Comparison

Universalis vs Mary

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

Head to head
About

Universalis

This app provides the Liturgy of the Hours and Mass readings for every day, along with additional spiritual content. It offers offline access, customizable display options, and optional spoken audio. It's designed for daily prayer and spiritual enrichment.

Highlights
  • Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office)
  • Daily Mass readings and prayers
  • Offline access
  • Customizable display (fonts, themes)
  • Spiritual reading and commentaries
  • Optional spoken audio add-on
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Universalis is a missal and a breviary, and more besides. It gives you the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) and the Mass for every day; plus valuable additional material. Tens of thousands of people use Universalis daily. Come and join them! • Single purchase: the app lasts for ever. It does not need a subscription to make it work. • No Internet needed: everything you need is already built in. • No cleverness needed: each day, Universalis works out exactly what you need to see. • View any date: past, present and future. • Use your own local calendar: USA, Canada, Singapore, Ireland, and every diocese in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. • Easy to read and use: a choice of fonts; big or small type; dark or light theme; page-turning or scrolling. • Optional add-on: spoken audio read by real human beings (this needs a subscription: see below). • Latin if you want it: by itself or alongside the English. • Help and support: tips and instructions are included; or press “Contact Us” to send us a message, and we will reply. EXTRA MATERIAL • The “About Today” page tells you what saints are being celebrated today, worldwide. It includes reflections, biographies and illustrations. • “Mass Today” gives you the Order of Mass and today’s readings and prayers, all in one page. Bishops have been known to use it to say Mass from their iPads! • “Spiritual Reading” gathers the patristic and hagiographic readings for all the saints and feasts of the day. • “The Rosary” has a verse of Scripture for every Hail Mary of every Mystery. Spoken audio is included. • Daily Books takes selected spiritual classics and presents them in daily instalments to focus and enrich your prayer life. • Commentaries on the day’s Mass readings from a leading biblical scholar. And more – Home Screen widgets; liturgical events for your iOS calendar; daily email service; copy and paste into other apps; reminders and alarms; Mass readings on your Apple Watch. LITURGY OF THE HOURS (Divine Office) The complete official Liturgy of the Hours of the Catholic Church, as used worldwide. Morning (Lauds), daytime (Terce, Sext and None), evening (Vespers), night (Compline) and the deeply reflective Office of Readings. Do as many or as few of them as you like. • The psalms and canticles match the official English and American books. Scripture readings – United States: RSV. Elsewhere: Jerusalem Bible (with RSV as an optional add-on). READINGS AT MASS The exact prayers and readings at Mass for each day. • England, Wales, Scotland: the official ESV version. • United States: the official NAB version. • Elsewhere: Jerusalem Bible readings and Grail psalms, as used at Mass in most of the English-speaking world. OPTIONAL ADD-ON AUDIO (in-app purchase required) Just press the button and listen! If you want to see what you are hearing, the text is highlighted to follow the sound. After an initial download, no Internet is required. Works with CarPlay too. • Spoken English Liturgy of the Hours: every Hour of every day of every year. Monthly or annual subscription. • Spoken English Mass Readings: First and Second Reading and the Gospel. Jerusalem Bible translation only. Monthly or annual subscription. (You can listen to a sample before subscribing. Following App Store rules, subscriptions renew automatically but you can cancel auto-renewal at any time.) • Sung Latin Compline (Night Prayer): by the boys of the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School. Single purchase. -- Privacy policy and terms of service: universalis.com/n-ios-privacy.htm

About

Mary

Explore comprehensive information on the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus. This free app provides resources on her doctrine, devotions like the interactive Rosary, and details on apparitions and pilgrimage sites. Deepen your understanding and devotion to Mary to grow closer to Jesus.

