Bible Study Software: The Absolute Best For Beginners
What’s the best Bible study software for beginners? What even is Bible study software? Bible study software provides a comprehensive digital platform to study the Bible, offering numerous Bibles, commentaries, and other helpful resources.
Bible study software can be great for beginners who want to get started studying the Bible, but get overwhelmed easily. So, let’s compare some of the best Bible study software out there and find the best one for beginners.
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| Feature | Logos Premium Subscription | Accordance Basic Starter | Olive Tree Bible App | eSword Bible Software |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Translation Options | 11/20 | 18.6/20 | 20/20 | 18.6/20 |
| Commentary and Study Notes | 20/25 | 20/25 | 20/25 | 20/25 |
| Search and Navigation | 16/20 | 16/20 | 16/20 | 19/20 |
| User Friendly Interface and Experience | 17/20 | 17/20 | 16/20 | 16/20 |
| Multimedia | 12/15 | 10.5/15 | 13.5/15 | 11.3/15 |
| Note-Taking and Highlighting | 22.5/25 | 21.3/25 | 22.5/25 | 20/25 |
| Mobile Compatibility | 19/20 | 16.6/20 | 20/20 | 16/20 |
| Original Language Tools | 6/10 | 10/10 | 5/10 | 4/10 |
| Cost | 22.5/25 | 22.5/25 | 20/25 | 25/25 |
| Updates and Support | 13.8/15 | 13.4/15 | 14/15 | 12/15 |
| Total | 160/195 | 166/195 | 167/195 | 162/195 |
Best For Beginners: Overall, the best Bible software for beginners is the Olive Tree Bible App. It is simple to use and the ability to get only the resources you will us makes it the best Bible study software for beginners. They can easily learn to study the Bible and not feel overwhelmed by resources or software.
Best For Price: In general, eSword is the best Bible Software for the price. It is entirely free and offers a wide selection of Public Domain Bibles, commentaries, and dictionaries. This makes it a great place to begin learning to use Bible study software.
How the Scores Were Calculated
For the purposes of this review I tried to compare beginner friendly and similarly priced options. So, for Logos I used the Logos Premium Subscription and for Accordance I used the Basic Starter Collection. Though, eSword is a free Bible study software and Olive Tree has a subscription plan.
I also gave more weight to features that I felt would most benefit beginners. So, features like commentaries and a user-friendly interface had more weight than other features like original language tools. . Here is how I broke down the weights,
- Translation Options: 5
- Commentaries and Study Notes: 5
- Search and navigation: 4
- User Friendly Interface and Experience: 4
- Multimedia:3
- Notetaking and Highlighting: 5
- Mobile Compatibility: 4
- Original Language Tools: 2
- Cost: 5
- Updates and Support: 3
I then broke down each of these categories further and scored each aspect on a scale of 1-5. After that I took the average and multiplied it by the weight I gave to each feature. This resulted in the overall weighted score.
With that all out of the way, let’s dig into each feature and see how they compare across these different Bible study softwares, to help you find the best beginner friendly software for you.
Translation Options
Winner: Olive Tree
| Aspect | Logos | Accordance | Olive Tree | eSword |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Available Translations | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Inclusion of Different Language Translations | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Accessibility of Less Common Translations | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Weighted Score | 11/20 | 18.6/20 | 20/20 | 18.6/20 |
In general, all the Bible study software offered a wide variety of available translations. Overall, Accordance, Olive Tree, and eSword offered more Bible translations than Logos Bible Software. And All three offered a large number of non-English Bible translations as well.
Here is a breakdown of some of the English Bibles offered in each software:
- Logos Bible Software: American Standard Version, Christian Standard Bible, English Standard Version, two King James Versions, and the Lexham English Bible.
- Accordance: English Standard Version, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English, Douay-Rheims, two Kin James Versions, and World English Bible.
- Olive Tree Bible: English Standard Version, New International Version, New King James Version, Berean Standard Bible, Bible in Basic English, Darby Translation, English Easy to Read Version, Holman Christian Standard Bible, International English Holy Bible, King James Version, Literal Standard Version, New Living Translation, and others.
