Comparison

SparkBible vs Cross+Reference

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

Head to head
About

SparkBible

This app facilitates daily Bible reading and in-depth study with video commentary, devotionals, and AI-powered insights. It offers advanced tools like Greek and Hebrew interlinear studies, catering to both new and experienced readers seeking to deepen their faith.

Highlights
  • Daily Bible reading guidance
  • Video commentary for every chapter
  • AI study insights for complex passages
  • Greek, Hebrew, and interlinear word studies
  • Highlighting, notes, and bookmarking
  • AI-powered Bible search
Features
Read full description

SparkBible is a free Bible study app designed to help you read Scripture daily and learn deeper with video, commentary, devotionals, study tools, and AI-powered insights. Whether you are new to the Bible or looking for advanced study resources like Greek, Hebrew, interlinear, and concordance tools, SparkBible helps you grow in faith every day. WHY SPARKBIBLE? + Daily Bible reading that guides your study of Scripture with amazing resources + Video commentary for every chapter of the Bible + Devotional tools to strengthen your daily walk + AI study insights that make complex passages easier to understand + Hebrew, Greek, and interlinear word studies to explore the original text LEARN FROM TOP BIBLE TEACHERS Discover thousands of Bible study videos, sermons, and commentary from leading pastors, theologians, and seminary professors. Learn from voices such as: John Piper, Tim Keller, N.T. Wright, Jen Wilkin, Francis Chan, Tony Evans, Jackie Hill Perry, Rick Warren, John MacArthur, BibleProject, The Gospel Coalition (TGC), Fuller Seminary, Southern Seminary, Biola, and many others. BIBLE VERSIONS AVAILABLE SparkBible offers multiple translations to support your study, including: NIV, ESV, NLT, NASB, CSB, KJV, NRSV, ASV, RSV, WEB, RV, WEBBE, WMB, and WMBBE. APP FEATURES IN DETAIL + Watch Bible video commentary alongside Scripture to help you learn more deeply + Use AI study tools to get more insights and answer difficult questions about whatever you’re reading + Highlight verses, add personal notes, and bookmark passages for later + Explore Greek, Hebrew, and interlinear study tools for deeper learning + AI-powered Bible Search that helps you find even the most difficult passages + Use SparkBible for personal devotion or in a church Bible study group + Access resources completely free with no hidden costs TRY SPARKBIBLE PLUS Want to go even deeper in your daily Bible study? Upgrade to SparkBible Plus and unlock advanced features built for serious learners. With Plus you’ll get: + AI Study Tools that provide key insights, cultural background, and word studies in Greek and Hebrew — plus deep dives into people, places, and themes of Scripture. + Premium Bible Search that links directly to the AI Study Tools, helping you connect verses with commentary, interlinear, and concordance resources. + Exclusive Video Bible Courses from trusted teachers, giving you structured lessons for deeper study. SparkBible Plus turns your Bible reading into a richer, more insightful experience — combining daily devotionals, AI insights, and advanced study resources in one simple app. WHY CHOOSE SPARKBIBLE? The Bible is the most important book of all time, but it can be hard to understand. SparkBible makes Bible study simple, approachable, and powerful by combining daily devotionals, video and audio commentary, AI-powered insights, and advanced study resources like concordance, Greek, Hebrew, and interlinear tools. SparkBible is more than just another Bible app — it’s your complete Bible study companion. Download SparkBible free today and start your daily journey in Scripture. Spark Bible Terms of Use: https://sparkbible.com/terms

