐛 Inconsistent behavior and bugs - 💰 Expensive subscription model - 💰 Limited free Bible versions **Commonly reported bugs** - Frequent crashes and app freezes - Disappearing annotations and notes - Misaligned or distorted writing - Issues with Apple Pencil compatibility - Inconsistent behavior across device types **Most requested features** - Landscape mode support - Split-screen/multi-tasking capabilities - More Bible version options (e.g. NIV, NASB, CSB) - Ability to add custom pages/sections - Improved pencil/stylus functionality (e.g. pressure sensitivity, customizable tools) - Handwriting-to-text conversion - Stickers and other creative elements - Verse-level navigation - Offline access without subscription ## Recent user reviews (10 of 324) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pencil-bible-journal-and-study/id1612587185/reviews.md ### 1/5 — Unfortunately subscription required *2026-08-25, version 3.0.54* This would be great if it was a one time fee. Won’t use bc they lock you into a subscription. Can split screen with a free bible app and note app and achieve the same goal. Also other bible apps give you different versions for free. If you want a different version it’ll be $10 bucks. Obviously they only care about bleeding as much money out of the user as possible. ### 5/5 — Favorite Bible App *2026-08-23, version 3.0.54* Pencil Bible is an amazing app for anyone who wants to spend more time in God’s Word. I love how simple, beautiful, and easy to use it is. The ability to read, study, and take notes right in the app makes Bible study feel more personal and engaging. It’s quickly become one of my favorite apps, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great Bible app! One future request would be please consider adding Indian translations especially Malayalam (BSI). ### 5/5 — Reacted immediately after update for another update that fixed everything. *2026-08-17, version 3.0.53* Thank you for your prompt responsiveness ### 4/5 — Almost Perfect *2026-08-16, version 3.0.53* Consider adding one more feature: Notes. Listening to messages or exploring a biblical topic from multiple books, I still have to jump between a notebook for the coherent thought or topic to be captured completely. If there was a way to add notes within a folder, I could create a folder called “Sermons” and add a new note to that folder each week while I am at church for whatever topic we are studying. This way I could always get back to revisit what I have studied. This is where all journaling bibles miss the mark, and I hope you will be the first to solve this 🙏 Other than this, great app!! ### 3/5 — Glitching *2026-08-16, version 3.0.53* App is glitching cannot get past initial screen please fix ### 5/5 — Wonderful app even better support *2026-08-12, version 3.0.52* I was thrilled to find the Pencil Bible app over a year ago. One of the great frustrations I found after I became an Apple Pencil user 8 or 9 years ago was the lack of pencil support in Bible Apps. This app changed all that. Easy to use. It is customizable enough to get the layout just right. The tools are good. I’m a happy and dedicated user. And on top of that I can’t say enough good things about the support team. Quick, direct response with a strong commitment to assisting customers and solving problems. I’m still using the older first gen pencil on my current iPad purchased in 2017 (still working great). And I had a problem with a recent update with the Pencil Bible App. Erin gathered info, investigated the matter, and worked with me until the problem was solved. ### 1/5 — It’s unusable for me. *2026-08-08, version 3.0.51* Downloaded it this morning. I cannot access the BSB, it populates as a blank document, but the biggest issue is my Apple Pencil will not work with the drawing tool function. It won’t draw if I try to use my finger either. All it will do is scroll the page up, down, left and right. No drawing or journaling function at all. I tried reestablishing the Bluetooth of my pencil, and tried deleting the app and downloading again. Nothing different. Right now it’s only ok for reading and I have other apps that already do that for free mind you. Maybe this is an app glitch, maybe it’s not actually supported for older iPads. I’m not sure, but either way, it not a usable app for what it’s advertised for. ### 5/5 — Love how relaxing and truthful it is *2026-08-01, version 3.0.50* The best bible app I’ve seen and used, doesn’t ask you to pay ever 5 seconds for a premium subscription just lets you relax and be with God. I love being able to highlight, draw and write on your bible to make it yours. ### 5/5 — Love the App *2026-07-24, version 3.0.50* I love the ability this Bible app gives. DEFINITELY WORTH EVERY DOLLAR, AND MORE!!! ### 5/5 — journaling for the win! *2026-07-12, version 3.0.50* absolutely love being able to journal digitally! I have many physical Bibles I use, but when i’m studying for teaching, I like to use my iPad, and this is so helpful to have a simple Bible I can split screens with my notes and other apps for prepping and while teaching! 