Comparison

ECL vs Ignatius Press

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

Head to head
About

ECL

This app offers practical strategies and information for leaders of faith formation programs. It provides guidance on recruiting, training, and forming catechists, developing vision, and managing administrative tasks. Access essential wisdom and resources directly from a comprehensive series of books.

Highlights
  • Strategies for faith formation leaders
  • Recruiting and training catechists
  • Developing program vision
  • Administrative task management
  • Printable resources
  • Focus on pastoral issues
Features
Read full description

The Effective Catechetical Leader Series provides information, strategies, and approaches to ensure success for leaders of parish faith formation programs. These books include practical instruction and printable resources. They describe best practices for recruiting, training, and forming catechists; developing a vision for faith formation; forming an advisory board; planning and calendaring; networking with colleagues; selecting high-quality resources; handling administrative aspects of the ministry; and identifying the various groups you serve and how best to work with them. The ECL app puts wisdom and practical help at your fingertips. Drawn directly from the six books of the new Effective Catechetical Leader Series, ECL provides an opportunity for catechetical leaders to “check-in” and focus on specific pastoral issues and to identify go-to strategies for meeting the challenges of serving as an effective catechetical leader. For more resources, visit www.loyolapress.com/ECL.

About

Ignatius Press

Access a vast library of Catholic eBooks, audiobooks, and films. Enjoy free weekly podcasts and monthly content offers. Purchase digital titles from the website to read, listen, or watch within the app.

Highlights
  • Vast eBook library
  • Over 100 audiobooks
  • Catholic films and documentaries
  • Weekly podcasts
  • Monthly free content offers
  • Shop on Ignatius.com
Features
Read full description

Now you can easily read or listen to wonderful books and stream faithful Catholic films, all in the same place! Add titles to your library by shopping on Ignatius.com and then dive into them on the app. KEY FEATURES – Free Content: Enjoy our weekly podcasts and monthly offers of free access to some of our audiobooks, eBooks, and video content. – Over 1,000 eBooks: Experience our vast library of fiction books, as well as books on ethics, theology, social issues, history, inspirational topics, prayers, saints and sainthood, apologetics, and much more. – Over 100 Audiobooks from our best-selling authors: Get lost in novels from Michael O’Brien and Fiorella DeMaria, as well as a vast array of titles from Pope Benedict XVI, Peter Kreeft, Jesuit Fr.. Robert Spitzer, Abigail Favale, George Weigel, Fr. Michael Schmitz, Cardinal Robert Sarah, G.K. Chesterton, and many more. – Catholic movies and documentaries: Enjoy streaming rentals and streaming purchases from the extensive Ignatius library of high-quality films. Download the Ignatius Press app today and create a free account. No subscription. No credit card. No catch. Enjoy the free content or purchase digital content on Ignatius.com to read, listen, or watch on the app.

Screenshots

ECL4 screens
Ignatius Press4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ECL at 5.0 against Ignatius Press's 4.1. ECL also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). Ignatius Press's advantage is ratings volume (15 vs 3). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ECL holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ignatius Press has 15 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ECL ships an update every 6 months, Ignatius Press every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ECL versus Ignatius Press: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterECLIgnatius Press
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better4.1 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews—40.0% of reviews
Number of ratings315 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB49 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperLoyola PressIgnatius + Lighthouse Partnership

Customer experience

ECL

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Ignatius Press

All ratings7 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%

In-app purchases

None

ECL

No in-app purchases

None

Ignatius Press

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ECL free?
ECL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ignatius Press free?
Ignatius Press is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ECL or Ignatius Press?
ECL is rated higher. ECL averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Ignatius Press averages 4.1 from 15 ratings.
Do ECL or Ignatius Press have ads?
Neither ECL nor Ignatius Press shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ECL or Ignatius Press?
ECL ships an update every 6 months, and Ignatius Press every 5 months. Most recently, ECL was updated on November 2, 2026 and Ignatius Press on November 8, 2026.

Other comparisons