About

Cross+Reference

Read full description

Cross+Reference is a new way to Study the Bible. Read+Research+WriteItDown The App focuses on having a selected verse. This Sync verse gives context to what you are reading. The Sync Verse updates the content in other panels allowing them to be updated in the context of the Verse. Are you a Diligent Seeker? Cross+Reference is designed to help both the novice and experience Bible Scholars in research and improving their understanding of scriptures. You may display content to fill from one to ten Panels. Each Panel contains any of several content types from Bible verses to Notes and Videos. The full list of Panels is listed below by category. The Panel layouts are highly customizable and may be saved and recalled for quick access. Automatically Sync your Study (collection of notes, videos, etc.) between iPhone and iPad. Key Concepts: - Reading - Using the sync verse (see above) gives the Cross+Reference user the ability to quickly lookup a person or location without going to another App or the Web to get the details. The cities and kings of Israel are very important to understanding the deep details of how and why certain things happened the way they did through out the Bible. Using a research tool like the built in Easton Dictionary allows you to get context for the people and places of the selected verse. Cross+Reference quickly looks up each word in the selected verse and displays the found entries in a list. Selecting an entries displays the details. Additionally, Naves and Thompson concordances give similar ability with their content. - When taking notes simply typing a Book:Chapter:Verse reference (1Sam:16:15 for example) highlights as a link that when tapped immediately updates the Primary Bible sync verse to that verse. These links can even be copied into other Applications such as Apple Notes and can be tapped on there and opened in Cross+Reference - The Study - A Cross+Reference Study is a user document that contains Notes, web pages, documents, Videos links and a variety of other content that relates to a specific Bible topic. Whether it is for a personal study, Bible Study notes or the outline for an upcoming sermon, Cross+Reference provides many of the tools to aid in reading and research. Loads of features with lots to explore With 14 different Panel Types (see panel help for details) Reading Panels Primary Bible Panel - the Bible version that updates the Sync verse. It has 3 variations - Primary Bible - Select the Header to select the Version, Book Chapter and verse - Alternate Bible - Same as Primary but displays two Bible version side by side - Verse Selection - Same as Primary but the Version, Book Chapter and verse overlay remains available while scrolling the Bible Standalone Bible - same as Primary Bible except it does not update the Sync Verse Reader Version - Chapter based instead of verse base. allows reading in a more traditional way Multiple Bible Version - Allows displaying a the current Sync verse for Bible Version available Favorite - Create and maintain favorite verses for easily recalling the verse text. Research Panels Chapter Overview - provides a short write up for quick access to the major events and topics in a chapter. Based on the Westminster Reference Bible summaries. Search - Detailed search for finding specific word searches topics within the Bible. Also provides a convenient Web Search tab for searching the Web for a topic. Verses Reference - See all the text related to the sync verse Easton Dictionary Thompson Topics Naves Topical Concordance WriteItDown Panels Tag Bookmarks - Tag verses and research tools search terms for a Study Notes - with Bible verse link detection Notations - Notes Notation - Note taking - Bible Link Notation - A verse - Image with Note Notation - Web Notation - Web page - Document Notations - PDF, Office, iWork Docs, and other doc types - Video Notations - YouTube Video Links, Web Video URLs, video files from Photos and Files

Screenshots

SparkBible4 screens
Cross+Reference4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cross+Reference at none against SparkBible's 18. Cross+Reference also leads on ads (none vs shown). SparkBible's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 5 months). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. SparkBible sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Cross+Reference asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SparkBible ships an update monthly, Cross+Reference every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SparkBible versus Cross+Reference: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSparkBibleCross+Reference
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1.7K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews82.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.7K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB153 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperSpark Bible LLCOdeon Software Inc.

Bugs and requests

SparkBible

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Locking up between Bible chapters
  • Incompatibility with older devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Larger text size option
  • More Bible version options (NASB, CSB, NLT)
  • iPad app version
  • Improved audio playback functionality

Cross+Reference

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

15 purchases

SparkBible

Subscriptions15
  • Plus Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Plus Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Plus Monthly7 Days trial$5.991 Month
Show 12 more
  • Plus Monthly7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Plus Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Plus Monthly7 Days trial$11.991 Month
  • Plus Half-yearly7 Days trial$23.956 Months
  • Plus Half-yearly7 Days trial$23.996 Months
  • Plus Quarterly7 Days trial$24.993 Months
  • Plus Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Plus Quarterly7 Days trial$30.993 Months
  • Plus Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Plus Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Plus Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Plus Yearly7 Days trial$85.991 Year
None

Cross+Reference

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SparkBible free?
SparkBible is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cross+Reference free?
Cross+Reference is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SparkBible or Cross+Reference have ads?
SparkBible shows ads; Cross+Reference does not.
Which is updated more often, SparkBible or Cross+Reference?
SparkBible ships an update monthly, and Cross+Reference every 5 months. Most recently, SparkBible was updated on September 24, 2026 and Cross+Reference on September 10, 2026.

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