Epistle vs Ministry Margin Directory
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Epistle
This app facilitates communication and financial support for missionaries. It allows for easy sharing of ministry updates with photos and videos, automatically sending them to ministry partners who can respond with engagement. It simplifies the process of connecting with supporters and managing ministry outreach.
- Share ministry updates with photos and video
- Automatic update distribution to partners
- Ministry partner engagement (likes, prayers, comments)
- Manage ministry sites
- Connect with ministry partners
- Automated email platform
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Epistle is used by thousands of missionaries to stay connected and funded. It has never been easier to share ministry updates with photos and video. No more hassle with email templates, scheduling, etc. Epistle sends your updates to ministry partners, automatically, using our world-class email platform and gives them the opportunity to respond with likes, prayers and comments. Both missionaries and ministry partners love Epistle: "The greatest thing I could do for my ministry partners." "HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Do the two week trial." Supporter: "I feel confident I'm investing well." With paid Epistle subscription you can manage your Epistle site, send updates, and connect with ministry partners. Ministry partners can access Epistle sites to read and respond to your updates without payment. Terms of Use: https://www.epistle.org/terms-of-use/
Ministry Margin Directory
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Your people, close at hand. Ministry Margin Directory brings your church directory, private prayer requests, and care milestones together on iPhone, iPhone Duo, and iPad. Built for pastors, elders, staff, and ministry leaders, it helps you find a person, reach out, remember a care date, and return to prayer. YOUR CHURCH DIRECTORY Find people by name, phone number, or address. Open a contact card to call, text, email, get directions, or explicitly save that person to Contacts. Switch among your available directory lists. Permitted directory information is prepared for offline use. MAKE TIME TO PRAY Today offers a daily selection of people from your directory, with the option to include particular people or requests every day. Mark someone Prayed or move them Later. Keep general or person-linked requests organized as active, ongoing, or answered. REMEMBER WHAT MATTERS See the next three months of directory birthdays and anniversaries alongside the private care dates you record, including baptisms, new jobs, surgeries, and other meaningful moments. CARE WITH CONTEXT See permitted household members together. Explore People Map to understand where households live, or open Nearby from a contact card to see people close to that person. Nearby uses coordinate distance, not driving time. MADE FOR THE SCREEN IN FRONT OF YOU Use a focused layout on iPhone, an expanded workspace on iPad, and layouts for both displays of iPhone Duo. Your directory, contact cards, and prayer work adapt as the available space changes. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Prayer requests and the milestones you create are private app data. They are never written back to your church directory. When you enable iCloud Sync, supported private data syncs through your own private iCloud account. The app has no intermediary server, ads, analytics, or third-party tracking. Map preparation sends addresses directly to Apple’s geocoding service; Directory does not request your current location. TRY THE FICTIONAL DEMO Try Demo Directory without a subscription or signing in. Its sample people, portraits, contact information, households, prayers, and milestones are fictional and stored locally. LIVE ACCESS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS Live directory access requires an existing Planning Center People account with suitable permissions and an active Monthly or Yearly auto-renewable subscription. Eligible new subscribers can start a 7-day trial. Pricing and renewal terms are shown before purchase. Manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple account settings. Privacy Policy: https://ministrymargin.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Ministry Margin Directory at every 4 days against Epistle's every 3 weeks. Epistle's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Epistle sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month and Ministry Margin Directory sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Epistle ships an update every 3 weeks, Ministry Margin Directory every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Epistle | Ministry Margin Directory |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (12 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 12 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Epistle LLC | JONATHAN DAVID KIEDROWSKI |
In-app purchases
Epistle
- One Epistle Site$17.991 Month
- Two Epistle Sites$39.991 Month
- Three Epistle Sites$59.991 Month
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- Four Epistle Sites$79.991 Month
- Five Epistle Sites$89.991 Month
Ministry Margin Directory
- Ministry Margin Directory Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Ministry Margin Directory Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
Questions
Is Epistle free?
Is Ministry Margin Directory free?
Do Epistle or Ministry Margin Directory have ads?
Which is updated more often, Epistle or Ministry Margin Directory?
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