The Pillar Bible Study vs KJV Word Study
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Pillar Bible Study
This app offers in-depth Bible study with original language tools, commentaries, and cross-references. It allows for handwritten notes on iPad and provides offline access to translations and study materials.
- Original language lexicon and interlinear view
- Side-by-side translation comparison
- Handwritten notes with Apple Pencil on iPad
- Integrated commentaries and dictionaries
- Offline access to KJV and other translations
- Audio narration of Bible chapters
- Customizable reading plans and notes
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The Pillar is a Bible study app for those longing to understand the Word more clearly, and to read it with more confidence — the original languages, commentary and reference material gathered around the text instead of scattered across a shelf. Free to read. Premium to study. The Bible is free in every public-domain translation, with notes, highlights, plans and the audio Bible, and your first week has every study tool open. Pillar Premium keeps them: $4.99/month or $39.99/year, with a 7-day free trial. TRANSLATIONS Read the New King James Version, King James Version, New Living Translation, NASB 2020, Christian Standard Bible and The Message — alongside the American Standard Version, Berean Standard Bible, World English Bible, Geneva 1599, Douay-Rheims, Darby and Young's Literal. In Spanish, the Reina-Valera 1909, Palabra de Dios para Ti and Nueva Biblia Viva; in Arabic, the Van Dyck. Compare any two in Parallel View. THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES Tap a word to see the Greek or Hebrew behind it, its Strong's number, a full lexicon entry from Abbott-Smith or Brown-Driver-Briggs, and every other place that word appears in Scripture. Interlinear reading shows the original word by word, parsed in plain English. WRITE IN IT — iPad AND APPLE PENCIL Bring back the margins. On iPad, an Apple Pencil writes anywhere on the page — beside a verse, across a phrase, down the edge of the column — and every stroke stays anchored to the verse it belongs to rather than to a spot on the screen. Change the type size, come back a year later: your notes are still beside the verse. Your finger still scrolls and selects; there is no mode to enter. Notes in the margin travel with the verse into every translation; notes written over the words stay in the translation and orientation you wrote them in, the way they would on a printed page. A STUDY LIBRARY AROUND THE VERSE Eight classic commentaries, five Bible dictionaries, Nave's and Torrey's topical indexes, and cross-references — every one reachable from the verse you are reading. The dictionaries and topical indexes need no connection. MAPS Tap a place name in the text and the map opens on it. Every chapter has one — the places named there, numbered in the order Scripture names them. The Atlas lists more than 1,200 places alphabetically. Where a location is uncertain, the map says so. Maps work with no connection at all. AUDIO Any chapter of the Berean Standard Bible read aloud by a human narrator, with lock-screen controls and three readers to choose from. YOUR OWN WORK Notes typed or handwritten with Apple Pencil, anchored to their verse and linkable to each other. Highlights in colors you name yourself. Reading plans with daily reminders and a streak that tracks your reading. Sermon notes with tap-to-replay timestamps and camera text capture. Everything exports as Markdown and stays yours, on your device and in your own iCloud. OFFLINE The complete King James Version ships inside the app, and every chapter you read is saved as you go — so Pillar keeps working with no connection at all. A note on what needs a connection: the New King James Version, NASB 2020, New Living Translation, Christian Standard Bible and The Message are shown live, as their licenses require, except chapters you write in. Commentaries and cross-references are fetched as you read. Audio is the Berean Standard Bible only. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Pillar Premium — monthly ($4.99) or annual ($39.99), each with a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. 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 renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.thepillarapp.com/privacy
KJV Word Study
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KJV Word Study is a quiet, offline King James Bible for iPhone and iPad. Every tagged phrase links to its Strong’s number, the dictionary headword in the original language, and every other verse that uses the same word. READ • All 66 books of the 1769 King James text, with the translators’ italics and the LORD in small capitals • A calm, book-like page: serif type, adjustable text size, light and dark • Flick left or right to move between chapters; your place is remembered TAP A WORD • Strong’s number, dictionary headword (Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek), transliteration and pronunciation guide • The full Strong’s definition, derivation and KJV renderings • When a phrase carries two numbers you choose; when a phrase has no number the app says so instead of guessing EVERY VERSE WITH THIS WORD • A concordance for each Strong’s number in Bible order, filtered by testament or book, with the matching phrase highlighted • Preview a verse with its neighbours, open the chapter, and return to exactly where you were SEARCH • References: John 1:1, Jn 3, 1 John 4:8 • Strong’s numbers: G3056, H7965, or a bare number to choose Hebrew or Greek • Words and exact phrases in the KJV text SAVE • Bookmark verses and save dictionary entries for later • Optional inline Strong’s numbers next to each phrase Everything is stored on your device. No account, no ads, no analytics, no network use. The app is free; if it helps your reading you can leave an optional “buy me a coffee” tip. Data sources: King James Version (1769) with Strong’s Numbers and Morphology from the CrossWire Bible Society (module 3.1); Strong’s Greek Dictionary in XML (CC0, Dr. Ulrik Sandborg-Petersen); HebrewStrong.xml from the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project (CC BY 4.0). Strong’s numbers link words to dictionary entries; meaning depends on context.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: KJV Word Study at none against The Pillar Bible Study's 2. The Pillar Bible Study's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. The Pillar Bible Study sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. KJV Word Study asks for nothing beyond the download.
The Pillar Bible Study ships an update every 4 days, KJV Word Study every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Pillar Bible Study | KJV Word Study |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 291 MB | 94 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | thefrenchpressedone LLC | Hajime Isawa |
In-app purchases
The Pillar Bible Study
- Premium Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Premium Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year
KJV Word Study
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is The Pillar Bible Study free?
Is KJV Word Study free?
Do The Pillar Bible Study or KJV Word Study have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Pillar Bible Study or KJV Word Study?
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