Preachup vs Sermon Design 3
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Preachup
This app helps organize, write, search, and present sermons. It features a calendar for planning, an organizer to analyze sermon content for topics and gaps, and a smart editor with verse and topic recommendations. It also offers a unique presentation mode and syncs across devices.
- Sermon calendar for planning and tracking
- Sermon organizer for topic analysis
- Smart sermon editor with recommendations
- Search for related passages and ideas
- Presentation mode for sermons
- Cross-device syncing
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Preachup aims to be the best place to organize, write, search and present your sermons. CALENDAR The calendar helps you plan or easily remember when you preached last preached a topic or passage of scripture. Preachup's calendar is also great for planning and creating placeholders for future sermons. ORGANIZER The sermon organizer analyzes your sermons and their verse references. It then detects topics, people, places and more. The organizer keeps track oh how repetitive you are, and can even find potential gaps. SEARCH Search is built to answer all of your questions. Search can find related passages, related topics, your sermons, and can even find ideas from the community. WRITE The sermon editor is smart and tailored for biblical notes. The editor gives you recommendations for related verses and topics. PRESENTING - Preachup is designed to make it easy to present your sermons. SYNC ANYWHERE - Preachup works on your computer, tablet or phone. Use Preachup to: * Plan * Write sermons * Effortlessly become more organized and systematic * Store your sermons in a safe place for many years to come * Present your sermons from the pulpit with a unique presentation mode
Sermon Design 3
This tool guides users through the sermon preparation process, from initial planning to final manuscript. It features a visual outlining tool with building blocks to structure messages and offers a library of predefined and custom sermon movements.
- Visual sermon outlining
- 5-phase preparation process
- 40+ predefined sermon movements
- Custom forms and templates
- Guided reflection prompts
- iCloud sync
- Export to PDF/RTF
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Sermon Design 3 is a tool built to help you prepare thoughtful, intentional sermons. It walks you through the process of thinking through the sermon, from considering its focus and purpose to writing the final manuscript. At the core is a visual outlining tool that helps you design your sermon's flow, using movements like building blocks to construct a message that will fulfill its purpose. Sermon Design uses a 5 phase process: Plan: Think about sermons coming up over the next few weeks, months, or years! Focus: Consider the heart of your sermon, distilling it's core message. Listen: Give attention to the text, asking question that get to heart of what the Word is for the people. Structure: Build the frame of the sermon by giving consideration to the type of movements through which the sermon will move. Write: Finalize the manuscript for the sermon you've been designing. With the iOS version, you can capture ideas while on the go, crafting your sermon in the moments and times when inspiration comes to you. Sermon Movement Library — Access 40+ predefined movement types including Opening, Transition, Anecdote, Exegesis, Theology, Application, Question, Metaphor, Prayer, and more. Custom Forms & Templates — Create and save your own sermon structures. Build templates for recurring sermon types and reuse them across documents. Guided Reflection Prompts — Explore textual, theological, contemporary, personal, and pastoral questions designed to deepen your engagement with scripture. Session Timer — Track your writing sessions and maintain momentum with built-in timing tools that automatically split sessions at midnight. iCloud Sync — Your planning data, custom movements, and templates sync across all your devices via CloudKit. Export & Print — Print sermon plans and manuscripts with professional formatting. Export to PDF or RTF for sharing with team members. **DESIGNED FOR YOUR WORKFLOW** Whether you're preparing Sunday sermons, special occasions, or teaching series, Sermon Design 3 adapts to your needs. Work on individual sermon documents while maintaining awareness of your broader preaching calendar. Create custom movements that reflect your unique preaching style. Build sermon structures that honor traditional homiletical practices while remaining flexible for contemporary approaches. **CROSS-PLATFORM** Available for Mac, iPad, and iPhone with adaptive interfaces optimized for each device. Use sidebar navigation on Mac and iPad, or tab navigation on iPhone. Keyboard shortcuts on Mac make phase switching and common actions quick and efficient. **WHO IT'S FOR** - Pastors and ministers preparing weekly sermons - Lay speakers developing occasional messages - Seminary students learning homiletical practices - Preaching teams collaborating on sermon series - Anyone seeking a systematic approach to sermon preparation Sermon Design Pro is available as a one-time Lifetime purchase or as an annual auto-renewable subscription. The annual subscription automatically renews at the end of each one-year period unless canceled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at purchase confirmation. Manage or cancel any time in your Apple ID account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial period (if offered) is forfeited when you purchase the subscription. Privacy Policy: https://stevenhovater.com/sermon-design-privacy-policy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Sermon Design 3 at 5.0 against Preachup's 2.1. Preachup's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (32 vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Sermon Design 3 sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per year. Preachup asks for nothing beyond the download.
Sermon Design 3 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Preachup has 32 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Preachup ships an update every 3 weeks, Sermon Design 3 monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Preachup | Sermon Design 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.1 (32 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 35.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 32 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 12.4 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 88 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Phillip Burch | Steven Hovater |
Customer experience
Preachup
Sermon Design 3
Bugs and requests
Preachup
Reported bugs
17 issues- App completely shuts down when creating new sermons
- App crashes when tapping on a new note
- Cannot see past sermons
- Bolding, highlighting, and quoting scriptures no longer works
- App is no longer fluid to scroll through when preaching (scrolls a page at a time)
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- App freezes and requires multiple restarts
- Recent updates to formatting are confusing and not user-friendly
- Formatting seems glitchy at times
- No “send” button for feedback in the app
- Cannot change Bible version (stuck on KJV)
- Spanish Bible versions are no longer available
- Lost sermons after the update
- Bluetooth keyboard delete key not recognized in the sermon section
- Printing changes Bible versions
- Login page jumping around and not allowing sign-in
- Cannot use references offline
- No iCloud connection
Requested features
15 requests- Revert to the old version
- Bring back the old format
- Add multiple Bible versions
- Add Spanish Bible versions
- Add a Bible within the app
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- Improve split screen mode
- Add user guide (text or video)
- Improve printing functionality
- Add dark mode
- Add more editing tools (bold, italic)
- Save to computer option
- Multiple layouts
- Podium mode
- Offline reference use
- Connect to iCloud
Sermon Design 3
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Preachup
No in-app purchases
Sermon Design 3
- Pro Annual Subscription7 Days trial$5.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime Unlock$14.99








