First Things vs Lingua Sacra
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Articles on religion and public life
- Essays on philosophy and society
- Diverse perspectives
- Informed public discourse
- Interreligious and nonpartisan content
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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.
Lingua Sacra
Master ecclesiastical Latin through gamified lessons and authentic liturgical texts. Explore prayers, scripture, chant, and historical writings with structured learning paths and offline access.
- 197 structured lessons
- 2,000+ vocabulary words
- Liturgical and Patristic Latin content
- Mass Companion and Office of the Day
- Vulgate Bible reader
- Offline functionality
- Interactive paradigm tables
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Master the sacred language of the Catholic Church. Lingua Sacra combines gamified Latin learning with authentic liturgical content — prayers, Mass responses, Vulgate Scripture, Gregorian chant, the Liturgy of the Hours, and now Patristic, Scholastic, and Manuscript Latin. Lingua Sacra is a ministry owned and operated by St. Patrick Priory, Inc. FEATURES: • 202 structured lessons across 18 tiers, from beginner greetings to reading actual medieval codices • 2,137 vocabulary words with pre-recorded ecclesiastical Latin pronunciation • Tier 15 Liturgical Mastery: verse-by-verse drill of Te Deum, Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo, Adoro Te Devote, Stabat Mater, Dies Irae, Magnificat, Benedictus, and the great sequences • Tier 16 Patristic Latin: Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, Leo the Great, Gregory the Great, Benedict’s Rule, Bede • Tier 17 Scholastic & Magisterial: Aquinas’s Five Ways, Trent, Vatican I and II, Rerum Novarum, Humanae Vitae, Fides et Ratio • Tier 18 Codex & Manuscript: paleography, nomina sacra, scribal abbreviations, reading medieval folios • 52 classic prayers and devotional texts with word-by-word grammar (Ave Maria, Pater Noster, Salve Regina, and more) • Mass Companion for both Ordinary Form and Traditional Latin Mass (1962 Missale Romanum) • Office of the Day: opens to the canonical Hour matching time of day, with seasonal Marian antiphon • Saint of the Day from the Roman Calendar with Latin name, brief life, and citation • Curated Learning Paths: Path of the Priest, Path of the Scholar, Path of the Religious • Vulgate Bible reader with verse-by-verse Latin and English • Spaced repetition vocabulary review powered by FSRS • 168 graded Latin reading passages from simple stories to advanced theological narratives • Interactive paradigm tables for all 5 declensions and 4 conjugations • Liturgy of the Hours, Stations of the Cross, Rosary, and Sacramental Rites • Core lessons, prayer text, quizzes, progress, and review audio work offline; expanded audio and the full Vulgate download when you are online Whether you’re preparing for seminary, following the Traditional Latin Mass, homeschooling, reading the Fathers, or simply want to understand the prayers of the Church, Lingua Sacra makes Latin accessible and beautiful. Designed with the aesthetic of an illuminated manuscript — cathedral navy backgrounds, gold accents, and the elegant EB Garamond typeface. SUBSCRIPTION & TERMS Full access is available as an auto-renewing yearly subscription or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A yearly subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; you can manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. The lifetime purchase is one-time and does not renew. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://applinguasacra.com/privacy
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Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Lingua Sacra at 93% against First Things's 39%. Lingua Sacra also leads on monetization model (free vs subscription) and ads (none vs shown). First Things's advantage is ratings volume (388 vs 36). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. First Things sells 33 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Lingua Sacra sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Lingua Sacra holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: First Things has 388 ratings behind it against 36, 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 93% of Lingua Sacra's.
First Things ships an update every 4 months, Lingua Sacra every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | First Things | Lingua Sacra |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (388 ratings) | 4.9 (36 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 39.5% of reviews | 93.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 388 — better | 36 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 60 MB | 115 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | THE INSTITUTE ON RELIGION & PUBLIC LIFE INC | MARK MARQUEZ |
Customer experience
First Things
Lingua Sacra
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
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- 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
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- 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
Lingua Sacra
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
First Things
- First Things$2.991 Month
- First Things$24.991 Year
- June/July 2011$0.99
- August/September 2011$0.99
- May 2011$0.99
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- 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
Lingua Sacra
- Full Access$19.991 Year
- Lingua Sacra Lifetime Access$79.99









