Seraph vs Ascension
A Catholic Bible, Catechism, and Fr. Mike study library from Ascension Press, and a quieter flame that never asks for an account. This page is written by the maker of Seraph — read it knowing that — and it will be generous to Ascension, because Ascension has earned it.
Our bias, declared: we make Seraph. The linked Ascension sources support the specific free-access rules, Full Access prices, study and Rosary shape, account wording, store listings, privacy wording, and trial language identified below; this is not an independent review of either app. Our product details describe Seraph’s current published offering. If we've got something wrong, tell us and we'll fix it.
The main difference
Consider Ascension if you want to study as a Catholic: the Great Adventure Catholic Bible with the Bible Timeline, the Catechism, Daily Mass readings, a Rosary you can hear, and a large Fr. Mike Schmitz and Jeff Cavins library. Their app page calls it a Catholic Bible and Catechism app from Ascension Press, with the full texts of the Great Adventure Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Ascension Edition. The US listing is “Ascension: Catholic Bible” from Ascension Publishing Group, LLC: Mass readings, Rosary, saints, Bible in a Year, Catechism in a Year, Rosary in a Year, and study plans. The catch is the door, and the paid layer. Their FAQ on that same app page: those texts and readings are free “so long as you've downloaded the app and signed in,” and “you'll be asked to set up a user name (your email) and a password.” Full Access is how they sell the rest.
Choose Seraph if you want something quieter: one flame kept daily, the whole King James Bible readable free, guided prayer paced by breath — and a hard privacy line: no account to create, no ads, and a public vow of no prayer analytics. Your prayer life stays on your device. Seraph+ is $6.99/mo or $59.99/yr on our US App Store listing and on our pricing page. The daily office is free. Sacred Seasons, including Advent, are not. There is no Seraph+ trial.
Side by side
| Feature | Seraph | Ascension |
|---|---|---|
| Annual price | $59.99/yr | Two first-party years. The US App Store listing (id1660909501), read September 9, 2026, is “Free · In-App Purchases,” with Full Access Annual at $59.99. The same listing’s subscription terms print “$59.99 per year” and “(Please note these prices are for users in the USA).” Their app FAQ prints a yearly subscription of $59.95 annually. We print both. We do not know which checkout you will see. |
| Monthly price | $6.99/mo | The same US listing IAP list and subscription terms name Full Access Monthly at $8.99 / “$8.99 per month,” USA. Their app FAQ prints the optional monthly plan as $8.95 per month. We print both. The listing IAP section repeats Full Access Monthly $8.99 and Full Access Annual $59.99 several times; we do not invent extra SKUs from the repeats. |
| Family plan | — | None published. Their app FAQ: “At this time, we don't have family sharing set up (but are looking into it for the future).” The same FAQ: sign in with the same email across devices to share one subscription; different emails create a new account. That is restore-on-the-same-login, not a family SKU. |
| Free trial | None — the free tier is the trial | Two first-party pages. Their app FAQ: “Yes, the Ascension App offers a 7-day trial,” for new customers only; cancel 24 hours before the trial ends or you are charged; Apple and Google require you to cancel it yourself. The US listing subscription terms we re-read name auto-renewing Full Access at $8.99 / $59.99 and do not name a trial. We print both. We do not know which checkout you will see. |
| Free, forever | Daily verse · 2 guided sessions · the whole KJV Bible (1,189 chapters) · every reading plan · streak flame · reminders | The US listing: “All users can access the full text of the Bible, the full text of the Catechism, Daily Mass readings and reflections of the day, the full Rosary with all recorded voices, and most Ascension podcasts in the app for free.” Their app FAQ repeats Bible and Catechism text, daily readings and reflections, some podcasts, and Rosary recordings as remaining free without a paid subscription — “so long as you've downloaded the app and signed in.” |
| Subscription opens | Full guided-prayer library (12 sessions) · Sacred Seasons (Advent & Lent) | The US listing: Full Access is “to access all content and programs in the Ascension App.” The same listing names 80+ study plans, 1000+ Bible questions, Bible Timeline, Bible Guide, Sunday Mass prep, and In a Year extras (transcripts, prayer aides, companions). Their app FAQ names the premium layer as Fr. Mike’s Advent series, 60+ study plans, 1000+ Bible answers, Bible in a Year companions, Lectio Divina, Bible Studies, and podcast companions. We print both study-plan counts. We do not treat the listing’s feature list as all-free. |
| Account required | No — no sign-up exists | Yes, for the app, on their FAQ. The app page: free features are free “so long as you've downloaded the app and signed in,” and “you'll be asked to set up a user name (your email) and a password.” Their terms govern the Site at ascensionpress.com; they say you “may be asked to register and create an account” for certain Site content. We do not treat that Site sentence as the app’s sign-in rule. The FAQ is the page that describes signing in to the app. |
