Comparison

iConfess vs Shrive

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

Head to head
About

iConfess

This app guides users through the Sacrament of Confession with detailed examinations of conscience, prayers, and educational resources. It also offers guided Rosary and Litany prayers with professional narration and progress tracking.

Highlights
  • Guided Rosary and Litany with audio narration
  • Comprehensive examination of conscience
  • Collection of Catholic prayers
  • Educational resources on confession
  • Progress tracking for prayers
  • Smart search for examination topics
Features
Read full description

Prepare for a good confession, pray the Rosary, and keep a private record of your spiritual life — all in one calm, beautiful app. Your confession stays between you and God. Everything you write in iConfess is kept only on your device, encrypted. Never uploaded, never shared, never seen by anyone else. No account, no cloud, no tracking, no ads. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • All data stays on your iPhone or iPad, encrypted • Face ID / Touch ID lock, asked when you open the app or return after 30 seconds • Optional app password • Passphrase-protected backup file that you save wherever you choose — iConfess never uploads it • No accounts, no analytics, no tracking EXAMINE YOUR CONSCIENCE • My Focus Areas — the struggles you chose to watch, always first • Daily Examination — a few honest questions for each day, with Confess and Focus buttons • Ten Commandments — a thorough examination, commandment by commandment • Other Examinations — capital sins, precepts of the Church, theological virtues, sins of omission • Add your own in your own words — it goes straight to My list • Personal notes on any question CONFESS • My list gathers everything you want to confess • Step-by-step Guide: what to say and what to expect • Finish confession to log the priest's advice, your penance and resolutions — your list clears itself • Penance reminder with links to the prayers you were given PRAY • Guided Holy Rosary with audio — all four mystery sets, today's mysteries suggested • Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary with audio • Background audio with lock screen controls • Prayers before, during and after confession, and everyday prayers • Favorites at the top for the prayers you bookmark JOURNAL • Confession log with dates, advice and penance • Resolutions — grouped into Working on and Kept • My Notes and Saved prayers and readings LEARN • What confession is, how to go, and how to make a good examination • Clear, faithful explanations of mortal and venial sin DESIGNED FOR YOU • Soft, readable design in light and dark mode • iPad sidebar layout • Works fully offline Free. No ads. Made with love for the faithful. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins." — 1 John 1:9

About

Shrive

This app helps Catholics prepare for and engage in the sacrament of confession. It allows users to privately log sins, track the date of their last confession, and provides a comprehensive guide for the confession process. The goal is to facilitate a deeper spiritual connection.

Highlights
  • Log sins privately
  • Track last confession date
  • Comprehensive confession guide
  • Spiritual preparation tool
  • Widgets for confession tracking
Read full description

Shrive is the ULTIMATE confession App for Catholics providing a variety of features for preparation of the sacrament. LOG YOUR SINS: Safely and privately record all of your sins so you will easily be able to read them off to the priest. REFLECT: Easily reflect before confession or even when in the confession like to help you make the most honest confession SEE WHEN YOUR LAST CONFESSION WAS: Shrive will automatically keep track when you go to confession. Upon first launch, it will ask you approximately when you last went to confession. Shrive also has widgets that count up to when you were last at confession. COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO CONFESSION: Whether this is your first or you’ve been confessing for 20 years, we understand that you may get nervous. Shrive will show you exactly what you got to say to the priest in the “Confession Time” menu including the Act of Contrition, your sins, and when your last confession was. GET CLOSER TO GOD: Logging your sins the moment you realize them will make you more likely to get to Heaven. Note: Shrive is NOT a replacement for the sacrament of reconciliation, rather it's a resource that you can use in confession to help you get closer to God.

Screenshots

iConfess4 screens
Shrive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Shrive at 100% against iConfess's 0%. Shrive also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). iConfess's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Shrive holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shrive has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of iConfess's written reviews are positive against 100% of Shrive's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iConfess ships an update every 3 months, Shrive every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
iConfess versus Shrive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriConfessShrive
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.4
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB15 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBlueinstinct App SolutionsWilliam Gallegos

Customer experience

iConfess

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

Shrive

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

iConfess

No in-app purchases

None

Shrive

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is iConfess free?
iConfess is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shrive free?
Shrive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iConfess or Shrive?
Shrive is rated higher. iConfess averages 3.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Shrive averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do iConfess or Shrive have ads?
Neither iConfess nor Shrive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iConfess or Shrive?
iConfess ships an update every 3 months, and Shrive every 3 weeks. Most recently, iConfess was updated on October 30, 2026 and Shrive on October 30, 2026.

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