Comparison

Lux Bible vs Layman Bible

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

Head to head
About

Lux Bible

A modern Bible study app offering offline access to original language texts, interlinear translations, and powerful search tools. It provides in-depth study features like Strong's numbers, cross-references, and commentary, all within a user-friendly interface.

Highlights
  • Interlinear Greek and Hebrew texts
  • Strong's lexicon and numbers
  • Cross-references and commentary
  • Side-by-side translation comparison
  • Advanced scripture search
  • Offline access to multiple translations
  • Original language Bibles
Features
Read full description

Lux Bible brings in-depth Bible study into a calm, modern reading experience. Read Scripture, take notes, explore Greek and Hebrew, dig into study notes, maps, and videos, and follow reading plans without ads, subscriptions, purchases, or an account. Powerful enough for serious study and clean enough for everyday reading. READ Choose from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), Majority Standard Bible (MSB), Christian Standard Bible (CSB), King James Version (KJV), American Standard Version (ASV), and World English Bible (WEB), available offline. AMP, NIV, NASB95, NLT, and NKJV are also available online. Additional Dutch, French, Spanish, German, Romanian, Russian, and Tagalog translations are available. Read the original texts offline with the Greek Septuagint, Textus Receptus, Byzantine Textform, Statistical Restoration Greek New Testament, and Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible. Listen to the BSB or KJV with playback speed controls, a sleep timer, and background playback. Begin each day with Verse of the Day, also available as a Home Screen widget, and set daily reminders for it or any active reading plan. Choose an included plan or create your own from passages or selected books and a duration. Import and share plans as files, follow more than one plan, and track your progress. NOTE Highlight verses, words, or phrases with color, an outline, or one of several underlines, and mark them with icons. Add notes, create your own highlight styles, and organize everything into notebooks you can share as files. Filter your annotations or hide a notebook when you want a cleaner reading view. STUDY THE TEXT Tap any word to see its Greek or Hebrew root, Strong's number, morphology, and inflection. Lux makes original-language study approachable without making the rest of the app feel like academic software. - Explore a full Greek and Hebrew interlinear - Search words, phrases, or Strong's numbers - Compare translations side by side - Follow cross-references powered by OpenBible - Look up Greek and Hebrew words in Strong's Lexicon EVERYTHING ON THE PASSAGE Open Linked Resources on any chapter or verse to see what connects to it: the people and themes it involves, dictionary articles, maps, videos, and the creeds and catechisms that cite it. Pin it as a study panel and it follows along as you read. - Read Tyndale Study Notes, with book introductions and "at a glance" summaries, alongside commentary from Matthew Henry, John Calvin, and Jamieson-Fausset-Brown - Look up people, places, and topics in the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary - Zoom into 70 Bible maps of journeys, battles, and regions - Watch 264 BibleProject videos, each linked to the passages it explains - Read 35 historic creeds, confessions, and catechisms with their Scripture proofs MAKE IT YOURS Start with a Reader, Note-taker, or Studier setup, then customize your toolbars and shortcuts. Keep parallel Bibles, interlinear study, commentary, cross-references, and notes open in swipeable study panels while you read. On iPad, panels sit right beside the text. FREE, PRIVATE, AND OFFLINE-FIRST Bundled Bibles, original-language texts, notes, and study resources work without a connection, while BibleProject videos stream online. Your content stays on your device. Lux has no ads, subscriptions, in-app purchases, or accounts. Privacy-respecting analytics and crash reports help improve features and reliability, and are never used for ads, personalization, or cross-app tracking. Lux is free and committed to staying that way.

About

Layman Bible

Understand the Bible with simple, plain-language explanations for every verse. Access cultural context, historical timelines, and word studies. Customize your reading experience and track progress with this offline study tool.

