Comparison

Universalis vs Syro

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

Syro

Access Syro-Malabar Catholic Church resources, including bilingual liturgy readings, Holy Mass texts, historical information, and church locations in the U.S. The app automatically updates seasonal content based on your device's date.

Highlights
  • Bilingual English/Malayalam text
  • Daily liturgy readings
  • Holy Mass (Qurbana) text
  • Church history
  • U.S. church locations
  • Automatic seasonal updates
Features
Read full description

First-ever SyroMalabar Catholic Church app. Salient features: - Bi-Lingual App: The app in one touch can toggle between English & Malayalam text. - Daily SM Liturgy Readings: SM rite readings of liturgy calendar in both Malayalam (POC Version) and English (NAB version) - Qurbana(Holy Mass) Text: The full SM-rite Qurbana(Holy Mass) text in English & Malayalam with user type selection as Celebrant or Participant. - Qurbana Intro Page: The pictorial representation of the qurbana intro page according to major feast day or saints day. - Qurbana Season Selection: All round the year the season of the SM gets auto selected according to the date of the device and the mass text gets updated accordingly. However user can choose to change the season too. - History: The history of the SM church. - Location: The church locations in both map & list view. Along with church info details & the ability to locate it. (U.S. only) - Saints feature: The saints particular to SM church feature is coming soon.

Screenshots

Universalis4 screens
Syro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Syro at Free against Universalis's $9.99. Syro also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (13.2 vs 15.6). Universalis's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (95% vs 63%). On 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

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Universalis holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Universalis has 9.4K ratings behind it against 54, 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 63% of Syro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Universalis ships an update every 3 weeks, Syro every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Universalis versus Syro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUniversalisSyro
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (9.4K ratings) — better4.4 (54 ratings)
Positive reviews94.6% of reviews — better62.5% of reviews
Number of ratings9.4K — better54
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#6 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperUniversalis PublishingSt. Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Diocese Of Chicago

Customer experience

Universalis

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

Syro

All ratings53 ratings
Positive84.9%
Neutral3.8%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral8.3%
Negative29.2%

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

Syro

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

Syro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Universalis free?
Universalis costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Syro free?
Syro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Universalis or Syro?
Universalis is rated higher. Universalis averages 4.9 out of 5 from 9.4K ratings, while Syro averages 4.4 from 54 ratings.
Do Universalis or Syro have ads?
Neither Universalis nor Syro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Universalis or Syro?
Universalis ships an update every 3 weeks, and Syro every 4 months. Most recently, Universalis was updated on September 25, 2026 and Syro on September 18, 2026.

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