Pray Always † vs The Encounter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pray Always †
This app provides an Orthodox Christian prayer book to help users maintain their daily prayer life, even with busy schedules. It aims to make prayer accessible for everyone, facilitating a consistent spiritual practice.
- Orthodox Christian prayer book
- Daily prayer guidance
- Accessible for busy schedules
- Facilitates consistent prayer life
- Spiritual practice tool
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Take your prayer book with you with Pray Always † for iOS. Daily prayer is essential to a healthy Orthodox Christian life. With today's busy schedules, not everyone has as much time as they desire for their prayer life. The goal for this app is to allow even the busiest to take time to pray.
The Encounter
This app provides daily Orthodox prayers, scripture readings, saint stories, and hymns to help users establish a consistent prayer rhythm. It offers guided prayers, a library for various occasions, and sacred music to foster a deeper connection with faith.
- Daily Morning, Noonday, and Evening Prayers
- Guided prayers with text and audio
- Daily Gospel and Epistle scripture readings
- Prayer library for various occasions
- Saint of the Day profiles
- Orthodox chant and hymns
- Book of Psalms
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When we fall out of the rhythm of daily prayer, we feel it. Life gets noisier. We feel scattered. And slowly, we drift from the One who gives us life. The Encounter is a free Orthodox prayer app that brings the daily prayers of the Church, Scripture readings, saint stories, and sacred hymns together in one peaceful place—so you can stay connected to God throughout your day. Whether you’re just beginning or longing to go deeper, The Encounter meets you right where you are and helps you build a daily rhythm of prayer that draws you closer to Christ. Simple Tools for a Steady Prayer Rhythm: Morning, Noonday, and Evening Prayers Gentle reminders and guided prayers (available in text and audio) to help you build a steady rhythm of prayer throughout your day. Daily Gospel and Epistle Scripture Readings Short, meaningful readings from the Church’s Lectionary in both text and audio. Prayer Library for Every Occasion Find prayers for joy, grief, uncertainty, and everything in between. Meet the Saint of the Day Learn from the saints through readings of their lives, videos, and a hymn of the day for each saint. Sacred Music Enter into prayer with peaceful Orthodox chant and choral hymnography reflecting a variety of Orthodox Christian traditions. Daily Quote from the Church Fathers Reflect on the wisdom from saints and elders of the Church. Orthodox Word of the Day A daily word to deepen your understanding of Orthodox faith and tradition. Book of Psalms Access all 150 Psalms in text and beautifully recorded audio. A Peaceful, Prayerful Atmosphere From the moment you open the app, you’ll experience calming music and thoughtful design to help you be still and focus on God. And more—designed to help you grow in Christ and stay consistent in prayer. By using this app, you agree to Apple’s Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pray Always † at 82% against The Encounter's 59%. Pray Always † also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Pray Always † sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and The Encounter sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pray Always † holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 69 and 55 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Pray Always †'s written reviews are positive against 59% of The Encounter's.
Pray Always † ships an update monthly, The Encounter every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pray Always † | The Encounter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (69 ratings) — better | 4.5 (55 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 81.8% of reviews — better | 58.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 69 — better | 55 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 82 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Negnet Solutions | Faithtree Resources |
Customer experience
Pray Always †
The Encounter
Bugs and requests
Pray Always †
Reported bugs
7 issues- Inserted images will not load
- App is frozen and won't scroll
- App freezes up after update
- App is frozen
- Cannot use the app at all, it is frozen
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- Subscription doesn't show in Apple account but charged monthly
- Cannot cancel subscription in app or Apple account
Requested features
27 requests- Add prayers for before and after meals
- Ability to select text
- Include Paschal hours
- Hymns from Triodion and Pentecostarion
- Section on Confession
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- Ability to add more prayers to sections
- Add own prayer rule
- Include Fifth prayer of St Macarius
- Include ninth prayer of Peter the Studite
- Adjust dark/night mode with system settings
- Include hymns from Lenten Triodion and Holy Week
- Include basic Kontakia for Pre-Lent and Great Lent
- Include Prayer of St Ephraim the Syrian
- Add The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
- Add Vespers & Matins
- Add more Akathists, Canons, and Troparion/Kontakion
- Personalize and add own prayers
- Include Orthodox prayer for pets
- Include more icons
- Copy of the Divine Liturgy text
- Update Jesus Prayer page with an icon of Christ
- Include an icon gallery
- Include St. Brigid of Kildare
- Make modern English translation available
- Add more prayers like Jordanville Prayer Book
- Add customization for Patron saint, Hierarchs, Spiritual Father, Living & Departed names
- Backup customizations to iCloud
The Encounter
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pray Always †
- Full Version$2.99
The Encounter
- Premium Content7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Premium Monthly Subscription$3.991 Month
- Premium yearly subscription$39.991 Year
