Comparison

Catholic Essentials vs OSH Daily Office

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Catholic Essentials

This app serves as a digital prayer book for Filipino Roman Catholics, offering essential guides and prayers for their spiritual journey. It provides offline access to a collection of prayers and spiritual resources, with more content planned for future updates.

Highlights
  • Holy Rosary Guide with photos
  • Holy Mass Guide
  • Holy Rosary Prayers
  • Holy Rosary Mysteries
  • Miscellaneous Prayers
  • Offline access
Features
Read full description

Catholic Essentials is a Filipino prayer companion. Over 180 prayers in Tagalog and English, side by side, in text you can actually read. Completely rebuilt from the ground up. READABLE, FINALLY Every prayer supports the iPhone's own text size settings, plus a slider right beside the text. Make it as large as you need without losing your place. Dark mode for praying at night or before dawn. TAGALOG AND ENGLISH, TOGETHER Read one language, the other, or both at once. The whole app can be set to Tagalog — not just the prayers, but the buttons and menus too. THE ROSARY, GUIDED Follow the beads one at a time. The app knows the day's mysteries, tracks where you are, and remembers your place if you're interrupted. All four sets — Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, Luminous — each with a scripture reading and a short reflection for every decade. TEN NOVENAS Nine days, tracked. Pasiyam for the departed. For the sick. For overseas workers and the families waiting at home. For students before an exam. For work and livelihood. For the family, for expectant mothers, in thanksgiving, in hardship, and for peace of mind. HOLY WEEK Visita Iglesia and Bisita Iglesya, the Stations of the Cross, and the Scriptural Way of the Cross in Tagalog — each station its own screen, no more pinching at a scanned page. DAILY RHYTHM The Angelus at 6:00 AM, noon and 6:00 PM, with optional reminders. The Hour of Mercy at 3:00 PM. Both open straight to the prayer. During Eastertide the Angelus becomes the Regina Caeli, as it should. THE CHURCH'S YEAR The app quietly follows the liturgical calendar — the season shows on the home screen, along with Philippine feasts like Santo Niño, Peñafrancia, Undas and Simbang Gabi. A calendar of saints, with the Filipino ones marked. ALSO INSIDE The Order of the Mass. Morning and evening prayers. Prayers for the sick, for travel, for storms, for the departed, for a home at peace. An examination of conscience and a plain guide to going to confession. The Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the works of mercy, the seven sacraments. FIND ANYTHING Search across both languages at once. Bookmark what you return to. WORKS ANYWHERE Everything is stored on your phone. No internet needed — in a jeepney, in the province, on a ship, anywhere. No ads. No account. Nothing about you is collected or sent anywhere. Built in the Philippines.

About

OSH Daily Office

This app provides daily prayer services based on the Saint Helena Breviary, featuring four offices: Matins, Diurnum, Vespers, and Compline. It uses inclusive language and contemporary theology while preserving the style of the Book of Common Prayer. Special services for major feasts and fasts are also included.

Highlights
  • Four daily prayer offices
  • Inclusive and expansive language
  • Contemporary theology
  • Special services for feasts and fasts
  • Based on Saint Helena Breviary
Features
Read full description

“OSH Daily Office” is based on the Saint Helena Breviary: Monastic Edition, which is the daily office book, or breviary, used by the sisters of the Order of Saint Helena. This app includes four daily offices: Matins (Morning Prayer), Diurnum (Noonday Prayer), Vespers (Evening Prayer), and Compline (Night Prayer). These services have been revised for inclusive, expansive language and contemporary theology while still retaining the beautiful language of the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church. Also included in this first release are the special services for major feasts and fasts as observed in the Episcopal Church. In future releases, seasons such as Advent, Christmastide, Lent, and Eastertide will be added. The mission of the Order of Saint Helena is to show forth Christ through a life of monastic prayer, hospitality and service. We are lay and ordained women living communally under a vow of monastic poverty, celibate chastity, and obedience to God. Website: https://www.osh.org.

Screenshots

Catholic Essentials4 screens
OSH Daily Office4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: OSH Daily Office at Free against Catholic Essentials's $1.99. OSH Daily Office also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 29 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

OSH Daily Office is free to download; Catholic Essentials costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Catholic Essentials ships an update every 29 months, OSH Daily Office every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Catholic Essentials versus OSH Daily Office: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCatholic EssentialsOSH Daily Office
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—9 — better
Update frequencyEvery 29 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJovito Jr. AuzaOrder of Saint Helena

In-app purchases

None

Catholic Essentials

No in-app purchases

None

OSH Daily Office

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Catholic Essentials free?
Catholic Essentials costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is OSH Daily Office free?
OSH Daily Office is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Catholic Essentials or OSH Daily Office have ads?
Neither Catholic Essentials nor OSH Daily Office shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Catholic Essentials or OSH Daily Office?
Catholic Essentials ships an update every 29 months, and OSH Daily Office every 2 months. Most recently, Catholic Essentials was updated on November 3, 2026 and OSH Daily Office on November 2, 2026.

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