Comparison

Catholic Oratio vs Novena

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

Head to head
About

Catholic Oratio

This app offers a reverent space for daily Catholic devotion and reflection. Access essential prayers, follow the Rosary and Stations of the Cross, and learn about saints. Its minimal design and offline content support a focused prayer experience.

Highlights
  • Daily Catholic prayers
  • Guided Rosary by mysteries
  • Stations of the Cross
  • Order of Mass
  • Saints biographies and prayers
  • Favorite prayers
  • Offline prayer content
Features
Read full description

Catholic Oratio is a clean, reverent Catholic prayer app built to support daily devotion and reflection. Open essential prayers quickly, pray through the Rosary mystery by mystery, follow the Stations of the Cross in order, read the Order of Mass, and explore saints with short biographies and prayers tied to their witness. Features: Daily Prayers with a growing collection of classic Catholic prayers Guided Rosary with Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries Stations of the Cross with continuous next-station navigation Order of Mass from beginning to end Saints section with biographies, prayers, and images where available Favorites to save the prayers you return to most Dark, minimal design for quiet reading and prayer Catholic Oratio keeps prayer content available locally on device for a simple, focused experience.

About

Novena

This app offers guided audio and text-based Catholic novena prayers, allowing users to focus on personal intentions and daily devotion. It includes an offline Audio Bible and gentle reminders to support a consistent prayer journey.

Highlights
  • Catholic novena prayers with audio
  • Read-along prayer text
  • Personal intentions
  • Daily reminders
  • Offline Audio Bible
  • Progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Listen to Catholic novenas and carry one intention through nine days of prayer. Novena is an audio-first Catholic prayer companion for praying with the saints, following each day, and returning gently when life gets busy. Choose a novena for what you are carrying, add your intention, listen or read along, and let the app hold your place through all nine days. Novena also includes the full Catholic Bible for offline reading, with chapter audio available when connected. Pray with beloved Catholic devotions including Divine Mercy, Sacred Heart, Holy Spirit, St. Jude, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Good Health of Vailankanni, St. Joseph, St. Therese, St. Michael, St. Dymphna, St. Alphonsa, St. Francis Xavier, and more. Features: • Search by saint or intention with a clear intention filter • Audio novenas you can listen to each day • Read-along prayer text • Personal intentions for each novena • Gentle daily reminders • Progress through all nine days • Upcoming feasts and suggested novena start dates • Complete up to three prayer days per novena each day • Full Catholic Bible for offline reading • Bible chapter audio when connected • A quiet record of your prayer journey • No streak pressure, no shame if you miss a day Novena is built for Catholics who want a calmer, more consistent way to pray.

Screenshots

Catholic Oratio4 screens
Novena4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Novena at every 6 days against Catholic Oratio's every 3 weeks. Novena also leads on ratings volume (30 vs 3). Catholic Oratio's advantage is monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). On price, rating, review sentiment 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

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Catholic Oratio against 5.0 for Novena. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Novena has 30 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Catholic Oratio ships an update every 3 weeks, Novena every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Catholic Oratio versus Novena: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCatholic OratioNovena
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better5.0 (30 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings330 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size208 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuminae Crown Studio LLCDevote Good LLC

Customer experience

Catholic Oratio

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Novena

All ratings23 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Catholic Oratio

No in-app purchases

None

Novena

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Catholic Oratio free?
Catholic Oratio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Novena free?
Novena is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Catholic Oratio or Novena?
Catholic Oratio is rated higher. Catholic Oratio averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Novena averages 5.0 from 30 ratings.
Do Catholic Oratio or Novena have ads?
Neither Catholic Oratio nor Novena shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Catholic Oratio or Novena?
Catholic Oratio ships an update every 3 weeks, and Novena every 6 days. Most recently, Catholic Oratio was updated on October 31, 2026 and Novena on November 10, 2026.

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