Comparison

Study by A1 vs Vantage Bible

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

Head to head
About

Study by A1

Features
Read full description

Study by A1:8 is a free Bible study app for people who want to go deeper than a verse of the day. Read in five translations side by side. Pull up nineteen classic commentaries — Matthew Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Scofield and more — on the passage in front of you, without leaving it. Look up a word in any of twenty-five dictionaries. Follow a reading plan. Keep what you find. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Read five Bible translations, with parallel view • Study nineteen commentaries, verse by verse • Search twenty-five-plus Bible dictionaries and word studies • Take notes on any verse, and keep them • Highlight in multiple colours, and organise highlights into collections • Write longer thoughts and full messages in a proper editor • Bookmark passages and build collections • Follow reading plans and track your progress • Search across everything you have written WORKS OFFLINE Download translations, commentaries and dictionaries to your device and use them with no connection at all — on a plane, in a basement, anywhere. Notes, highlights and messages you write offline are saved on the device and sync the moment you are back. Nothing waits on a signal. EVERYTHING SYNCS Sign in once and your notes, highlights, bookmarks and messages follow you between your phone, your tablet and the web. Start a thought on your phone and finish it on a laptop. FREE, WITH NO PAYWALL The app is free. There is no subscription, no trial, no locked chapters and no ads. Everything described above is included. Study is part of the A1:8 family of tools for churches and the people in them. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses... to the end of the earth." — Acts 1:8

About

Vantage Bible

Explore the Bible with side-by-side translations and in-depth study tools. Understand passages with plain-English explanations, cross-references, and commentary. Listen to narrated chapters and track your reading progress.

Highlights
  • Side-by-side Bible translations (KJV, BSB)
  • Plain-English passage explanations
  • Verse-by-verse study notes and commentary
  • Audio narration of chapters
  • Highlighting, annotation, and bookmarking
  • Reading plans
  • Cross-reference mapping
Features
Read full description

Vantage Bible is the whole Bible, read side by side: the King James text of 1611, verbatim, or the Berean Standard Bible, a modern translation in the public domain, with a plain-English rendering of every verse a tap away. Tap any verse and the passage it belongs to opens: its name, what it means in plain English, and a Go deeper ladder of background, verse-by-verse study notes, cross-references that link straight to the verse they cite, and questions to sit with. All 66 books. Every one of the 6,285 passages. READ • The King James Version, verbatim, or the Berean Standard Bible. Both are bundled, so the whole Bible works with no connection at all • A plain-English rendering beside the text, written for this reader, or hidden until you want it • The words of Jesus in red • Four verse styles, eleven colour themes, ten reading fonts, one chapter at a time or the whole book • Pick up where you stopped LISTEN • Every chapter narrated, in either translation, with the verse being read lit as you follow • Plays on through the next chapter and the next: on the road, with the screen off, from the lock screen STUDY • Passage meanings and Go deeper for all 6,285 passages • 4,854 study notes across the New Testament, drawn from public-domain commentaries • The Greek behind the words: Strong's numbers for every tagged word in the New Testament • A map of every cross-reference in the Bible, 344,756 links drawn as one picture, and the verses behind each one • Verses for real life: 32 topics for grief, money, fear, marriage and work, and what each passage actually says KEEP • Highlight, annotate, bookmark, and gather verses into folders • Copy or share any verse as a clean quotation with its reference • Reading plans: the Gospels, Paul's letters, the New Testament in 90 days • Optional sync: sign in with your email and everything follows you between devices. No password, and no account until you ask for one WIDGETS • Echo: two verses the Scriptures link, a new pair each day, and a thread to follow • Today's reading, Continue reading, Firmament (what is over your head tonight, and the verse that names it) and Wayfare (how far they walked) A Kids edition with its own art, read-aloud and "Did you know?" notes is one tap away. The King James text and the Berean Standard Bible are in the public domain. The plain-English rendering and the study material are original to Vantage Bible and are marked as commentary, never passed off as scripture. SUBSCRIPTION The app is free to try for 7 days. After that, Vantage Bible Monthly ($4.99 a month) or Vantage Bible Yearly ($39.99 a year) unlocks the whole app; the web reader at vantagebible.com stays free. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account when the purchase is confirmed. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for the renewal within the 24 hours before that period ends. Manage or cancel it in your Apple ID account settings, or from Settings > Subscription inside the app. Any unused part of a free trial is forfeited when a subscription is purchased. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://vantagebible.com/privacy

Screenshots

Study by A14 screens
Vantage Bible4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Study by A1 at none against Vantage Bible's 2. Study by A1 also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 4 days) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Vantage Bible sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Study by A1 asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Study by A1 ships an update daily, Vantage Bible every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Study by A1 versus Vantage Bible: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStudy by A1Vantage Bible
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB138 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlex SandersTheron Parlin

In-app purchases

None

Study by A1

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Vantage Bible

Subscriptions2
  • Vantage Bible Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Vantage Bible Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Study by A1 free?
Study by A1 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Vantage Bible free?
Vantage Bible is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Study by A1 or Vantage Bible have ads?
Neither Study by A1 nor Vantage Bible shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Study by A1 or Vantage Bible?
Study by A1 ships an update daily, and Vantage Bible every 4 days. Most recently, Study by A1 was updated on November 5, 2026 and Vantage Bible on November 6, 2026.

Other comparisons