Mary vs Ancient Faith
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mary
Explore comprehensive information on the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus. This free app provides resources on her doctrine, devotions like the interactive Rosary, and details on apparitions and pilgrimage sites. Deepen your understanding and devotion to Mary to grow closer to Jesus.
- Interactive Rosary with audio
- Marian Dogmas and Titles
- Marian Feasts and Prayers
- Images and Apparitions of Mary
- Pilgrimage Sites information
- Information on Marian Fathers
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The Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, creators of the popular DIVINE MERCY APP, are pleased to release the MARY APP. This FREE app offers a complete resource for information on the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, in an easy to navigate format. The app has three main chapters with these features: DOCTRINE • Introduction to Mary • Marian Dogmas • Titles of Mary • Marian Timeline • FAQs • Resources DEVOTION • Interactive Rosary with an audio option • Marian Consecration • Marian Sacramentals • Marian Feasts • Marian Chaplets • Marian Prayers MARY PLUS • Images of Mary • Apparitions • Pilgrimage Sites • Information about the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception • Introduction to the Association of Marian Helpers • Link to online religious catalog Mary’s whole task is to lead us closer to Jesus. The more we get to know her and have a fervent devotion to her, the better she can lead us to her Son. For this reason, the Second Vatican Council states, “Everyone should have a genuine devotion to [Mary] and entrust his life to her motherly care.”
Ancient Faith
Access a vast library of Orthodox Christian audio and video content, including live radio, podcasts, and call-in shows. This app provides educational and edifying media to deepen your spiritual life and connect with the Holy Orthodox Church.
- 24-hour Orthodox radio stations
- Live call-in programs
- Downloadable podcasts
- Audio and video programming
- Access to Ancient Faith Store
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The official app of Ancient Faith Ministries, offering a wide range of audio and video programming, including three 24-hour internet-based Orthodox radio stations, live call-in programs, an extensive collection of downloadable podcasts, and access to the Ancient Faith Store. Ancient Faith Ministries exists to carry out the Great Commission of Jesus Christ through accessible and excellently-crafted publications and creative media that educate, edify, and evangelize, leading to a living experience of God through His Holy Orthodox Church. For more information about us, please visit https://www.ancientfaith.com.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Mary at 92% against Ancient Faith's 43%. Mary also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.9) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.4). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Mary holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 545 and 198 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Mary's written reviews are positive against 43% of Ancient Faith's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mary | Ancient Faith |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (545 ratings) — better | 3.9 (198 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.2% of reviews — better | 43.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 545 — better | 198 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 57 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception | Ancient Faith Ministries |
Customer experience
Mary
Ancient Faith
User reviews
Mary
From 545 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🙏 Helpful for prayer life
- 🌟 Excellent app for learning about Mary
- 🎨 Beautiful design and visuals
- 🔊 Soothing narration voice
Room to improve
- 🐛 Audio issues (cutting out, repeating)
- 🔍 Difficulty navigating/tracking progress
- 🔌 Compatibility issues with iOS 11 and newer
- 🔇 Lack of customization options (volume, speed)
Ancient Faith
From 198 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📚 Extensive library of Orthodox podcasts and content
- 🎵 High-quality sacred music and chants
- ✨ Spiritually enriching and edifying material
- 🎯 Helpful for those discovering Orthodoxy
- 📱 Modern, clean app design and interface
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
- 🔐 Constant forced logout issues
- ⏱️ Slow app loading and performance
- 🎙️ Radio streaming frequently fails or cuts out
- 📍 Difficult navigation and search functionality
Bugs and requests
Mary
Reported bugs
2 issues- Rosary prayers not proceeding correctly after Luminous Mysteries
- App not compatible with latest iOS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Add Latin audio/text option for rosary
- Include Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Implement vibration patterns to distinguish rosary mysteries
- Add ability to pause/resume rosary without losing progress
Ancient Faith
Reported bugs
17 issues- Login credentials not persisted between sessions
- App crashes on startup or during playback
- Radio streams stop after 20 seconds
- Playback position not saved when closing app
- App freezes when switching between streams
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Registration button unresponsive
- Streaming fails when switching between WiFi and cellular
- Downloads fail or become corrupted
- App won't play content offline
- Search function slow or non-functional
- Broken links to wrong episodes
- Playback stops when phone goes to sleep
- Duplicate audio playback from multiple streams
- App crashes when multitasking
- Error messages about loading favorites/following
- Accessibility issues with screen readers
- Incompatibility with Apple TV tvOS 17.6
Requested features
14 requests- Favorites/bookmarking system for podcasts
- Search functionality for podcasts and content
- Ability to download entire podcast series
- Notifications for new episodes from followed creators
- Bulk download management
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- CarPlay and Apple TV support
- Desktop/web integration with app progress sync
- Podcast series subscriptions
- Streaming quality selection for data management
- Continue listening feature that remembers position
- Listened/unlistened status tracking
- Filter by following/favorites
- Background playback without app being open
- Persistent login sessions
In-app purchases
Mary
No in-app purchases
Ancient Faith
No in-app purchases
