Critica vs Folio Bible
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Critica
This app provides critical annotations for Islamic texts, including the Quran, Hadith, Sira, Fiqh, and Tafsir. It flags and explains issues like violence, misogyny, and historical errors, citing specific sources for verification. Designed for readers seeking a deeper, critical understanding of Islamic tradition.
- Annotated Quran (Meccan/Medinan)
- Six Sunni & Twelver Shia Hadith collections
- Event-based biography of Muhammad (Sira)
- Classical jurisprudence (Fiqh) on contested topics
- Major classical Tafsir commentaries
- Source citation for every claim
- Filterable flags for critical issues
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Critica is a critical-edition reference covering the full primary sourcebase of Islam across five tabs: • QURAN — All 114 surahs, grouped Meccan / Medinan, with section-by-section annotations. • HADITH — The six Sunni books (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah) and the Twelver Shia al-Kafi, with the most consequential and most-cited narrations. • SIRA — Muhammad's biography by event cluster — Mecca, Hijra, Badr, Uhud, the Jewish-tribe encounters, Khaybar, the conquest of Mecca, the Farewell Sermon. • FIQH — Classical jurisprudence on contested topics across the four Sunni madhabs (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) and the Twelver Ja'fari school: apostasy, marriage age, hudud, polygamy, jizya, FGM, and more. • TAFSIR — Major classical exegetes (Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi, Razi, Tabarsi, Zamakhshari) with their distinctive readings of famous verses. Every flag is sourced. Each section cites a specific ayah (Q surah:verse), a hadith number (Bukhari 5134), a sira page (Ibn Hisham 2:240), or a madhab manual (al-Mughni 9:486) so a curious reader can verify the claim in any translation. The eleven flag categories: • Violence • Misogyny • Slavery • Hostility to unbelievers • Anti-LGBTQ teaching • Harm to children • Scientific errors • Historical errors • Contradictions • Moral problems • Logical issues Filter by flag to focus on one kind of issue at a time. Tap any flag to expand its full annotation. The reading level is middle-school to high-school. The tone is editorial, not polemical — the reader assumed throughout is someone who was told the tradition was perfect and noticed otherwise, and wants substantive engagement with what mainstream critical scholarship has actually said. SOURCES Patricia Crone, Michael Cook, John Wansbrough, Gerd-R. Puin, Christoph Luxenberg, Tom Holland, Robert G. Hoyland, Fred Donner, Joseph Schacht, G.H.A. Juynboll, Ignaz Goldziher, Jonathan Brown, Wael Hallaq, Ibn Warraq, and the Skeptic's Annotated Quran. Classical sources cited directly include the Six Books of Sunni hadith, al-Kafi, Ibn Hisham's recension of Ibn Ishaq, al-Tabari's history, and the classical tafsirs of Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi, Razi, Tabarsi, and Zamakhshari. Critica is the Islamic-tradition companion to Decanon (the same critical-edition treatment applied to the Protestant Bible).
Folio Bible
Explore the Bible with in-depth textual evidence and original language study. Compare ancient manuscripts, add personal notes, and build collaborative studies. Understand core doctrines and weigh religious claims with biblical responses.
- Read Bible text with manuscript evidence
- View ancient manuscript pages
- Study original Hebrew language words
- Add and organize personal notes
- Build and collaborate on Bible studies
- Compare Scripture with other religious texts
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Folio — Read the Bible with the manuscripts behind it Most Bible apps give you the text. Folio gives you the text and the evidence for it. Every verse shows how many ancient manuscripts preserve it. Tap once and you can see the actual pages that carried Scripture through the centuries. Whether you’re reading devotionally, studying deeply, or asking hard questions about what’s true, Folio is built to go further than any Bible app you’ve used. Read, beautifully A clean, distraction-free reader designed for immersion. Highlight the verses that speak to you, pick up exactly where you left off, and stay focused on the Word. See the manuscripts Tap any verse to view the manuscripts that attest it, ordered from oldest to newest. Compare the critical text against how a specific manuscript — like Codex Sinaiticus — actually reads it. Study the original languages Move word by word through the Hebrew Old Testament. Every word links to its Strong’s number, parsing, and definition, with classic lexicons ready for deeper study. Make it yours Add notes to any verse, organize them with reusable labels, and search everything you’ve written. Your study stays with you and stays in sync. Build Bible Studies Create focused studies by gathering verses, notes, and labels into one place. Invite contributors to collaborate with you, or share a study publicly in read-only format so others can learn from it. See the connections Scripture interprets Scripture. Discover how each verse relates to others across the whole of the Bible. Know what you believe Explore the core doctrines of the Christian faith, clearly laid out so you understand not just what you believe, but why. Test the competing claims Read other religious texts — including the Book of Mormon and the Qur’an — side by side with Scripture. When a claim is made, Folio pairs it with a clear biblical response so you can weigh the evidence for yourself. Free, with no catch Folio is completely free. Optional support helps cover development and hosting — nothing is locked behind a paywall. Read Scripture. See the evidence. Know what you believe. Download Folio and go deeper today.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Folio Bible at none against Critica's 1. Folio Bible also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Critica sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Folio Bible asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Critica against 5.0 for Folio Bible. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
Critica ships an update monthly, Folio Bible every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Critica | Folio Bible |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 19 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | OMAR DANIEL GRAZIANO | Spencer Newell |
Customer experience
Critica
Folio Bible
In-app purchases
Critica
- Full Access$9.99
Folio Bible
No in-app purchases