2 requests: can we not only move around text once it’s written, but also make it bigger or smaller? and similarly, I’d love to be able to zoom in on the page and zoom out. I love those features in notability and it would be so awesome to have here! ## Frequently asked questions about Pencil Bible ### What can I do with the Pencil Bible app? Pencil Bible allows you to read the Bible, write notes, highlight verses, and draw directly on the scripture pages. It's designed to be a digital canvas for your spiritual growth, journaling, and study. ### Is the app free to use? The app is free to read the entire Bible and annotate up to 10 pages. For unlimited annotation and access to all features, you can upgrade to a premium version. ### What devices is Pencil Bible compatible with? The app is available on both iPad and iPhone. Apple Pencil features require compatible iPads, but annotations are available on iPhone without a subscription. ### Can I use different Bible translations? Yes, you can choose from popular translations such as ESV, NIV, NLT, and CSB. You can also customize fonts to your preference. ### How does the app handle annotations and notes? You can annotate directly on the Bible pages using Apple Pencil or other drawing tools. Your annotations and notes can be edited anytime, and the app supports using across multiple screens and devices. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 3.0.54 — 2026-08-21 - Jesus ' words in RED now for the NASB, NIV, NVI, ESV and NKJV - Switch to another Bible instantly via the Navbar (compare verses) - Bug and UI fixes Made with LOVE. Erin ### 3.0.53 — 2026-08-12 Bug fixes: 1. Older iPad and iOS users not being able to use Apple Pencil 2. More and better onboarding steps 3. Reverse shape colour when going from light and dark mode 4. Small UI and UX updates Thanks for the support. Erin ### 3.0.52 — 2026-08-11 Bug fixes for older iPads that prevented users from drawing and the BSB translation which was blank (sorry!). ### 3.0.51 — 2026-08-08 1. Shapes restored. Yes, if your old data is still on your iPad, your shapes should be restored from the V2 Pencil Bible. 2. Add 9 "Shapes" from the toolbox. 3. Add a "Text Box" so you can type notes as well. 4. Manipulate shapes and text boxes and layer them as you want. 5. Long-press text where a note is present, and it pops up. Now you don't have to scroll all the way to the bottom! 6. Long-press text and SAVE the text to a self-created customised folder. This is handy if you want to save a verse to specific instances like "Prayers", "Raising Kids", "Baptising" etc. for quick reference. This was planned all the way back in 2020. Now finally live. 7. The menu has been broken into smaller pieces to make life easier for users. 8. Small bug and UI fixes. 9. Automatic line straightening for the main pen. 10. The Berean Standard Bible (BSB) has been added Enjoy FOLKS! ### 3.0.50 — 2026-07-01 Hi folks: - Insert stickers and images! - This update contains a few small bugs and text fixes. - New Pricing Thanks for the support and love. Erin ## Apps similar to Pencil Bible | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Bible](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bible/id282935706) | 4.9 (13,658,148) | Free | Reference | | [Bible Inspirations · Daily](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bible-inspirations-daily/id494789758) | 4.9 (133,867) | Free | Reference | | [Bible App - Read & Study Daily](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bible-app-read-and-study-daily/id332615624) | 4.8 (320,645) | Free | Reference | | [Bible - Daily Bible Verse KJV](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bible-daily-bible-verse-kjv/id1357464684) | 4.9 (493,872) | Free | Reference | | [Logos Bible](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/logos-bible/id336400266) | 4.9 (171,984) | Free | Reference | | [Life Bible App](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/life-bible-app/id325955298) | 4.9 (103,380) | Free | Reference | ## More apps by Launch Round - [KnowWhen](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/knowwhen/id6758948095) All apps by Launch Round: https://appshunter.io/developer/1580265297 ## Related topics [bible note taker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bible-note-taker) · [bible note taking](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bible-note-taking) · [pencil bible](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/pencil-bible) · [digital bible journaling](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/digital-bible-journaling) · [bible notebook](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bible-notebook) · [scripture journal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/scripture-journal) · [bible study journal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bible-study-journal) · [free bible note taker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/free-bible-note-taker) · [blue study](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/blue-study) · [bible journaling](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bible-journaling) · [inscribe bible journaling](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/inscribe-bible-journaling) · [daily bread scripture journal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/daily-bread-scripture-journal) · [bible devotionals journal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bible-devotionals-journal) · [the bible quiz game](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/the-bible-quiz-game) · [ages and stages](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ages-and-stages) · [free bible notes](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/free-bible-notes) · [bible notes app](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/bible-notes-app) · [pencil journal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/pencil-journal) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-01.*