The Catholic Thing vs TAN Direction
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Catholic Thing
This app provides a platform for thoughtful Catholic commentary and discussion. It serves as a forum for intelligent perspectives on faith and culture. Access insightful articles and engage with a community of Catholic thinkers.
- Intelligent Catholic commentary
- Forum for discussion
- Faith and culture perspectives
- Insightful articles
- Community engagement
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The Catholic Thing is a forum for intelligent Catholic commentary.
TAN Direction
Explore spiritual wisdom from saints and Catholic authors to deepen your faith. This app offers resources for those seeking Christian perfection and a transformed spiritual journey.
- Spiritual wisdom of saints
- Resources from Catholic authors
- Deepen faith
- Transform spiritual journey
- Pursue Christian perfection
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Discover the spiritual wisdom of the saints and faithful Catholic authors with the TAN Direction app. Designed for Catholics striving to reach the heights of Christian perfection and sanctity, this app provides resources to deepen your faith and transform your spiritual journey.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: TAN Direction at 50% against The Catholic Thing's 0%. TAN Direction also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 9 months) and rating (4.7 vs 4.4). The Catholic Thing's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 52) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume 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. TAN Direction sells 14 one-off in-app purchases. The Catholic Thing asks for nothing beyond the download.
TAN Direction holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of The Catholic Thing's written reviews are positive against 50% of TAN Direction's.
The Catholic Thing ships an update every 9 months, TAN Direction every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 19, 2026 and September 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Catholic Thing | TAN Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (16 ratings) | 4.7 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 80 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Slynet Communications, Inc | SAINT BENDICT PRESS LLC |
Customer experience
The Catholic Thing
TAN Direction
In-app purchases
The Catholic Thing
No in-app purchases
TAN Direction
- Tan Books$9.00
- The Sacraments$10.00
- Doors of Mercy$10.00
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- Kingdom of happiness$10.00
- Tan Books$13.00
- Tan Books2 variants$14.00
- Tan Books4 variants$20.00
- Tan Books6 variants$24.00
- Tan Books30 variants$39.00
- The Ancient World$39.00
- The Medieval World$39.00
- The Making of the Modern World$39.00
- History of the United States$39.00
- Tan Books$149.00
Questions
Is The Catholic Thing free?
Is TAN Direction free?
Which has better reviews, The Catholic Thing or TAN Direction?
Do The Catholic Thing or TAN Direction have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Catholic Thing or TAN Direction?
Other comparisons