| Catholic study | Quiet text office paced by breath. No Bible Timeline. No Catechism. No Fr. Mike library. | The product. The US listing is built around the Great Adventure Catholic Bible, the Bible Timeline learning system, the Catechism, a Rosary with Fr. Mike Schmitz, Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, Jeff Cavins, the Sisters of Life, and Paul Rose (English or Latin, optional chant), Daily Mass readings and reflections, Saint of the Day, novenas and litanies, and Bible / Catechism / Rosary in a Year. Their app FAQ names the same texts as the Great Adventure Bible and Catechism of the Catholic Church, Ascension Edition, and puts study plans, Lectio Divina, and Bible Answers on the paid side. |
| Prayer analytics | None — a public vow. Prayer data never leaves your device | Three first-party pages do not say the same sentence. Apple’s App Privacy label on the US listing (self-reported, not verified by Apple): Data Used to Track You — Identifiers. Data Linked to You — Purchases, Contact Info, User Content, Identifiers, Usage Data, Diagnostics (purposes on that label include Developer’s Advertising or Marketing, Analytics, Product Personalization, App Functionality). Data Not Linked to You — Identifiers. Their Google Play Data safety section: “No data shared with third parties”; “This app may collect these data types” — Personal info, Financial info and 2 others. Their app privacy policy collects names, emails, usernames, and passwords when you register; may process information revealing religious or philosophical beliefs; uses cookies; processes information for targeted advertising and to identify usage trends; and names Stripe, Shopify, and RevenueCat for payment data. We print all three. We do not restate rating or ranking marketing from those pages. |
| Bible | Full KJV bundled; offline on iPhone | A Catholic Bible you can read in-app, plus study around it. The US listing names the full text of the Great Adventure Catholic Bible, audio with Fr. Mike Schmitz, the Bible Timeline, and the Bible Guide. Their app FAQ names the Great Adventure Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Ascension Edition, as free to signed-in users. We do not invent an offline-forever KJV of 1,189 chapters inside Ascension. We do not invent a Protestant translation they do not name. |
| Platforms | iPhone and web | The US listing Information section names iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple Vision (iOS / iPadOS 15.1 or later; visionOS 1.0). It does not name Mac. Their Google Play listing is the Android storefront; developer Ascension Publishing Group. Their app FAQ names iPhones, iPads, Android devices, tablets, and a web browser at app.ascensionpress.com, and prints Android 9 and iOS 13 as minimums. We print the listing’s Apple floor and the FAQ’s floor. We do not invent Mac from pages that do not list it. |
| Tradition | Broadly Christian, KJV | Catholic; published by Ascension Press. The US listing seller is Ascension Publishing Group, LLC; copyright “© 2023 Ascension Press.” Support on that listing is support@ascensionpress.com. Their app page is an Ascension Press page for a Catholic Bible and Catechism app. English only on the FAQ and the listing’s language list. |
| If you cannot pay | No scholarship or sponsorship path published. Advent and most guided sessions require Seraph+. | The Bible, Catechism, daily readings, Rosary recordings, and most podcasts are described as free on the US listing and the app FAQ once you sign in. Study plans, Lectio Divina, Bible Answers, and companions are paid on the FAQ. They publish a 7-day trial of the paid tier on that FAQ; the listing’s subscription terms do not name one. No scholarship path is named on the pages cited here. The FAQ says a support gift to Ascension Media does not grant an app subscription. |
Ascension’s own pages do not agree on the paid month, the paid year, the study-plan count, or whether Full Access starts with a trial. The US listing prints $8.99/mo and $59.99/yr (USA) and 80+ study plans, and does not name a trial in the subscription terms we re-read. The app FAQ prints $8.95/mo and $59.95/yr, 60+ study plans, and a 7-day trial for new customers. Check both, and the checkout in front of you, before you subscribe. No worldwide cheapest-price claim is made here.
What Ascension does better
The Catholic study stack. Their Great Adventure text, Catechism, Daily Mass readings, and Rosary recordings are described as free once you sign in. If “Catholic Bible Timeline plus Fr. Mike, in one app” is the requirement, they meet it. We gate ten guided sessions and Sacred Seasons behind Seraph+.
They also ship Android, iPad, and a web view at app.ascensionpress.com. Their FAQ publishes a 7-day trial of Full Access for new customers; we do not. If the listing’s $8.99/mo is the month you are offered, it is more than Seraph+. If the listing’s $59.99/yr is the year you are offered, it matches Seraph+. If you want Bible Timeline, Catechism, Mass readings, a Fr. Mike library, Android, or Catholic study plans, Ascension is the honest recommendation, and we are not in that contest.