Highlights
  • Plain-language verse explanations
  • Cultural and historical context layers
  • Cross-references and word studies
  • Personal notes and verse tagging
  • Offline access to all content
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Reading plans and progress tracking
Features
Read full description

The Bible is one of the most important books ever written — but let's be honest, it can be really hard to understand. Ancient customs, unfamiliar names, and 2,000+ years of cultural distance make it tough to know what's actually going on. Layman Bible fixes that. Every single verse across all 66 books comes with a plain-language explanation written like a friend is sitting next to you, helping you understand what you're reading. No seminary degree required. TAP ANY VERSE TO UNDERSTAND IT Just tap a verse and get a clear, simple explanation of what it means and why it matters. No more guessing or skipping over confusing passages. LAYERS OF CONTEXT Toggle on and off the layers you want: - Verse Explainers — what each verse means in plain English - Cultural Notes — customs and traditions that shaped the text - Cross-References — related passages elsewhere in the Bible - Then vs Now — how ancient practices connect to modern life - People Profiles — who's who, with bios and background - Word Studies — original Greek and Hebrew meanings - Places — locations with descriptions and modern equivalents - Timelines — key events in historical order READING PLANS — FREE Guided reading plans from 30 days to 5 years: Bible in a Year, Chronological, Gospels in 30 Days, Psalms & Proverbs, Prophets in 90 Days, Bible in 90 Days, and more. Run as many plans at once as you like — each one tracks its own progress, day count, and whether you're ahead or behind. Watch a short ad to unlock a plan free for 7 days. Skip a day or take a rest day anytime; the plan adjusts around you. LISTEN — FREE Have chapters read aloud while you follow along, with the current verse highlighted as it's spoken. - Keeps playing with your screen off or the app in the background - Automatically continues into the next chapter — or the next reading in your plan - Play, pause, and skip from your lock screen or Control Center - Adjustable speed Watch a short ad to unlock audio free for 7 days. BUILT FOR YOUR STUDY - Highlight verses in 5 colors - Bookmark and tag verses (Memorize, Pray, Question, Study) - Add personal notes to any verse - Search across the entire Bible - Export your study notes - Track reading streaks and progress - View stats with a 28-day activity heatmap BIG THEMES Explore the major themes that run through the entire Bible — like Salvation, Love, and more — with overviews tracing each theme from Old Testament to New. COMPLETELY OFFLINE All 31,000+ verse explanations are stored on your device. No internet required. No account needed. No tracking. CUSTOMIZE EVERYTHING - Adjust font size - Pick your theme (light, dark, or system) - Set which context layers show by default - Customize colors for each explainer type - Set daily reading reminders FREE — NO PURCHASE REQUIRED The full Bible text and all 31,000+ verse explanations are completely free. Reading plans and audio are free too — just watch a short ad to unlock them for 7 days at a time. Prefer no ads at all? An optional Pro subscription ($0.99/month or $9.99/year, auto-renewing) removes all ads — including rewarded ads — and gives you unlimited access to every reading plan and audio playback with nothing to watch. Uses the World English Bible (WEB), a modern public domain translation. Explanations are AI-generated and reviewed for accuracy. Not a replacement for pastoral guidance. Privacy Policy: https://drmcgill2126.github.io/michaelmcgillapps/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://drmcgill2126.github.io/michaelmcgillapps/terms.html

Screenshots

Lux Bible4 screens
Layman Bible4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Lux Bible at 100% against Layman Bible's 0%. Lux Bible also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Layman Bible sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Lux Bible asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lux Bible holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 18 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Lux Bible's written reviews are positive against 0% of Layman Bible's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lux Bible ships an update every 4 days, Layman Bible every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Lux Bible versus Layman Bible: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLux BibleLayman Bible
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (18 ratings) — better4.5 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings18 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size333 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJLogical LLCMichael McGill apps llc

Customer experience

Lux Bible

All ratings18 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Layman Bible

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

Lux Bible

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Layman Bible

Subscriptions2
  • Layman Bible Pro (Monthly)$0.991 Month
  • Layman Bible Pro (Annual)$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Lux Bible free?
Lux Bible is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Layman Bible free?
Layman Bible is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lux Bible or Layman Bible?
Lux Bible is rated higher. Lux Bible averages 4.7 out of 5 from 18 ratings, while Layman Bible averages 4.5 from 6 ratings.
Do Lux Bible or Layman Bible have ads?
Layman Bible shows ads; Lux Bible does not.
Which is updated more often, Lux Bible or Layman Bible?
Lux Bible ships an update every 4 days, and Layman Bible every 5 weeks. Most recently, Lux Bible was updated on October 24, 2026 and Layman Bible on October 24, 2026.

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