First Principles vs The Listener's Commentary
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
First Principles
Access your favorite scripture study series offline and share verses easily. Expand references with a tap, copy text for sharing, and adjust text size for comfortable reading. Report errors or suggest improvements directly through the app.
- Offline scripture access
- Expand scripture references
- Copy and paste scripture text
- Adjustable text size
- In-app feedback
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Have you ever wanted to share a scripture with someone but didn't have your Bible with you, or couldn't remember the reference? Now you can have all the scriptures of your favorite study series with you everywhere you go. You can always be ready to make the most of every opportunity! "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 1 Peter 3:15 — — — — — — — — — — — — Helpful Tips: You can search for a study series, or search within all study content, by tapping the menu button in the library and selecting "Search". You can reorder your study series to put your favorites first by tapping the menu button in the library and selecting "Reorder Studies", then dragging studies into the order you like. Your order is saved automatically. You can expand any underlined scripture reference to the full scripture by just tapping on it. You can get the definition of almost any word in a study by tapping and holding on the word to select it, then tapping Define on the selection popup menu. You can copy part or all of a study and then paste it into another app or into an email to send to a friend. Just tap and hold on the text you want to select, then use the blue selection dots to expand the selection. Then tap Copy on the selection popup menu and paste into another app. You can change the text size and font in the studies by tapping the Aa button in the top right of any study. If you see any formatting or content errors in any of the studies, or if you have ideas on how we can improve the app, tap the menu button in the library and tap "Email Feedback".
The Listener's Commentary
Access clear and accessible audio commentaries on New Testament Bible books. Study scripture with down-to-earth teaching designed to help you live a life inspired by Jesus. Download episodes for offline listening and organize your study with playlists and favorites.
- Audio commentaries on New Testament
- Browse by Bible book
- Download episodes for offline listening
- Search content
- Filter episodes
- Add to favorites
- Create playlists
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Clear, accessible Bible teaching. Audio commentaries on the New Testament. Browse by book to easily find what you are looking for. Download episodes for offline listening. Search content, filter episodes, add to favorites, create a playlist and more! Down to earth Bible teaching, designed to help you live life Jesus' way.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The Listener's Commentary at none against First Principles's 7. The Listener's Commentary also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (95% vs 86%). First Principles's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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 Principles sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. The Listener's Commentary asks for nothing beyond the download.
The Listener's Commentary holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 49 and 31 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of First Principles's written reviews are positive against 95% of The Listener's Commentary's.
First Principles ships an update every 3 days, The Listener's Commentary every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | First Principles | The Listener's Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (49 ratings) | 4.7 (31 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.9% of reviews | 95.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 49 — better | 31 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CheapBrain | Bible in Life, LLC |
Customer experience
First Principles
The Listener's Commentary
Bugs and requests
First Principles
Reported bugs
6 issues- Studies not visible in list view
- Latest update broke study visibility
- Blank screen when opening studies
- App crashes frequently
- Font is wonky
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- Paid twice for app/studies
Requested features
9 requests- Print options for studies
- Ability to see additional books
- More studies available
- Dark mode
- Advanced analytics dashboard
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- Translate into any language
- Repentance and Baptism studies added
- Prepared to Answer content
- More churches sharing their studies
The Listener's Commentary
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
First Principles
- Knowing God Study Series$0.99
- First Principles, 1993 Version$0.99
- Boston Church of Christ Study Series$0.99
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- Hampton Roads Bible Study Series$0.99
- Foundations of the Faith$0.99
- Foundations of Faith$0.99
- Greater Philadelphia Church of Christ Bible Studies Quick Reference Guide$0.99
The Listener's Commentary
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is First Principles free?
Is The Listener's Commentary free?
Which has better reviews, First Principles or The Listener's Commentary?
Do First Principles or The Listener's Commentary have ads?
Which is updated more often, First Principles or The Listener's Commentary?
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