What Seraph does differently
Restraint as a feature, and a Bible you can finish without signing in. No account between you and prayer — Ascension’s FAQ will not let you into the free texts without one. Prayer data never leaves the device; their US listing reports data used to track you, and data linked to you, including for advertising and analytics. Two prices, written in plain numbers: $59.99 a year or $6.99 a month, auto-renew, cancel anytime. The entire KJV free — not a Catholic study edition behind a login — bundled offline on iPhone, every chapter. A public web office you read without creating an account. A streak that forgives a missed day instead of shaming it. No ads on free or paid. Guided prayer paced by breath. Compare the plan and features that fit your use, rather than assuming one worldwide price difference.
Three disclosures that belong here. The web subscription and the iPhone subscription are separate purchases and do not unlock each other. The complete offline Bible is the iPhone app; on the web, chapters you have already opened stay readable. And restoring a web subscription in a new browser emails a magic link, so we will not claim “no email ever.” There is no Seraph+ trial: you never try a paid session before buying it. The daily office is the trial of Seraph, not of the paid library.
When each app wins
Ascension — if you want a Catholic Bible, a Catechism, and a Fr. Mike study library
Start from their app page or the US listing. Sign in. Read the Great Adventure text. Pray the Rosary. Take the daily Mass readings if that is the hour you have. Use Android if that is your phone. Read the FAQ and the listing side by side before you pay — the month, the year, the study-plan count, and the trial are not the same sentence on both pages. Do not come here first for a silent KJV office with no account and a public vow that prayer never leaves the device. They are a Catholic study app from Ascension Press, and they say so.
Seraph — if you want a quiet office with no account, a full KJV, and a price you can read before you install
Ours, last on purpose. A flame, the KJV, two free guided sessions, reading plans, no sign-up. Paid for the remaining sessions and Sacred Seasons, free for the office. Small, new, iPhone-and-web only. If none of those sentences is what you came for, Ascension is the better fit, and we would rather you found it here than felt sold to.
Sources and scope
Checked against the following official Ascension pages on . These references do not establish an independent review or endorsement of Seraph. Subjective product fit remains our assessment.
- Ascension US App Store listing (id1660909501)
Supports “Free · In-App Purchases,” Full Access Monthly $8.99 and Full Access Annual $59.99 (USA note in the subscription terms), auto-renew unless turned off 24 hours before the period ends, seller Ascension Publishing Group, LLC, support@ascensionpress.com, the free-tier sentence (full Bible text, full Catechism, Daily Mass readings and reflections of the day, full Rosary with recorded voices, most Ascension podcasts), Full Access as “all content and programs,” Great Adventure / Bible Timeline / Catechism / Rosary / Mass readings / In a Year / 80+ study plans / 1000+ questions, App Privacy as parsed from the live HTML (Track: Identifiers; Linked: Purchases, Contact Info, User Content, Identifiers, Usage Data, Diagnostics; Not Linked: Identifiers), and the device list (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Vision). The subscription terms on this check do not name a trial. We do not restate their rating or ranking marketing.
- Ascension — App page and FAQ
Supports the Catholic Bible and Catechism product, Great Adventure Bible and Catechism of the Catholic Church, Ascension Edition, sign-in with email and password, free features “so long as you've downloaded the app and signed in,” premium as Fr. Mike’s Advent series / 60+ study plans / 1000+ Bible answers / Bible in a Year companions / Lectio Divina / Bible Studies / podcast companions, FAQ prices $8.95 per month and $59.95 annually, 7-day trial for new customers only, no family sharing, no gift subscriptions, web at app.ascensionpress.com, Android via Google Play, iPhone / iPad / tablet, Android 9 and iOS 13 as FAQ minimums, English only, and that a support gift does not grant an app subscription. We do not reuse testimonial or ranking marketing from that page.
- Ascension — App privacy policy
Supports operator Ascension Publishing Group, LLC (doing business as Ascension), collection of names, emails, usernames, and passwords when you register, possible processing of information revealing religious or philosophical beliefs, cookies, targeted advertising, usage-trend processing, and payment data stored by Stripe, Shopify, and RevenueCat. Last updated June 14, 2023 on this check. The US listing’s App Privacy label is cited separately above.
- Ascension — Terms and conditions
Supports the Site at www.ascensionpress.com and www.evangelization.com, operator named Ascension Publishing, LLC (“Ascension Press”), and “In order to access certain content… you may be asked to register and create an account.” That is Site language. We do not treat it as the app’s sign-in rule; the app FAQ is cited for that.
- Ascension on Google Play
Supports an Android listing, developer Ascension Publishing Group, the same subscription copy ($8.99 per month / $59.99 per year, USA note), and Data safety “No data shared with third parties” / may collect Personal info, Financial info and 2 others. We do not restate review counts or install totals from that page.
Daily office free, with no account · Seraph+ $6.99/mo or $59.99/yr · auto-renews · cancel anytime
Web and iPhone subscriptions are separate purchases and do not unlock each other