- eSword: King James Version, American Standard Version, Berean Study Bible, Bible in Basic English, Contemporary English Version, Darby Bible, Douay-Rheims Bible, Easy to Read Version, English Standard Version, King James Version, Lexham English Bible, New English Translation, The Passion Translation, Young’s Literal Translation and many others.
As you can see, all of these offer similar versions of the English Bible. However, I found that Olive Tree offered more popular Bible Translations that beginners are more likely to use. For example, the New Living Translation. This made it beat the both Accordance and eSword when it came to Bible translations.
If you are curious what some of the easiest Bible translations are, then check out this article. I discuss some the of the easiest to read Bible translations that are perfect for beginners or starting a daily Bible reading habit.
Honestly, I am a little disappointed in Logos’ offering of Bible translations in their premium subscription. Reading a passage in multiple translations, both word for word and thought for thought, is one of the key steps in a basic Bible study. So, Logos should offer more English Bible translations.
Overall, Olive Tree offers the best selection of Bible translations for beginners.
Commentary and Study Notes
Winner: Tie
| Aspect | Logos | Accordance | Olive Tree | eSword |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality and Reputation of Commentaries | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Depth and Breadth of Study Notes | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Availability of Commentaries from Various Theological Traditions | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Weighted Total | 20/25 | 20/25 | 20/25 | 20/25 |
One of the first things that beginners in Bible study learn to do is to consult Bible commentaries, dictionaries, and study notes. All of the Bible study softwares offer high quality study resources for beginners. So, let’s briefly look at what offering makes each unique.
Logos Bible Software’s premium subscription is going to come with the Christian Standard Bible Spurgeon Study Bible Notes and the CSB Ancient Faith Study Bible Notes. You’ll get access to high quality evangelical commentary on the Bible.
What else makes Logos unique is the Faithlife Study Notes. These notes comes with media, commentary, infographics, and much more that are unique to Logos and can’t be found elsewhere.
Accordance offers access to popular commentaries and dictionaries like Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary on the Whole Bible, the IVP Bible Commentary, Easton’s Bible dictionary, Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, and Bible Names Dictionary.
The Olive Tree Free App comes with only Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown’s Commentary. However, their NIV Bible Study Subscription includes: NIV Study Bible, NIV Quest Study Bible, NIV Cultural Background Study BIble, Zondervan Bible Commentary, and the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible.
eSword offers access to lots of public domain commentaries and dictionaries including: Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, John Gill’s Exposition on Scripture, John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible, Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary, Poor Man’s Commentary, Scofield Reference Bible Notes, The Biblical Illustrator, etc.
As you can see, no matter which software you choose to begin with, you will get access to high quality study material that will help you experience the Bible in a way that you encounter God.
Search and Navigation
Winner: eSword
| Aspect | Logos | Accordance | Olive Tree | eSword |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speed and Efficiency of Search Functionality | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| Ease of Navigation between Resources | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4.5 |
| Advanced Search Features | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Weighted Total | 16/20 | 16/20 | 16/20 | 19/20 |
One of the greatest benefits of having Bible study software is the search feature. You are able to quickly search for what your resources say regarding a specific verse or topic. This one had a couple of surprises.
When looking at the speed of the search feature, Accordance is slightly faster than Logos. It took 3.7s in Accordance for the results to appear and 4.1s in Logos. So, Accordance is slightly faster than Logos.
Honestly, Olive Tree was a pretty slow. It took about 7s to get the results. I was surprised it was that slow. But the results were what I was looking for. Another surprise was how fast eSword was. Honestly, I was expecting it to be the slowest, but it took only 3.7s for the results to appear.
When it comes to the ease of navigation, Olive Tree Bible software is the easiest to navigate. That said, it also has more limited resources.
When you compare the softwares with more resources together, eSword is the easiest to navigate. They have a Bible, Dictionary, Commentary, and Notes pane. Within each pane, multiple tabs of the resource was open. For example, the commentary pane had all the commentaries open on different tabs.
Overall, eSword has the best search and navigation features among these Bible study software. This brings us to the next feature, user-friendly interface and experience.
