Kids love their screens—I think we can all agree on that. Sometimes it seems that life is the thing that gets in the way of our kids keeping up with their games, life hacks, and favorite YouTubers.
Who can blame them, really? If I were a kid today, I would be exactly the same. Online and digital apps are this generation’s version of “cool play,” and what kid doesn’t want that?
I can’t count how many times my daughter’s knowledge of DIY life hacks (learned online) has served me. Just the other day, she taught me how to use a straw to seal up a half-eaten bag of chips. MacGyver, Jr.
As adults who want to see kids be as passionate about the Bible as they are about unlocking a new power combo in a game, we naturally start thinking about Bible games and apps.
So what are the best Bible apps for kids?
There’s no shortage of children’s Bible apps to put on your device, and almost all of them are free (but the free ones generally have ads that pop up).
As you can imagine, some of these apps are good, some are pretty good, and some are not so good.
But no matter the level of success in the execution of these apps, we want to affirm that the desire of the creators is to engage children with God and the Bible, and we want them and others to be encouraged to keep pursuing this goal.
With the help of the user star-ratings system and some online roundups of Bible apps for kids, we’ve selected 12 apps to review. Apps were tested both by an adult (me) and an eleven-year-old power user (my daughter).
This sampling includes some apps we really liked and some that didn’t connect with us as well.
It’s only a selection from the many that are out there, but this article will give you a feel for the range of Bible apps for kids you’ll find.
Our goals were to find apps that 1) improve biblical literacy, 2) cause kids to be more positively inclined toward Christ and the Bible, and 3) kids love to spend time with.
It’s a tall order, and if #3 isn’t true, a child may not spend long enough with the app to get #1 and #2.
But we also found that some apps that look very polished or are quite popular needed to be ranked lower in our review, because biblical literacy and love of God and the Bible were what we were primarily looking for.
Our Test Results
We gave each of the 12 Bible apps for kids a score based on four factors:
- Does it improve Biblical literacy?
- Does it build a love of God and the Bible?
- Does it appeal to kids?
- Other factors (e.g., intangibles, does the app accomplish its goal, etc.?)
You can see detailed rankings for each app in the reviews below.
Here are the overall scores:
| App Name | Overall Score |
| Superbook Kids Bible App | 98.75 |
| RightNow Media | 87.5 |
| Noah’s Ark: Bible Story Book | 77.5 |
| Jesus Bible Trivia Challenge | 60 |
| PureFlix | 57.5 |
| Bible Coloring Book (Bible Coloring Pages) | 47.5 |
| Guardians of Ancora | 46.25 |
| The Bible Word Match Game | 42.75 |
| Bible Songs for Kids (Offline) | 42.5 |
| The Bible App for Kids | 27.5 |
| Noah’s Elephant in the Room | 18.75 |
| God for Kids: Bible Devotional | 16.25 |
Our Reviews of 12 Bible Apps for Kids
Superbook Kids Bible App
This is our favorite in the list. The app uses the updated and modern-looking Superbook series of animated videos as its core content, and then everything else is a smart use of this core property.
The Bible portion takes the child through the entire Bible, chapter by chapter, using the NLT translation. Every few verses, it shows one or more icons, indicating that there is an activity, game, quiz, or animated video that illustrates or pertains to that passage. The Q&A logo offers a searchable and topical list of kid-friendly answers to topics like faith, hell, and the Trinity.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 100/100
It’s the Bible…enhanced with video, games, quizzes, and Bible profiles.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 100/100
By starting with the Bible and working to illustrate and explain it, as opposed to starting from a game that moves near to the Bible, it increases love for God and His Word.
Appeal for kids – 95/100
My daughter said this was her favorite; she especially liked the Superbook videos.
Other Factors – 100/100
Of all the reviewed apps, this one best married digital technology and the app platform with a true love for God’s Word; it began with the assumption that the Bible is marvelous and has much to say to help a child grow and navigate life.
Overall Review Score – 98.75/100
RightNow Media
The function of this app is to serve as a gateway to the vast library of media content on the RightNow Media website. In other words, the app is mostly a viewer. On their site, they have hundreds of episodes from well-known Christian children’s entertainment franchises like Veggie Tales, Bibleman, Adventures in Odyssey, Boz, and many more.
Once you have access to their site, there are almost endless hours of quality Christian entertainment for your child. The hitch is that individuals cannot subscribe to RightNow Media. They offer subscriptions only to churches, and participating churches give access to their members.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 100/100
With so much excellent content, a child’s biblical literacy is certain to rise.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 100/100
This collection represents the best collection of Christian entertainment for children probably on the planet. Much of this programming enhances love for God and Bible.
Appeal for kids – 100/100
Think of this less as a Bible app for kids and more as a Christian children’s cable network of on-demand programming.
Other Factors – 50/100
The app defaults to the adult devotionals screen, which is confusing to some kids, and the church subscription thing (an attempt to drive people to churches, which I appreciate) feels somewhat like an outdated barrier in our day.
