Highlands vs First15
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Highlands
This app connects users with a church community, offering on-demand messages, live service streaming, and a Bible reading plan. Users can also find information on church events, locations, and more.
- On-demand messages
- One Year Bible reading plan
- Live service streaming
- Church event information
- Church location details
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Church of the Highlands exists to help people Know God, Find Freedom, Discover their Purpose, and Make a Difference. Stay connected with Highlands wherever you go! This free resource allows you to experience messages on-demand, read the One Year Bible, watch services live online, access information about church events, locations and much more! For more information about our church, please visit us on the web at http://churchofthehighlands.com.
First15
This daily devotional app offers a 15-minute spiritual practice to help users connect with God. It aims to foster a deeper understanding of God's love and presence, influencing daily emotions, thoughts, and actions.
- Daily devotional content
- Spiritual connection with God
- Focus on God's love and presence
- Personal growth and empowerment
- Foundation for daily thoughts and actions
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We all have a need to know our Creator. We all have a longing to be fully known and fully loved by an all-knowing, all-loving God. First15, a resource of Denison Ministries, is a daily devotional written out of the belief that 15 minutes with God can change your life. God longs to fill you by his refreshing, life-giving presence. He longs to meet you in the first moments of your day that your emotions, thoughts, beliefs and actions would be founded on his unconditional love. Give God 15 minutes today and let him love you, empower you, heal you, free you and establish you in the reality of his nearness.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: Highlands at 4 against First15's 2. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 — 4.8 for Highlands against 4.7 for First15. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 462 and 459 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Highlands's written reviews are positive against 79% of First15's.
Highlands ships an update every 3 weeks, First15 every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Highlands | First15 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (462 ratings) — better | 4.7 (459 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.3% of reviews — better | 78.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 462 — better | 459 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 88 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Church of the Highlands | Denison Ministries (Apps) |
Customer experience
Highlands
First15
User reviews
Highlands
From 462 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to navigate and find content
- 📖 Excellent One Year Bible reading plan feature
- 🎬 Comprehensive sermon library with live streaming
- ✨ Improved graphics and modern design
- 🙏 Spiritual growth and connection to church
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app freezing and glitching
- 🐛 Audio playback issues and stuttering
- 📱 Poor landscape mode support on iPad
- 🔊 Bluetooth connectivity problems in vehicles
- ♿ Limited accessibility features for low vision users
First15
From 459 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Meaningful daily devotional
- 🙏 Helps grow relationship with God
- 🎶 Worship music integration
- ⏱️ Consistent daily experience
- 📚 Thought-provoking content
Room to improve
- 🔇 Audio issues (volume, playback problems)
- 🔀 Abrupt transitions between sections
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate/find content
- 🔄 Repetitive/redundant content
- 🔊 Dislike of narrator's voice/tone
Bugs and requests
Highlands
Reported bugs
13 issues- Cafe order online shows church addresses instead of menu
- Cannot skip forward/backward in audio without freezing
- App freezes at half screen on iPad
- Sermon playback doesn't resume from saved position
- Screen locks cause audio to stop playing
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Glitching when using app with Waze simultaneously
- Watch message link kicks users back to previous screen
- Video content fails to load properly
- Landscape mode not supported for message viewing
- Copy-paste feature removed in recent update
- Service notes highlighting and annotation removed
- Toolbar in One Year Bible reading is distracting and won't hide
- Select all and speak function no longer works
Requested features
14 requests- Highlight and underline text in One Year Bible
- Calendar feature to track completed Bible readings
- Ability to save and access notes within app
- Blank note pages for services without outlines
- Copy and paste functionality for devotionals
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Dark mode option for One Year Bible reading
- Prayer request submission button
- Chromecast support for casting to TV
- Apple Pay integration for tithes and offerings
- Audio narration for One Year Bible readings
- Better Bluetooth integration for car audio systems
- Ability to copy location addresses for navigation apps
- Highlights Kids Studio content
- Resume playback feature for sermon progress
First15
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes/won't open
- Bookmark/save functionality issues
- Compatibility problems (e.g., iPad)
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Ability to share devotions
- Community features (comments, groups)
- Customizable text size
- Offline access
In-app purchases
Highlands
No in-app purchases
First15
No in-app purchases