User-Friendly Interface and Experience
Winner: Logos and Accordance
| Aspect | Logos | Accordance | Olive Tree | eSword |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intuitiveness of the Interface | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Customization Options for Layout and Preferences | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Responsiveness and Clarity of Design | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Weighted Total | 17/20 | 17/20 | 16/20 | 16/20 |
When looking at the user-friendly interface and experience you can see how close it is among the leading softwares. Each have their unique features. So, let’s take a look at each one specifically.
Logos Bible software has the steepest learning curve. In that regard, it is not user-friendly at all. However, it is very responsive and beautifully designed. And you can customize layout, font size, theme, and so much more. Though, finding where to customize these preferences was a bit of a challenge at first.
Accordance Bible software has a slightly lower learning curve than Logos. Despite this fact, it is highly customizable. You can customize just about everything you can in Logos and more. For instance, Logos only allows you to have one layout open at a time. Accordance lets you have many layouts open at once.
Olive Tree Bible Software has the easiest learning curve of all these softwares. And it is beautiful to look at. The only thing that really hurt it in this comparison was the lack of customization. Though you can customize the basics, there is only one layout option. Again, this makes it simpler for beginners.
eSword is not as difficult to learn as Accordance, though I would say it’s more challenging than Logos, but only barely. That said, it looks dated, like an old school computer system. So, if that’s something you care about, then go with another software.
Honestly, I was surprised that Logos and Accordance won when comparing this feature. Because both of these softwares have a harder learning curve than the other two. I was expecting Olive Tree to win. But, it was their lack of customization that hurt it.
So, the best Bible software when it comes to user-friendliness and experience will depend on your personal preferences. If you want something easy to use and pretty, go with Olive Tree. But if you want something more customizable go with Logos or Accordance.
Multimedia
Winner: Olive Tree
| Aspect | Logos | Accordance | Olive Tree | eSword |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inclusion of Maps, Images, Videos, and Audio Content | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Quality and Relevance of Multimedia Resources | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Weighted Total | 12/15 | 10.5/15 | 13.5/15 | 11.3/15 |
All four of these Bible study softwares include basic multimedia like maps and images. Logos and Olive Tree include other resources like audio Bibles or even infographics.
Olive Tree pulls its media from the study Bibles you choose to download on the app. But what makes the Olive Tree App stand out among its competitors, especially for beginners, is that you can download and use the Bible Project videos right from the app.
The Bible Project releases and makes high quality Bible videos that help explain books, concepts, themes, and people of the Bible. These videos are a great way to experience a big picture look at a book you are studying or concept you want to know more about.
Note-Taking and Highlighting
Winner: Logos and Olive Tree
| Aspect | Logos | Accordance | Olive Tree | eSword |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flexibility and Ease of Use in Creating Notes | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Options for Highlighting Text | 5 | 4.5 | 4 | 3 |
| Weighted Total | 22.5/25 | 21.3/25 | 22.5/25 | 20/25 |
Since I’ve started studying the Bible on my own, I’ve come to enjoy taking notes in my Bible. I still struggle with highlighting though. But that’s okay. You don’t have to mark in your Bible if you don’t want to. But if you are considering it, then check out this article on why it’s okay to mark in your Bible.
Taking notes in any of these Bible softwares is not hard to do. It’s easiest in eSword and Olive Tree. In eSword, there is a note tab that opens alongside the Bible, commentary, and dictionary tab, so all you have to do to take notes is start typing. It’s really that simple in eSword.
In the Olive Tree App, there is a designated note tab at the bottom right beside the options for the parallel and search features. It is so easy to take and organize notes in the Olive Tree App.
Now if you are a fan of highlighting in your Bible (unlike me), then you may want to consider Logos. They have near endless options when it comes to highlighting your passage. Whereas, eSword only has the bare minimum.
