The Church App vs Study Gateway
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Church App
Stay connected with your church community. Access sermons, resources, and updates directly on your mobile device. Engage with content, manage events, and support ministry.
- Offline sermon downloads
- Cross-device note-taking
- Bible reading plans
- Event registration
- Secure in-app giving
- Shareable content
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Connect to your church and get the latest sermons, resources, updates, and more delivered right to your mobile device. With The Church App, you can easily watch and listen to sermons on-the-go, download media for offline listening, find and register for events, read blog articles, read the Bible, donate to your ministry, take notes in church, and much more. Additionally, you can browse thousands of leading ministries within the app for quick access to gospel-centered content. The Church App® Features: • Download your favorite sermons for offline listening • Take notes and access them across all your devices • Look up Bible passages and follow along with Bible reading plans • Sign up for events • Be the first to receive updates from your church • Easily share content with your friends and family • Fuel the mission of ministries around the globe with quick, secure giving Mobile app version: 6.23.8
Study Gateway
Access a vast library of on-demand video Bible studies led by renowned Christian teachers. Explore topics like discipleship, healing, and Christian living. This service is available as part of a subscription.
- Thousands of Bible study videos
- Content from trusted teachers
- Topics: discipleship, healing, Christian living
- On-demand streaming
- Part of a subscription service
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Study Gateway is the streaming video Bible study service from Zondervan and Thomas Nelson, featuring the world’s most-trusted Bible teachers, authors and pastors, including Max Lucado, Anne Graham Lotz, Louie Giglio, Rick Warren, Derwin Gray, Lysa TerKeurst, Jennie Allen, Andy Stanley, Chrystal Evans Hurst, John Ortberg, Ann Voskamp, Christine Caine, Jada Edwards, Bob Goff, and Jim Cymbala. Watch thousands of Bible study videos on subjects like discipleship, overcoming and healing, Christian living, and Bible discussion. Get the app as a part of your Study Gateway subscription. Terms of Service: https://watch.studygateway.com/tos Privacy Policy: https://watch.studygateway.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: The Church App at free against Study Gateway's subscription. The Church App also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). Study Gateway's advantage is review sentiment (76% vs 59%) and ratings volume (970 vs 96). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.1 for The Church App against 4.2 for Study Gateway. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Study Gateway has 970 ratings behind it against 96, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 59% of The Church App's written reviews are positive against 76% of Study Gateway's.
The Church App ships an update every 2 months, Study Gateway every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Church App | Study Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (96 ratings) | 4.2 (970 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 59.1% of reviews | 75.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 96 | 970 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 56 MB | 67 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Subsplash Inc | HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc. |
Customer experience
The Church App
Study Gateway
Bugs and requests
The Church App
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Study Gateway
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes frequently
- Unable to access purchased content
- Login and password issues
- Compatibility problems on various devices
Requested features
3 requests- Improve app stability and user experience
- Provide better customer service and account management
- Simplify subscription and cancellation process
In-app purchases
The Church App
No in-app purchases
Study Gateway
No in-app purchases
