Comparison

PAR Guide vs Ascension

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

Head to head
About

PAR Guide

Access comprehensive contact and biographical details for Louisiana legislators. Includes committee rosters, term limits, seating charts, district maps, and recent reports from the Public Affairs Research Council.

Highlights
  • Legislator profiles
  • Committee rosters
  • Term limits and staff
  • Seating charts
  • District maps
  • PAR reports and resources
Features
Read full description

The PAR Guide to the Louisiana Legislature mobile app contains contact and biographical information for all members of the Louisiana Legislature in individual legislator profiles. You will also find: – Committee Rosters – Term Limits, Staff and Seating Charts – District Maps – PAR Recent Reports and Other Resources The information in this app was compiled from multiple sources including financial disclosure forms from the Louisiana Ethics Administration, Louisiana Legislature website, Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana publications and research, and information from legislators and legislative staff

About

Ascension

This app helps Catholics engage with the Bible and Church teachings through guided readings, prayers, and study plans. It offers audio versions, daily reflections, and a unique learning system to deepen understanding of scripture and tradition.

Highlights
  • Bible Timeline learning system
  • Guided Rosary prayers
  • Daily Mass readings and reflections
  • Audio Bible with commentary
  • 80+ Catholic study plans
  • Saint of the Day reflections
  • Catholic prayers and novenas
Features
Read full description

** The #1 Catholic Bible App** Designed to help Catholics read and understand the Bible, learn the teachings and tradition of the Catholic Church, and grow to live the life God is calling them to more fully. Featuring the most popular Catholic Bible in America, the Great Adventure Catholic Bible, with the one-of-a-kind Bible Timeline® learning system that has helped hundreds of thousands of Catholics finally read AND understand God’s Word. TOP FEATURES THE HOLY ROSARY Pray the Rosary with Fr. Mike Schmitz, Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, Jeff Cavins, the Sisters of Life, and Paul Rose with recordings of the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries in the Ascension app. Pray in English or Latin, with options to chant the prayers. DAILY MASS READINGS + REFLECTIONS Read the official Daily Mass readings and watch reflections from trusted Catholic presenters who dive deeper to unpack the readings each day. Pray also with guided lectio divina prompts directly in the app. THE GREAT ADVENTURE CATHOLIC BIBLE Read the full-text of the Great Adventure Catholic Bible, listen on audio with recordings from Fr. Mike Schmitz, get answers to 1000+ most-asked questions about the Bible, and dive deeper into each book and verse with the Bible Timeline® learning system and the Bible Guide. PREP FOR SUNDAY MASS Watch or listen to recordings of Fr. Mike Schmitz’s homilies and watch Encountering the Word where Bible scholar Jeff Cavins provides historical, Biblical, and spiritual context to the readings at Sunday Mass. “IN A YEAR” PODCASTS Get the best experience of the Bible in a Year, Catechism in a Year, and Rosary in a Year podcasts, with additional content, prayer aides, transcripts, answered questions, linked references and Bible verses, and more! STUDY PLANS Browse from 80+ study plans taught by leading Catholic presenters, including Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, Dr. Edward Sri, Sarah Christmeyer, Jackie Francois Angel, and many others. Study plans are a companion to help you understand the Bible better, learn more about Catholic teaching, and strengthen you to more fully live the life God is calling you to. SAINT OF THE DAY Read daily reflections on the lives of the saints, following the memorials and feast days on the liturgical calendar. CATHOLIC PRAYERS Discover novenas, litanies, guided lectio divina and visio divina experiences, and more! SUBSCRIPTION PRICING AND TERMS All users can access the full text of the Bible, the full text of the Catechism, Daily Mass readings and reflections of the day, the full Rosary with all recorded voices, and most Ascension podcasts in the app for free. To access all content and programs in the Ascension App, Ascension offers two auto-renewing subscription options: $8.99 per month $59.99 per year (Please note these prices are for users in the USA) Your Ascension subscription will renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can go to your Apple account settings to manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew. Your account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. Please contact us at support@ascensionpress.com if you have any issues or questions. Privacy policy: 'https://ascensionpress.com/pages/app-privacy-policy' Terms and conditions: 'https://ascensionpress.com/pages/terms-and-conditions'

Screenshots

PAR Guide2 screens
Ascension4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PAR Guide at none against Ascension's 11. PAR Guide also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 87%) and iOS requirement (13.2 vs 16.4). Ascension's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 14 months) and ratings volume (92K vs 5). On price, rating, ads 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

Both are free to download. Ascension sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. PAR Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for PAR Guide against 4.9 for Ascension. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ascension has 92K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of PAR Guide's written reviews are positive against 87% of Ascension's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PAR Guide ships an update every 14 months, Ascension every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
PAR Guide versus Ascension: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPAR GuideAscension
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better4.9 (92K ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better87.1% of reviews
Number of ratings592K — better
Update frequencyEvery 14 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#19 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.2 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB230 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPUBLIC AFFAIRS RESEARCH COUNCIL OF LOUISIANA, INC.Ascension Publishing Group, LLC

Customer experience

PAR Guide

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Ascension

All ratings91,252 ratings
Positive98.4%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.7%
Written reviews604 reviews
Positive87.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative8.4%

Bugs and requests

PAR Guide

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Ascension

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Sync issues between audio and text
  • Inconsistent behavior with continuous reading mode

Requested features

6 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to track progress across multiple devices
  • Daily Mass readings integration
  • Verse of the day widgets
  • iPad-optimized version
Show 1 more
  • Spanish language support

In-app purchases

None

PAR Guide

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

Ascension

Subscriptions8
  • Full Access Monthly$8.991 Month
  • Full Access Monthly7 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Full Access Annual1 Year trial$59.991 Year
Show 5 more
  • Full Access Annual6 Months trial$59.991 Year
  • Full Access Annual7 Days trial2 variants$59.991 Year
  • Full Access Annual3 Months trial3 variants$59.991 Year
  • Full Access Annual1 Month trial$59.991 Year
  • Full Access Annual$59.991 Year

Questions

Is PAR Guide free?
PAR Guide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ascension free?
Ascension is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PAR Guide or Ascension?
PAR Guide is rated higher. PAR Guide averages 5.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Ascension averages 4.9 from 92K ratings.
Do PAR Guide or Ascension have ads?
Neither PAR Guide nor Ascension shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PAR Guide or Ascension?
PAR Guide ships an update every 14 months, and Ascension every 3 weeks. Most recently, PAR Guide was updated on October 24, 2026 and Ascension on November 1, 2026.

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