Sermon Notes & Bible Journal vs Barkive
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sermon Notes & Bible Journal
Capture, organize, and reflect on sermons with this comprehensive app. Take notes, record audio, generate transcripts and summaries, and integrate scripture. Plan actionable steps and share insights easily.
- Note-taking with rich text formatting
- Sermon audio recording with time-stamping
- Automatic transcript generation
- AI-powered sermon summaries
- Integrated Bible with six translations
- Actionable step planning and reminders
- Sermon sharing via PDF, text, or Markdown
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Sermon Notes is the place to keep every sermon you hear: your notes, the scripture, the recording, and what you want to do about it. Write while you listen, record the message, and come back to it any time. Sermon Notes keeps your notes private on your device and in your own iCloud, with no account to create. TAKE NOTES AS YOU LISTEN Start a sermon and write. Add the speaker, church, series and main passage, then add notes, scripture and photos of the slides as the message goes. Notes can be bold, italic, in lists, or highlighted in nine colors, and every note can be folded, locked or moved. Suggestions fill in the speakers, churches and series you've used before, so a new sermon takes seconds. RECORD THE MESSAGE Tap Record and Sermon Notes captures the sermon while you keep writing. Tap Bookmark the moment something stands out, from the app, the Lock Screen or your Apple Watch, and a note is dropped in at that exact time. Later, tap any time tag to hear that part again, or skip back and forward 15 seconds. Recordings are saved as you go, so a call or a dead battery won't lose them. TRANSCRIPTS AND SERMON RECAPS Turn a recording into a transcript, made on your iPhone, with the scripture it mentions picked out. Sermon Recap writes a summary of the message, its main points, discussion questions for a small group, and steps to live it out, from your notes, the transcript or both. It all runs on your device on supported models, nothing is sent to a server, and every verse it shows comes from the Bible in the app. THE BIBLE BUILT IN Read six translations right in the app, with no connection needed: KJV, WEB, ASV, BBE, Darby and Young's Literal. Select verses and add them to a sermon, highlight words in a passage, and search for any word or reference. Verses you've used in sermons are marked in gold, so you can find every message on a passage. LIVE IT OUT A sermon is meant to change the week after it. Add the steps you want to take, alone or from a recap's suggestions, set a reminder, and check them off on your iPhone or your wrist. The Live It Out tab shows what's left this week and how far you've come. YOUR LIBRARY, BEAUTIFULLY KEPT See your sermons by month, series, speaker, church or book of the Bible, as photo cards or compact colored bars. Every series, speaker and church gets its own cover. Search everything you've written, mark favorites, and drag sermons into your own order. A Series Recap brings a whole series together, week by week. SHARE WHAT STAYED WITH YOU Send a sermon as a PDF, plain text or Markdown, make a share card from a takeaway, or share a sermon with family and friends to read. SERMON FOCUS Turn on Sermon Focus to set aside the apps that pull at you while a sermon records. It uses Screen Time, lifts on its own when the sermon is over, and is free for everyone. APPLE WATCH, IPAD AND MORE Bookmark from your wrist with a tap or a Double Tap, start and stop recordings, check off steps and carry a verse with you on a complication. On iPad the app spreads out into wide columns, and it works on iPhone Duo folded or open. COMING FROM AN EARLIER VERSION Your sermons, notes and recordings come over the first time you open the app, and the features you bought before are still yours. AUTO-RENEWABLE SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Cancel any time in your Apple Account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.chuchutrain.com/privacy-policy.html
Barkive
Log every dog you see or meet to build a personal collection of canine encounters. Capture details like breed, notes, and photos, and watch your virtual Dog Park grow. Reflect on your memories with monthly logs and yearbooks.
- Log dog encounters
- Capture breed, notes, and photos
- Unlock and collect breed cards
- Build a virtual Dog Park
- View monthly Field Logs
- Explore Yearbook
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Barkive is a living record of the dogs you encounter every day. See a dog. Log the encounter. Build your Barkive. Whether it's a quick sighting on a walk or a moment you don't want to forget, Barkive helps you capture the dogs that cross your path — and the memories that come with them. Log every encounter Keep track of the dogs you see and the ones you meet. Choose from 158 recognized breeds Mark whether you saw or met them Add notes, location, and photos Capture the details Each encounter is different. Capture what stands out to you. Write notes about each encounter Save photos from the moment Revisit what made each one special Build your collection Every encounter contributes to your growing archive. Unlock and collect breed cards across 158 breeds Earn Park Regular cards by completing weekly challenges Track your progress and watch your collection take shape Meet the Park Regulars Complete weekly challenges to unlock cards for the dogs of your neighbourhood — the ones with names, habits, and a spot they've claimed as their own. Flip each card to read their story. Take on daily and weekly challenges Challenges give you a reason to keep your eyes open. Each one lives on your home screen with full details and progress tracking — and a reward waiting when you finish. A park that grows with you As your Barkive grows, your Dog Park comes to life. Log a breed and a Park Regular from that breed takes up residence — each one with their own story and a card waiting to be unlocked. Reflect on what you've found Barkive isn't just about tracking — it's about remembering. View the notes you've captured along the way Revisit your monthly Field Log Explore your collection as it grows Barkive is designed to be simple, calm, and personal. A place to notice more, remember more, and build something worth remembering. Curator Mode (optional subscription) Curator Mode unlocks additional features including expanded notes, photos, enhanced Dog Park options, and Park Regular cards. Subscriptions are available in monthly and yearly plans. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://logthatdog.com/#support
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Barkive at none against Sermon Notes & Bible Journal's shown. Barkive also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Sermon Notes & Bible Journal's advantage is ratings volume (1K vs 3). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Sermon Notes & Bible Journal sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Barkive sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Barkive holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sermon Notes & Bible Journal has 1K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Sermon Notes & Bible Journal's written reviews are positive against 100% of Barkive's.
Sermon Notes & Bible Journal ships an update every 3 months, Barkive every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sermon Notes & Bible Journal | Barkive |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1K ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1K — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 117 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ChuChu Train Productions | Barkive LLC |
Customer experience
Sermon Notes & Bible Journal
Barkive
Bugs and requests
Sermon Notes & Bible Journal
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes when app goes to sleep
- Loses notes when closing the app
- Ignores regional settings
- Audio quality issues
Requested features
4 requests- Add formatting options (bold, italics, bullet points)
- Integrate with Bible apps
- Improve note-taking experience (e.g., Apple Pencil support)
- Provide better file management and export options
Barkive
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sermon Notes & Bible Journal
- Premium Features$9.991 Month
- Premium Features7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Database Transfer$4.99
- Remove Ads$9.99
- Unlimited Entries$9.99
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- All Features$99.99
Barkive
- Curator Mode$2.991 Month
- Curator Mode$24.991 Year
Questions
Is Sermon Notes & Bible Journal free?
Is Barkive free?
Which has better reviews, Sermon Notes & Bible Journal or Barkive?
Do Sermon Notes & Bible Journal or Barkive have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sermon Notes & Bible Journal or Barkive?
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