# Catholic Calendar vs Ember

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ember at none against Catholic Calendar's 10. Ember also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 82%). Catholic Calendar's advantage is ratings volume (926 vs 2) and device support (4 vs 1). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Catholic Calendar sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Ember asks for nothing beyond the download.

Ember holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Catholic Calendar has 926 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Catholic Calendar's written reviews are positive against 100% of Ember's.

Catholic Calendar ships an update every 3 weeks, Ember every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Catholic Calendar | Ember |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (926 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/catholic-calendar/id285512407/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ember-catholic-daily-prayer/id6794415708/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **926** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 82.1% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 78 MB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Universalis Publishing](https://appshunter.io/developer/284942722) | [Perry Hampton](https://appshunter.io/developer/1826133992) |

## What reviewers say

### Catholic Calendar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/catholic-calendar/id285512407)

Access daily Catholic Mass readings, saints, and celebrations. Includes the Rosary with scripture and offline access. Offers optional monthly subscriptions for the full Liturgy of the Hours and more detailed Mass texts.

**Highlights:** Daily liturgical calendar, Saints and feast days, Order of Mass, The Rosary with scripture, Offline access, Liturgy of the Hours (subscription), Customizable display options

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Daily texts | $0.99 | per month |
| Daily Mass Readings | $1.99 | per month |
| Daytime Hours | $2.99 | per month |
| All Hours | $2.99 | per month |
| Daily Mass Readings | $19.99 | per year |
| All Hours | $29.99 | per year |
| July 2011 | $0.99 | one-time |
| September 2011 | $0.99 | one-time |
| October 2011 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Sung Latin Compline | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Keeps me informed and organized
- 👍 Best app for daily prayer
- 👍 Great prayer tool
- 👍 Wonderful spiritual aid
- 👍 Faithful companion

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Psalter
- 🐛 Notification Bells TAKE OVER MY iPhone!!!
- 🐛 App crashes
- 🐛 Something is wrong
- 🐛 Subscription not sharable across apple family members

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when you try to open
- Crashes on iPhone 6 with IOS 12
- App refuses to open
- Update with widget for iOS14 opens and immediately closes

**Requested features**

- Look up option
- Memorial Dates
- Add Eastern Catholic Saints' Feasts, & other Feasts only celebrated by Eastern Catholics, to the Eastern General calendar
- Add Holy Rosary & Divine Mercy Chaplet
- Add 1961 General & local liturgical calendars, 1961 Roman Breviary, 1962 Roman Missal


### Ember

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ember-catholic-daily-prayer/id6794415708)

This app offers a minute-long daily prayer rooted in Scripture, with guided breaths and Scripture citations. It also includes the full Rosary, liturgical calendar integration, and customizable prayer reminders. Designed for privacy, it collects no user data and is completely free.

**Highlights:** Minute-long daily Scripture prayer, Full Rosary and decade prayers, Liturgical calendar integration, Home and Lock Screen widgets, Customizable prayer reminders, Private by design, no data collection

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Catholic Calendar free?

Catholic Calendar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Ember free?

Ember is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Catholic Calendar or Ember?

Ember is rated higher. Catholic Calendar averages 4.8 out of 5 from 926 ratings, while Ember averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Catholic Calendar or Ember have ads?

Neither Catholic Calendar nor Ember shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Catholic Calendar or Ember?

Catholic Calendar ships an update every 3 weeks, and Ember every 2 days. Most recently, Catholic Calendar was updated on October 19, 2026 and Ember on October 16, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*