Comparison

Mary vs Holy Rosary

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Interactive Rosary with audio
  • Marian Dogmas and Titles
  • Marian Feasts and Prayers
  • Images and Apparitions of Mary
  • Pilgrimage Sites information
  • Information on Marian Fathers
Features
Read full description

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.”

About

Holy Rosary

This app guides users through praying the Holy Rosary with scriptural passages read before each Hail Mary. It automatically loads the correct mysteries for the day, including seasonal variations for Sundays, and allows manual selection. Audio recordings from Catholic University students enhance the prayer experience.

Highlights
  • Scriptural passages before each Hail Mary
  • Automatic daily mystery loading
  • Seasonal mystery selection for Sundays
  • Manual mystery selection
  • Audio recordings by Catholic University students
  • Pray on-the-go functionality
Features
Read full description

Holy Rosary - Scriptural Edition, featuring audio recordings of students from the Catholic Franciscan University of Steubenville. The appropriate mystery is loaded for that particular day when the application launches. For Sundays, the mysteries are chosen based on the current liturgical season. You can also manually choose which mysteries you would like to pray along with by tapping the image on the screen and choosing from the menu. A passage of scripture is read prior to each Hail Mary which helps us to dive deeper into the mysteries of the rosary as we ponder our Lord's birth, life, death and resurrection. Many people use this at night before they go to bed, or listen/pray along while they are in their cars or on-the-go. Just launch, press play and pray!

Screenshots

Mary4 screens
Holy Rosary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Holy Rosary at 9.1 against Mary's 12.0. 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Holy Rosary holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 544 and 597 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Mary's written reviews are positive against 99% of Holy Rosary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mary ships an update every 3 months, Holy Rosary every 5 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Mary versus Holy Rosary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMaryHoly Rosary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (544 ratings)4.9 (597 ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.2% of reviews98.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings544597 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.09.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB67 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarian Fathers of the Immaculate ConceptionJoe Meineke

Customer experience

Mary

All ratings509 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral3.1%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive92.2%
Neutral3.1%
Negative4.7%

Holy Rosary

All ratings569 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive98.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative1.1%

User reviews

Mary

From 544 App Store ratings

What 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)

Holy Rosary

From 597 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Meaningful meditation on the mysteries
  • 🙏 Helpful for daily prayer routine
  • 🎨 Beautiful imagery
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 🎙️ Pleasant and soothing narration

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional technical issues like freezing or jumping back in the prayer
  • 🎨 Some users desire more racially inclusive imagery
  • 🔍 Difficulty skipping ahead or going to a specific mystery

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

Holy Rosary

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Inconsistent wording in some prayers
  • Background noise distracting in certain mysteries

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add the traditional concluding prayer
  • Offer the rosary in additional languages
  • Provide an option to display the current bead/decade

In-app purchases

None

Mary

No in-app purchases

None

Holy Rosary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mary free?
Mary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Holy Rosary free?
Holy Rosary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mary or Holy Rosary?
Holy Rosary is rated higher. Mary averages 4.7 out of 5 from 544 ratings, while Holy Rosary averages 4.9 from 597 ratings.
Do Mary or Holy Rosary have ads?
Neither Mary nor Holy Rosary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mary or Holy Rosary?
Mary ships an update every 3 months, and Holy Rosary every 5 months. Most recently, Mary was updated on October 24, 2026 and Holy Rosary on October 24, 2026.

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