Comparison

First Things vs Pelican+

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

Head to head
About

First Things

Access insightful articles and essays on religion, public life, and philosophy. Explore diverse perspectives on contemporary issues from a leading research institute. Stay informed with curated content designed to foster informed public discourse.

Highlights
  • Articles on religion and public life
  • Essays on philosophy and society
  • Diverse perspectives
  • Informed public discourse
  • Interreligious and nonpartisan content
Read full description

First Things is published by The Institute on Religion and Public Life, an interreligious, nonpartisan research and education institute whose purpose is to advance a religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society. First Things Pricing: • Subscription 1 Month - USD 2.99* • Subscription 1 Year - USD 24.99* * For non-US app stores, the equivalent currency charges will apply. Please note: App subscriptions do not include access to subscription-only content on our website. Additional Subscription Information: • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. • No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period. Privacy Policy - https://firstthings.com/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use - https://www.backlight.co/legal/mazsystems-outputs-terms • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable.

About

Pelican+

A faith-safe digital sanctuary for Traditional Catholic families, offering a personalized content library with e-books, audiobooks, and podcasts. It supports Catholic creators and provides trusted media for prayer, learning, and devotion, free from secular ads.

Highlights
  • Personalized content library
  • Cross-device progress syncing
  • E-book highlighting and note-taking
  • Premium podcasts, video blogs, ebooks, audiobooks, articles
  • Content for prayer, learning, and devotion
  • Films, documentaries, and children's programming (coming soon)
Features
Read full description

Pelican+ is a faith-safe digital sanctuary for Traditional Catholic families. Subscribe to get access to account-based features such as a personalized content library, picking up where you left off across devices, and e-book highlighting and note-taking as well as premium media such as podcasts, video blogs, ebooks, audiobooks, and articles to inspire prayer, learning, and devotion. Rooted in Sacred Tradition and free from secular ads or distractions, Pelican+ supports Catholic creators while providing content families can trust. With films, documentaries, and children’s programming coming soon, Pelican+ is growing into the most complete Catholic media experience—bringing beauty, reverence, and truth to your daily life. Terms of service: https://app.pelicanplus.com/legal/terms-of-service Privacy policy: https://app.pelicanplus.com/legal/privacy-policy

Screenshots

First Things2 screens
Pelican+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pelican+ at 85% against First Things's 39%. Pelican+ also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). First Things's advantage is ratings volume (362 vs 32). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. First Things sells 33 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Pelican+ sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pelican+ holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: First Things has 362 ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of First Things's written reviews are positive against 85% of Pelican+'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

First Things ships an update every 4 months, Pelican+ every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
First Things versus Pelican+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFirst ThingsPelican+
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (362 ratings)4.9 (32 ratings) — better
Positive reviews39.5% of reviews84.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings362 — better32
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTHE INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & PUBLIC LIFE INCPious Pelican Media, LLC

Customer experience

First Things

All ratings360 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral1.9%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive39.5%
Neutral7.9%
Negative52.6%

Pelican+

All ratings32 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative15.4%

Bugs and requests

First Things

Reported bugs

19 issues
  • Login methods not working
  • App not updating editions
  • Preview pane interferes with reading
  • Cuts off bottom of page, black bar on top
  • Cannot minimize horizontal scrolling
Show 14 more
  • Cannot log in with subscription
  • App is nonfunctional after update
  • Lost all saved items after update
  • App is unusable after update
  • Unreadable on iPhone, text size issues
  • Not optimized for small screens
  • App hides content
  • App crashes on startup
  • Zoom gets stuck, app freezes
  • App freezes when using zoom
  • New sash remains after reading
  • Swiping pages in landscape mode causes freezing
  • App crashes when opening in Newsstand
  • App freezes when using zoom

Requested features

19 requests
  • Allow login with digital subscription username/password
  • Fix login methods
  • Make table of contents hyperlinked
  • Include a Contents menu to see articles before buying
  • Fix preview pane issue
Show 14 more
  • Allow saving and bookmarking articles
  • Improve app navigation
  • Allow interaction with text
  • Fix app to utilize full screen of newer iPhones
  • Make text readable size on iPhone
  • Optimize for small screens
  • Improve app interface
  • Fix zoom issues
  • Fix app freezing
  • Fix 'new' sash issue
  • Allow access to digital subscription on iPad
  • Make app professional with links in table of contents/menu
  • Allow offline reading of purchased editions
  • Fix app to display library of issues

Pelican+

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

33 purchases

First Things

Subscriptions2
  • First Things$2.991 Month
  • First Things$24.991 Year
One-time31
  • June/July 2011$0.99
  • August/September 2011$0.99
  • May 2011$0.99
Show 28 more
  • November 2011$0.99
  • February 2012$0.99
  • March 2012$0.99
  • April 2012$0.99
  • August/September 2016$4.99
  • First Things Feed 48$4.99
  • First Things Feed 49$4.99
  • First Things Feed 50$4.99
  • First Things Feed 51$4.99
  • First Things Feed 52$4.99
  • First Things Feed 77$4.99
  • First Things Feed 76$4.99
  • First Things Feed 72$4.99
  • First Things Feed 69$4.99
  • First Things Feed 67$4.99
  • First Things Feed 66$4.99
  • First Things Feed 65$4.99
  • First Things Feed 54$4.99
  • First Things Feed 64$4.99
  • First Things Feed 63$4.99
  • First Things Feed 62$4.99
  • First Things Feed 61$4.99
  • First Things Feed 60$4.99
  • First Things Feed 59$4.99
  • First Things Feed 58$4.99
  • First Things Feed 57$4.99
  • First Things Feed 56$4.99
  • First Things Feed 55$4.99
4 purchases

Pelican+

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Basic Subscription7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Premium Monthly$19.991 Month
  • Basic Yearly7 Days trial$99.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Premium Yearly$199.991 Year

Questions

Is First Things free?
First Things is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pelican+ free?
Pelican+ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, First Things or Pelican+?
Pelican+ is rated higher. First Things averages 4.6 out of 5 from 362 ratings, while Pelican+ averages 4.9 from 32 ratings.
Do First Things or Pelican+ have ads?
First Things shows ads; Pelican+ does not.
Which is updated more often, First Things or Pelican+?
First Things ships an update every 4 months, and Pelican+ every 2 months. Most recently, First Things was updated on September 22, 2026 and Pelican+ on September 18, 2026.

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