Mobile Compatibility
Winner: Olive Tree
| Aspect | Logos | Accordance | Olive Tree | eSword |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Availability and Functionality of Mobile Apps | 5 | 3.5 | 5 | 4 |
| Syncing Capabilities Across Platforms | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Cross-Platform Consistency in Features and Usability | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Weighted Total | 19/20 | 16.6/20 | 20/20 | 16/20 |
Mobile compatibility is a major factor if you want to take your Bible study with you on the go. It makes it easy to take your resources, notes, and Bible with you when you travel or go to Church. All of these softwares offer mobile apps, but there are some things you need to know about each one.
Logos has a great app and I have it on my devices. That said, because they have such advanced features and software, there is some functionality that is missing from the apps that you can do on your desktop platform.
Accordance has mobile apps as well for Android and IOS. However, when I went to download it on my phone, I was unable to do so because it was built for an older version of android. So, I couldn’t explore and review it on my own. That said, many reviews mentioned bugs and issues with the Android version.
Olive Tree App is beautiful. The mobile app works just like the software you download on your computer. That and you can do everything on the mobile app that you can do on the desktop app. Olive Tree was built and designed to be a mobile app and it really shows.
eSword, was interesting. Their software is free to download (more on that in a minute), but when I went to download their app on my phone it was $2.99. Which is not a bad price, but it did confuse me with it being free to download on the computer.
Overall, though, if you want a solid mobile friendly app that also works well on your computer that is also suited for beginners, then the Olive Tree Bible App is for you.
Original Language Tools
Winner: Accordance
| Aspect | Logos | Accordance | Olive Tree | eSword |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Availability of Interlinear Bibles | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Inclusion of Lexicons and Concordances in Hebrew and Greek | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Weighted Total | 6/10 | 10/10 | 5/10 | 4/10 |
Having original language tools and resources might not be the most important thing to consider when you are beginner looking for a Bible software, but it is something to consider if you want to grow in your Bible study habit in the future.
That said, Accordance Bible Software is the clear winner in this category. This is their specialty and what they are known for. So, if having original language resources and capabilities is important, then Accordance is the software for you. None of the other softwares came close.
Logos does offer a few Hebrew and Greek lexicons in their premium subscription, however more original language tools are found in their higher priced subscriptions.
The others really aren’t worth talking about when it comes to original language tools. They offer a basic couple of interlinear Bibles and lexicons. This is where Accordance shines.
Cost
Winner: eSword
| Aspect | Logos | Accordance | Olive Tree | eSword |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Structure | Freemium, Subscription Options | One Time Fee | Freemium, Subscription Options | Free |
| Value of Money In Terms of Features Provided | 4 | 4 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Availability of Trial Version or Free Versions | Free Edition | 90-Day Free Trial | Free App, Free Trial for Subscriptions | Free Software |
| Weighted Total | 22.5/25 | 22.5/25 | 20/25 | 25/25 |
Cost is a vital factor in choosing a Bible Study software. It can be a major investment and you want to be sure you get what you paid for. So, let’s dive into the price structure and worth of each of these softwares.
Logos
Logos Bible Study is most frequently sold in Subscriptions. This subscription is for the software and access to resources. That said, you have the option of purchasing additional resources through what Logos terms libraries.
For example, I have Logos 9. The current edition of Logos is the subscription based model. Now, I can go and upgrade to the new edition and get access to new books by purchasing a subscription.
Logos also offers a store where you can purchase individual books. So, say you get a subscription, but it doesn’t have a particular book you are looking for, then you can go to the store and purchase that book individually.
Check out this article, if you want to see the best Logos subscription for beginners. There I compare three packages for beginners and discuss key features of Logos that make it a great resource for beginners. Logos also offers a free edition of their app if you want to check it out before you make a decision.
For beginners, I recommend the Premium Subscription. It is $9.99/mo ($99/yr). But it is worth it. If you want to try it out, then here is an extended free trial of Logos premium subscription just for you. You get two months of Logos software for free. This will give you plenty of time to learn the software and see if it is a right fit for you.
Accordance
Accordance Bible Software most frequently sell their software in collections. There is a one time fee for software and books. Likewise, you can purchase books individually.
So, if you want the software but don’t need all the books that come with it, you could consider purchasing a cheaper version of the software and then individually purchasing the books you want.
