Study Gateway vs LifeWise Academy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Study Gateway
Access a vast library of on-demand video Bible studies from renowned Christian teachers and authors. Explore topics like discipleship, healing, and Christian living through engaging video content. This service is available as part of a subscription.
- On-demand video Bible studies
- World-renowned Bible teachers
- Thousands of study videos
- Discipleship and Christian living topics
- Overcoming and healing content
- Bible discussion resources
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Study Gateway is the streaming video Bible study service from Zondervan and Thomas Nelson, featuring the world’s most-trusted Bible teachers, authors and pastors, including Max Lucado, Anne Graham Lotz, Louie Giglio, Rick Warren, Derwin Gray, Lysa TerKeurst, Jennie Allen, Andy Stanley, Chrystal Evans Hurst, John Ortberg, Ann Voskamp, Christine Caine, Jada Edwards, Bob Goff, and Jim Cymbala. Watch thousands of Bible study videos on subjects like discipleship, overcoming and healing, Christian living, and Bible discussion. Get the app as a part of your Study Gateway subscription. Terms of Service: https://watch.studygateway.com/tos Privacy Policy: https://watch.studygateway.com/privacy
LifeWise Academy
This app provides Bible-based character education resources for religious instruction leaders and teachers. It helps them launch and manage programs for public school students during the school day. Access is limited to authenticated users.
- Bible-based character education
- Resources for program leaders
- Classroom management tools
- Student engagement resources
- Program launch support
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LifeWise Academy is a Released Time Religious Instruction (RTRI) program which provides Bible-based character education to public school students during the school day. LifeWise Academy serves alongside schools and educators by reinforcing and complementing their efforts. This app is for local program leaders and teachers to access engagement resources for working with students and community members. These resources help local program leaders and teachers successfully launch and run their programs and classrooms. Use of this app is limited to authenticated users of these resources.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: LifeWise Academy at 5.0 against Study Gateway's 4.2. LifeWise Academy also leads on monetization model (free vs subscription) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 months). Study Gateway's advantage is ratings volume (967 vs 5). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
LifeWise Academy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Study Gateway has 967 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Study Gateway's written reviews are positive against 100% of LifeWise Academy's.
Study Gateway ships an update every 5 months, LifeWise Academy every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Study Gateway | LifeWise Academy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (967 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 967 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 68 MB | 111 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc. | Stand For Truth, Inc. |
Customer experience
Study Gateway
LifeWise Academy
Bugs and requests
Study Gateway
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes frequently
- Unable to access purchased content
- Login and password issues
- Compatibility problems on various devices
Requested features
3 requests- Improve app stability and user experience
- Provide better customer service and account management
- Simplify subscription and cancellation process
LifeWise Academy
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Study Gateway
No in-app purchases
LifeWise Academy
No in-app purchases
