The Upper Room vs Bartlett UMC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Upper Room
This app provides daily Christian devotions and scripture readings to foster prayer and reflection. It offers two distinct devotional experiences, allowing users to connect with a global community of believers through shared meditations and lectionary-based studies.
- Daily meditations and prayers
- Scripture readings
- Audio recordings of devotions
- Lectionary-based readings
- Global community connection
- Author insights and bonus content
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Join millions of Christians around the world in prayer, reflection, and scripture reading each day. The Upper Room app offers access to two beloved devotional experiences—The Upper Room daily devotional and The Upper Room Disciplines, our year-long lectionary-based devotional. Each subscription can be enjoyed on its own or together in one convenient app. Grow closer to God through daily meditations, scripture readings, prayers, and thoughtful reflections written by believers from around the world. Every day, readers of The Upper Room share in the same story, scripture, and prayer—uniting a global community of faith. And with Disciplines, you can engage the Revised Common Lectionary through weekly themes and daily readings from trusted Christian writers and leaders. With your digital subscriptions, you’ll enjoy: • The Upper Room daily devotional – Daily meditations, prayers, audio recordings, and author insights. • The Upper Room Disciplines – Weekly and daily readings based on the Revised Common Lectionary, plus audio lectio recordings of each week’s Gospel. • Access your devotionals anytime via app, website, or daily email delivery. • Explore author bios, bonus content, and audio reflections to deepen your time with God. Whether you subscribe to one or both devotionals, The Upper Room app helps you stay grounded in prayer and connected to a worldwide community seeking daily life with God.
Bartlett UMC
Stay connected with your church community. Access the latest newsletters, social media updates, sermons, and youth news all in one place. Share your feedback and suggestions to help improve the experience.
- BUMC Newsletter access
- Church social media feed
- Latest sermons and media
- Youth newsletter updates
- User feedback integration
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The Bartlett United Methodist Church app features the BUMC Newsletter, the church social media feed, the latest sermons and other church media, and the youth newsletter. If you enjoy the app or have any suggestions, please leave a positive rating or review! Special thanks to Lynn Thompson and Joshua Tonkel for their ideas and encouragement.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bartlett UMC at 100% against The Upper Room's 38%. Bartlett UMC also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 12) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). The Upper Room's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 23 months) and ratings volume (2.5K vs 2). On price, 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. The Upper Room sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Bartlett UMC asks for nothing beyond the download.
Bartlett UMC holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Upper Room has 2.5K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of The Upper Room's written reviews are positive against 100% of Bartlett UMC's.
The Upper Room ships an update every 2 months, Bartlett UMC every 23 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Upper Room | Bartlett UMC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2.5K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 37.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.5K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 23 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #137 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 61 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Upper Room Ministries | Aaron Alexander |
Customer experience
The Upper Room
Bartlett UMC
Bugs and requests
The Upper Room
Reported bugs
40 issues- App crashes
- Login issues after updates
- Subscription not recognized
- App does not open
- Incorrect date display
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- X button difficult to close
- App is unreliable
- Notifications not working
- App freezes
- Login screen issues
- Cannot access content after subscription
- App closes after opening
- White screen before crashing
- Subscription renewal problems
- App forgets subscription
- Cannot open any day's devotional
- Article list missing dates
- Navigation arrows not functioning
- Scripture links not working
- Landscape mode not working
- App requires account and password
- App is slow to load
- App locks sideways on iPad
- App shows blank pages
- App requires online access
- App doesn't remember last read place
- Icons do not respond
- Current issue devotional not opening
- App asks to pay again after subscription
- No response from technical support
- Cannot download new issues
- Email account not associated
- App not syncing with iTunes purchase
- App not recognizing subscription
- Login with Facebook or Apple not working
- App not working after update
- App not working for months
- App not working on iPad
- App not working on iPhone X
- App not working on iPhone 5
Requested features
26 requests- Dark mode option
- Schedule notification for daily devotion
- Ability to like or agree with comments
- Select preferred Bible translation
- Ability to read in landscape view
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- Sign in with Apple option
- Allow user to select Bible translation
- Ability to read any content in the current magazine
- Include upcoming devotionals
- Use questions in the back for group discussion
- Sync subscription between iTunes and website
- Ability to read offline
- Save last read location
- Access daily verse via link
- Improve user-friendliness
- Add Kindle format option
- Provide date on article listing
- Improve navigation arrows
- Fix scripture links
- Enable landscape viewing
- Make app free or clearer pricing
- Allow access to prior downloaded editions
- Restore lost bookmarks
- Download issues without Wi-Fi
- Show date for each article
- Allow access to current day's devotional automatically
Bartlett UMC
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
The Upper Room
- Upper Room Daily Devotional$1.991 Month
- Upper Room Daily Devotional$14.991 Year
- The Upper Room - July/August 2012$2.99
- The Upper Room - July/August 2013$2.99
- The Upper Room - September/October 2014$2.99
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- The Upper Room: 20151130111351$2.99
- The Upper Room: 20151130111352$2.99
- The Upper Room: 20151130111353$2.99
- The Upper Room: 20151130111355$2.99
- The Upper Room: 20151130111356$2.99
- The Upper Room - March/April 2013$2.99
- The Upper Room: 20151130111354$2.99
Bartlett UMC
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Upper Room free?
Is Bartlett UMC free?
Which has better reviews, The Upper Room or Bartlett UMC?
Do The Upper Room or Bartlett UMC have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Upper Room or Bartlett UMC?
Other comparisons
