Comparison

Returns Pro vs Ministry Journal

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

Head to head
About

Returns Pro

This tool helps Jehovah's Witnesses manage their ministry by quickly adding and updating return visits. It's designed for speed and simplicity, offering a lightweight experience for efficient record-keeping.

Highlights
  • Fast return visit tracking
  • Easy update functionality
  • Simple and beautiful interface
  • Lightweight design
  • Ministry assistance tool
Features
Read full description

A beautiful, simple, and easy to use return visit app to assist Jehovah's Witnesses with ministry. This app was designed to be fast and lightweight to quickly add and update your return visits without being bogged down with too many taps. I hope you enjoy using it. This app is NOT an official app from Jehovah's Witnesses. Please feel free to report bugs to me at fgathright@me.com

About

Ministry Journal

Organize your ministry activities with this field service assistant. Track call notes, field service hours, and schedule appointments. Set and monitor personal ministry goals with visual progress tracking.

Highlights
  • Track call notes and contact details
  • Schedule appointment reminders
  • Color-coded calendar events
  • Set and track ministry goals
  • View calls on a map
  • Monthly field service reports
Features
Read full description

Ministry Journal is an application designed for Jehovah’s Witnesses to organize their ministry. It allows users to keep track of call notes and maintain records of their field service activity. Reports View your monthly field service report at a glance Manually update your total number of Bible Studies. Automatically carry forward part hours to the following month. Calendar Schedule appointment reminders for bible studies or return visits. Add alerts to your events to be displayed in the notification Center. Hours, visits, and events color coded for monthly overview. Calls Keep track of your call's contact details, visit notes, placements, and video showings. Pin priority calls to the top of your list. View your calls on a map and your location relative to them. Progress Set monthly and yearly goals for your ministry and track your progress. Visually see how you are doing on your time Review service years as a whole Ministry Journal requires a monthly or yearly subscription for all access that begins at startup. This is to ensure the cost can be covered to maintain this app on the App Store and support future development and improvements. We appreciate all who support the hard work and dedication in developing an app to help publishers and pioneers in their ministry! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Returns Pro3 screens
Ministry Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Returns Pro at none against Ministry Journal's 3. Returns Pro also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). Ministry Journal's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.3). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. Ministry Journal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Returns Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ministry Journal holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 38 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 86% and 86% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Returns Pro ships an update every 4 months, Ministry Journal fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Returns Pro versus Ministry Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReturns ProMinistry Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (19 ratings)4.7 (38 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews85.7% of reviews
Number of ratings1938 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFloyd GathrightMaurice Brown

Customer experience

Returns Pro

All ratings19 ratings
Positive84.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral7.1%
Negative7.1%

Ministry Journal

All ratings37 ratings
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.7%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

In-app purchases

None

Returns Pro

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Ministry Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly1 Month trial$0.991 Month
  • Yearly1 Month trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Returns Pro free?
Returns Pro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ministry Journal free?
Ministry Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Returns Pro or Ministry Journal?
Ministry Journal is rated higher. Returns Pro averages 4.3 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while Ministry Journal averages 4.7 from 38 ratings.
Do Returns Pro or Ministry Journal have ads?
Neither Returns Pro nor Ministry Journal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Returns Pro or Ministry Journal?
Returns Pro ships an update every 4 months, and Ministry Journal fortnightly. Most recently, Returns Pro was updated on October 24, 2026 and Ministry Journal on October 25, 2026.

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