Comparison

iPieta vs The Novena App

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

Head to head
About

iPieta

Access a comprehensive collection of Catholic resources, including Bibles, catechisms, prayers, and spiritual works. Explore liturgical calendars, papal documents, and writings from Church Fathers. Features include search, history, bookmarks, and downloadable audio for select content.

Highlights
  • Catholic Bibles (Douay-Rheims, Clementine Vulgate)
  • Multiple Catechisms (Baltimore, Roman, St. Thomas Aquinas)
  • Ordinary & Extraordinary Liturgical Calendars
  • Extensive Devotions and Prayers
  • Spiritual Works from Church Fathers
  • Papal Encyclicals and Conciliar Documents
  • Search, History, Bookmarks, Highlights
Read full description

iPieta contains Catholic documents, teachings, writings, prayers, and liturgical calendars, including: • Bibles: Douay-Rheims, Clementine Vulgate (Catholic and public domain; note that Psalms are COMPLETE but numbered as in the Vulgate). • Baltimore Catechisms #1-3 (original); the Cat. of Christian Doctrine, the Roman Catechism, and the Cat. of St. Thomas Aquinas. • Both the Ordinary (Novus Ordo) and Extraordinary (Tridentine) Calendars with access to the day's Gospel and Reading(s) from the Douay-Rheims & Vulgate. • Numerous devotions and prayers, including 33-Day Total Consecration Preparation, Novena to the Holy Spirit, St. Alphonsus Stations of the Cross, and the St. Bridget 1-Year and 12-Year Prayers. • Spiritual works from authors including St. Louis Marie de Montfort, St. Teresa of Jesus, St. John of the Cross, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thomas Aquinas (Summa and Catena), St. Francis deSales, and St. Jean-Marie Vianney. • Papal Encyclicals and Conciliar Documents • Fathers of the Church (Erdman's collection) • Search, History, Bookmarks, Highlights. • Multi-version display of some data like versions of the Bible and prayers in different languages. • Free downloadable audio for many prayers, New Testament, and some works.

About

The Novena App

This app provides a comprehensive collection of traditional Catholic novenas to deepen faith and strengthen connection with God. Users can access a vast array of prayers, create personalized novenas, and track their spiritual journey with a user-friendly interface and helpful features like dark mode and quick search.

Highlights
  • Vast array of traditional Catholic novenas
  • Create and track personalized prayers
  • Favorite and easily access beloved novenas
  • Dark Mode for comfortable reading
  • Clean, intuitive user interface
  • Quick search for instant access
Features
Read full description

The Catholic Novena App is a comprehensive, lightweight, and trusted source for novenas in English, designed to help users deepen their faith and strengthen their connection with God through daily prayer. Access a vast array of traditional Catholic novenas or create and track your own personalized prayers. With a user-friendly interface and a range of customization options, the Novena App is the ideal spiritual companion for anyone looking to enrich their prayer life and grow closer to God. With its rich selection of prayers, carefully curated from the deep traditions of the Catholic Church, the app brings a meaningful prayer experience right to your fingertips. † Features † • Easily favorite and access your most beloved novenas • Dark Mode for comfortable reading at any time • Clean, intuitive user interface • Quick search for instant access to specific novenas Copyrights: All copyrights, trademarks, design rights, patents, and other intellectual property rights (registered and unregistered) in and on Catholic Prayers are inspired by various sources and books dedicated to the Catholic faith. Courtesy: Our sincere thanks to various online prayer sources and Christian prayer books for their inspiration. Privacy Policy: The app respects user privacy and does not collect or share any personal information without the user’s knowledge. Our purpose is solely to share prayers and support spiritual growth. For more details, read our privacy policy at: https://reeba256.github.io/privacypolicy Contact Us: For questions or suggestions, reach out to us at reebasebastian@icloud.com—we’d love to hear from you!

Screenshots

iPieta4 screens
The Novena App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: iPieta at 88% against The Novena App's 42%. iPieta also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months). The Novena App's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.7). On price, ratings volume, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Novena App holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 510 and 892 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 88% of iPieta's written reviews are positive against 42% of The Novena App's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iPieta ships an update fortnightly, The Novena App every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
iPieta versus The Novena App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriPietaThe Novena App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (510 ratings)4.9 (892 ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.2% of reviews — better41.7% of reviews
Number of ratings510892 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB82 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperiVerbumReeba Sebastian

Customer experience

iPieta

All ratings510 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.2%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews389 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral4.9%
Negative6.9%

The Novena App

All ratings892 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral1.6%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive41.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

iPieta

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Blank screen issues after recent updates
  • Disappearing bookmarks and notes
  • Stability problems and frequent crashes
  • Incorrect calendar and liturgical information

Requested features

5 requests
  • More Bible translations and liturgical versions
  • Improved search and browsing functionality
  • Better organization and categorization of content
  • Customizable audio playback controls
  • Offline access and download options

The Novena App

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

iPieta

No in-app purchases

None

The Novena App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iPieta free?
iPieta is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Novena App free?
The Novena App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iPieta or The Novena App?
The Novena App is rated higher. iPieta averages 4.7 out of 5 from 510 ratings, while The Novena App averages 4.9 from 892 ratings.
Do iPieta or The Novena App have ads?
The Novena App shows ads; iPieta does not.
Which is updated more often, iPieta or The Novena App?
iPieta ships an update fortnightly, and The Novena App every 6 months. Most recently, iPieta was updated on October 1, 2026 and The Novena App on September 28, 2026.

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