Highlights
  • Interactive Rosary with audio
  • Marian Dogmas and Titles
  • Marian Feasts and Prayers
  • Images and Apparitions of Mary
  • Pilgrimage Sites information
  • Information on Marian Fathers
Features
Read full description

The Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, creators of the popular DIVINE MERCY APP, are pleased to release the MARY APP. This FREE app offers a complete resource for information on the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, in an easy to navigate format. The app has three main chapters with these features: DOCTRINE • Introduction to Mary • Marian Dogmas • Titles of Mary • Marian Timeline • FAQs • Resources DEVOTION • Interactive Rosary with an audio option • Marian Consecration • Marian Sacramentals • Marian Feasts • Marian Chaplets • Marian Prayers MARY PLUS • Images of Mary • Apparitions • Pilgrimage Sites • Information about the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception • Introduction to the Association of Marian Helpers • Link to online religious catalog Mary’s whole task is to lead us closer to Jesus. The more we get to know her and have a fervent devotion to her, the better she can lead us to her Son. For this reason, the Second Vatican Council states, “Everyone should have a genuine devotion to [Mary] and entrust his life to her motherly care.”

Screenshots

Universalis4 screens
Mary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Mary at Free against Universalis's $9.99. Mary also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). Universalis's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (9.4K vs 509). On review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Mary is free to download; Universalis costs $9.99 up front. Universalis sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Mary asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Universalis holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Universalis has 9.4K ratings behind it against 509, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 95% of Universalis's written reviews are positive against 92% of Mary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Universalis ships an update every 3 weeks, Mary every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Universalis versus Mary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUniversalisMary
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (9.4K ratings) — better4.7 (509 ratings)
Positive reviews94.6% of reviews — better92.2% of reviews
Number of ratings9.4K — better509
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#4 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUniversalis PublishingMarian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception

Customer experience

Universalis

All ratings9,422 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.6%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews632 reviews
Positive94.6%
Neutral3.0%
Negative2.4%

Mary

All ratings509 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive92.2%
Neutral3.1%
Negative4.7%

User reviews

Universalis

From 9.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🙏 Wonderful Catholic app
  • 🙌 Great app for Catholic devotions
  • 📚 This is a wonderful app for the laity
  • 🙏 Excellent resource for Mass and Liturgy of the Hours
  • 🌟 Comprehensive and easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🤔 Hymns selection could be improved
  • 🤔 Navigation can be confusing
  • 🤔 Kenyan version text does not match book
  • 🤔 Difficult to navigate, missing menu buttons

Mary

From 509 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🙏 Helpful for prayer life
  • 🌟 Excellent app for learning about Mary
  • 🎨 Beautiful design and visuals
  • 🔊 Soothing narration voice

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Audio issues (cutting out, repeating)
  • 🔍 Difficulty navigating/tracking progress
  • 🔌 Compatibility issues with iOS 11 and newer
  • 🔇 Lack of customization options (volume, speed)

Bugs and requests

Universalis

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Gospel readings sometimes incorrect
  • App crashes when trying to change hymns or readings

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add Salesian saints and young saints
  • Include NAB translation for US users
  • Add option for 1962 liturgical calendar
  • Improve hymn selection, especially for seasons
  • Implement more inclusive language in prayers

Mary

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Rosary prayers not proceeding correctly after Luminous Mysteries
  • App not compatible with latest iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add Latin audio/text option for rosary
  • Include Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • Implement vibration patterns to distinguish rosary mysteries
  • Add ability to pause/resume rosary without losing progress

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Universalis

Subscriptions6
  • Daily Mass Readings1 Month trial$1.991 Month
  • Daytime Hours1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • All Hours1 Month trial$2.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Daily Mass Readings1 Month trial$19.991 Year
  • Daytime Hours1 Month trial$29.991 Year
  • All Hours1 Month trial$29.991 Year
One-time4
  • Add-on translation: RSV Hours$1.99
  • Sung Latin Compline$3.99
  • Revelations of Divine Love$5.99
Show 1 more
  • Journey into Light$5.99
None

Mary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Universalis free?
Universalis costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Mary free?
Mary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Universalis or Mary?
Universalis is rated higher. Universalis averages 4.9 out of 5 from 9.4K ratings, while Mary averages 4.7 from 509 ratings.
Do Universalis or Mary have ads?
Neither Universalis nor Mary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Universalis or Mary?
Universalis ships an update every 3 weeks, and Mary every 3 months. Most recently, Universalis was updated on September 23, 2026 and Mary on September 8, 2026.

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