Comparison

The Better Part vs Ancient Scriptures

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

Head to head
About

The Better Part

This app offers a Christ-centered resource for personal prayer and Christian meditation, drawing from the four Gospels. It provides commentaries, reflection questions, and guidance for daily spiritual growth. Designed to help users integrate faith into busy lives, it serves as a companion for deepening one's relationship with Christ.

Highlights
  • Christ-centered meditation guide
  • Full text of the four Gospels
  • Commentaries on Christ's roles
  • Personal reflection questions
  • Small group discussion prompts
  • Sequential or liturgical calendar options
Features
Read full description

"The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal prayer" by Fr. John Bartunek, LC, has already improved thousands of lives in its best-selling book form. Now the same practical and deep help for Christian meditation is available in an app! Fr. Bartunek has created an extensive, Christ-centered resource to serve as a daily meditation companion. It is a Bible study on the four Gospels (included in full), a survey of saints' writings, a guide to prayer, and a fresh introduction to Jesus rolled into one. The Better Part enables us to read, meditate, absorb and apply the Gospels to our lives, and it serves as a catalyst to personalize times of prayer, enabling us to follow the Holy Spirit's lead into holiness. Each Gospel passage includes four commentaries: Christ as Lord, Christ as Teacher, Christ as Friend, and Christ in my Life. Questions for personal reflection and small group discussion are also included. You can choose to go through “The Better Part” sequentially or according to the Liturgical Calendar. We lead tremendously busy lives, with 1,001 things to do. Even so, every saint and renowned spiritual director through the ages has said the same thing: If we desire to become saints, we must spend time daily in meditation. With this App, you can make that happen in a powerful new way. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Ancient Scriptures

Features
Read full description

Read Scripture offline with a library built for serious study—not a single translation locked behind a paywall. Ancient Scriptures brings together public-domain Bibles, Catholic and expanded texts, and original-language editions in one calm, distraction-free reader. No account required. No ads. No tracking. A deeper library • King James (with Apocrypha), Geneva, Douay-Rheims, ASV, World English Bible, and more • 30+ free translations, including literal, historical, modern, and study editions • Deuterocanon / Apocrypha: Tobit, Judith, Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and related books • Expanded texts: Book of Enoch, Jubilees, Jasher, and related public-domain works • Hebrew (WLC), Latin Vulgate, and Brenton Septuagint for original-language reading Made for daily reading • Beautiful page-turn or scroll reading modes • Adjustable font size, line spacing, and sepia theme • Continue where you left off automatically • Reading plans: Bible in a year, Gospels in 40 days, Psalms, Proverbs, Torah, and more • Home Screen widget with a daily verse—tap to open that passage in the app Study tools • Highlight verses in multiple colors • Vault saves all your highlights in one place—tap any verse to jump back to it • Footnotes and cross-reference indicators • Side-by-side parallel translation compare • Hebrew Names Mode (optional sacred-name rendering) • Full-text search across your library • Optional iCloud sync for highlights, footnotes, and preferences Private & offline Everything works without an internet connection. Your reading, highlights, and search stay on your device. iCloud sync is optional and uses your Apple ID—nothing is sold to advertisers. Ancient Scriptures is free. Optional one-time tips support development but do not unlock features. All included translations are public domain or freely licensed. Modern copyrighted Bibles (NIV, ESV, NASB, etc.) are not bundled. License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

The Better Part4 screens
Ancient Scriptures4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Ancient Scriptures at none against The Better Part's shown. The Better Part's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, 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

Both are free to download. The Better Part sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year and Ancient Scriptures sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Better Part ships an update monthly, Ancient Scriptures every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 7, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
The Better Part versus Ancient Scriptures: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Better PartAncient Scriptures
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB292 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSophia InstituteCameron Howard

In-app purchases

1 purchases

The Better Part

Subscriptions1
  • Annual Premium$9.991 Year
3 purchases

Ancient Scriptures

One-time3
  • Small Gift$0.99
  • Kind Gift$1.99
  • Generous Gift$2.99

Questions

Is The Better Part free?
The Better Part is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ancient Scriptures free?
Ancient Scriptures is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do The Better Part or Ancient Scriptures have ads?
The Better Part shows ads; Ancient Scriptures does not.
Which is updated more often, The Better Part or Ancient Scriptures?
The Better Part ships an update monthly, and Ancient Scriptures every 5 weeks. Most recently, The Better Part was updated on September 7, 2026 and Ancient Scriptures on September 27, 2026.

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