Accordance does not offer a free version of their software. However, they do offer a lengthy 90-day free trial of their software. This gives you plenty of time to play with it, get used to using it, and decide if it is something you really want.
Want to know what the best accordance package is for you? Then check out this article where I compare the best Accordance packages for beginners to help you decide which one will work for you.
Olive Tree App
There are two different ways that you can get the Olive Tree App.
The first, is to download the app (it’s free) and purchase what resources you want individually. The prices for these individual resources are comparable to what you would pay in a bookstore, perhaps slightly cheaper. This is a great option to go, that way you can get the resources you want and will use.
The second way, is to go with a subscription. The Olive Tree App offers Bible Study Packs for the following translations: NIV, ESV, and NKJV. These Bible study packs offer nine resources that include study Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries and atlases. They cost, $5.99/mo or $59.99/yr. It’s a great way to get started.
Honestly, I’m not sure which option I like best. With the first one, you get to own the resources you use. Though, the second one is cheaper in the short term. The Bible study packs offer the basic and most popular Bible study resources to get you started. There is even a 14 day free trial, so give it a shot.
eSword
eSword is a free Bible study software. It is completely free to download and use. They even offer downloads to some free Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, and other resources. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how many useful resources they had for free.
That said, most the free downloads through eSword are public domain resources. So, they are more dated and harder to read and understand. Though they are still high quality. eSword also offers resources that you can purchase to use with their software. You purchase them through the link in eSword to the publisher.
Overall, eSword is a great place to start if you want to get a feel for how other Bible study resources like Logos and Accordance work without paying the price.
Updates and Support
Winner: Olive Tree
| Aspect | Logos | Accordance | Olive Tree | eSword |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frequency and Regularity of Software Updates | 5 | 4 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| Quality and Responsiveness of Customer Support | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| User Reviews | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.6 |
| Weighted Total | 13.8/15 | 13.4/15 | 14/15 | 12/15 |
Honestly, this one may not be the biggest deal to some, but you do want to make sure that the Bible study software you use is constantly being updated and customer support is well with any problems that you may have.
Overall, it’s very close between Logos, Accordance, and Olive Tree, with about a half a point separating all three. Each have excellent customer service and I’ve heard no problems with Accordance or Olive Tree customer support, and only a few with Logos.
All three of these softwares are popular and will be kept up to date for some time. eSword, feels dated and the information I kind find online, they do not update their software as frequently as the others. But it is still a solid software with great reviews.
Key Takeaways
- Olive Tree Bible Software is recommended for beginners due to its simple to use interface, mobile compatibility, and beginner friendly features and resources.
- Translation: Olive Tree wins for beginners with the best selection of Bible translations, offering more popular versions and accessible non-English translations.
- Commentary and Study Notes: All software tie with high-quality commentaries, study notes, and diverse theological traditions, providing excellent resources for beginners.
- Search and Navigation: eSword stands out for its superior search speed and navigation efficiency.
- User-Friendly Interface: Logos and Accordance tie with both offering user-friendly interfaces, though Logos has a steeper learning curve but offers more customization option. Olive Tree wins when just comparing user-friendliness.
- Multimedia: Olive Tree excels with the inclusion of maps, images, videos, and audio content, particularly standing out for offering Bible Project videos directly on the app.
- Note-taking and Highlighting: Logos and Olive Tree tie for the best note-taking and highlighting features, offering flexibility and ease of use, especially with Logos providing extensive highlighting options.
- Mobile Compatibility: Olive Tree emerges as the best with top scores in mobile app functionality, syncing capabilities, and cross-platform consistency, making it ideal for on-the-go Bible study.
- Original Language Tools: ccordance is the clear winner in original language tools, offering interlinear Bibles and comprehensive lexicons and concordances in Hebrew and Greek.
- Cost: eSword stands out as the most cost-effective choice for beginners, providing free software with valuable resources and a perfect score for value in features.
- Updates and Support: Olive Tree leads in updates and support with frequent software updates, excellent customer support, and positive user reviews, ensuring a reliable and well-supported platform.