Overall Review Score – 87.5/100
Noah’s Ark: Bible Story Book
A polished app with storybook, game, puzzle, card matching, coloring page, and animation elements.
The heart of the app is the story of Noah’s Ark, which is told across several pages of interactive content. The user can have a narrator read the text on the screen or make the text disappear and just tap on the elements on the page, which often animate slightly and have a fun sound effect.
There’s also a game in which Noah lets animals onto the Ark two by two, giving their names as they load. Several in-app advertisements and special offers for other apps or products.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 70/100
For the one story of Noah’s Ark, it will definitely enhance the child’s knowledge.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 85/100
It’s a fun and multi-faceted approach to this beloved story.
Appeal for kids – 85/100
It feels a little young (maybe best for ages 4–6), but it’s fun, appealing, and polished.
Other Factors – 70/100
I like that it comes at this one story in a variety of ways; a child could engage with the story for an hour or more without tiring of it.
Overall Review Score – 77.5/100
Jesus Bible Trivia Challenge
The first thing you’ll notice about this app is the very fun, upbeat music. It’s hard not to move to the beat just a little.
The app seems primarily made for adults, as there’s almost no kid items. There are Facebook links, “gold” to purchase things in the app, and links that send you to www.jesusfilm.org or www.dontbeleftbehind.com. Plus, you have to answer 500 questions, and not many kids will stick around that long on a trivia app, no matter how good the music is.
The developers were, at time of review, working on a multiplayer component to the game, which might also be fun.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 90/100
If you don’t already know the answer, the app takes you to the spot in the Bible where you can learn it—do that 500 times and you’ll definitely learn!
Builds Love of God and Bible – 40/100
It doesn’t build a love of God so much as test your knowledge, which you have perhaps gained because of your love of God.
Appeal for kids – 25/100
It’s definitely geared toward adults; perhaps mainly only Bible whiz kids would be able to know many of the answers and endure for 500 questions.
Other Factors – 85/100
Love the fun music!
Overall Review Score – 60/100
PureFlix
Like RightNow Media’s app, this app is only a viewer for the entertainment material offered by PureFlix. Think of the app as “a television on your phone or device” for watching PureFlix’s shows.
PureFlix offers a wide variety of movies, TV shows, documentaries, and original content that is either specifically Christian or is family friendly. Titles you might recognize are Where the Red Fern Grows, Fly Away Home, and His Girl Friday. You can also find Heidi, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, and the Left Behind movies.
In all, the selection feels like mostly black and white classics, plus a few forays into original programming and animated offerings with puppets or animated characters. Unlike RightNow, PureFlix can be subscribed to by individuals, with membership running around $10/month.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 50/100
There are some children’s programs and shows that teach about Jesus and the Bible.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 50/100
Same comment as above.
Appeal for kids – 50/100
With a few exceptions, the children’s offerings feel “off-brand” and not as immediately appealing as the library at RightNow Media.
Other Factors – 80/100
It feels like a great resource for families who want access to lots of entertaining and even faith-based video content that they don’t have to worry about their kids watching.
Overall Review Score – 57.5/100
Bible Coloring Book
This Bible app for kids provides pages of attractive black and white line art of Bible scenes and gives kids the tools to color the pages.
There is nice background music playing (but it’s on a loop, so it gets old after a while) and the tools have fun sound effects. The pencil tools have a nice scritching sound, and the spray can has an aerosol sound. It’s a pleasing experience.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 10/100
These are just coloring pages.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 20/100
Not much, but it may cause kids to think about them while coloring.
Appeal for kids – 85/100
My daughter said, “Ooh, I really like this one.”
Other Factors – 75/100
A solid Bible app for kids that does well what it’s trying to do.
Overall Review Score – 47.5/100
Fun Bible-related activity, but doesn’t do much to advance biblical literacy.
(We’ve put together 52 free Bible coloring pages you can download right away—no app needed!)
Guardians of Ancora
This was by far the most polished and professional game of any of the Bible apps for kids we reviewed. The download size was huge (nearly 400 MB), but it is a polished, side-scrolling “jumping game” that lets the child jump their way through Capernaum, for example, and come upon Bible scenes just in time to trigger a conversation between Jesus and Peter in the miraculous catch of fish.
The animation is modern 3D computer style and the gameplay is quite smooth. The game is so fun, actually, that the only less-fun parts are the Bible story elements, which slow down the action and almost become something the player has to sit through to get back to jumping and finding hidden power-ups.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 50/100
If the child watches and reads the animated exchanges, there is the potential to learn about the Bible.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 35/100
What may be built is love of the game, and not so much the love of God or the Bible.
Appeal for kids – 75/100
Very fun and “slick”; looks like a modern game, so kids who enjoy games will like it; but a child who isn’t great at jumping games may not like it. My daughter didn’t like the jumping and felt the game didn’t make her love the Bible more. But it’s a marvelous effort.
Other Factors – 25/100
This is an idea that I’m glad to see someone accomplish; it’s a very good execution, but I’m just not convinced it makes the child love God or the Bible more, since the fun is over on the game side of things. Still, it’s quite cool to look at and play.
Overall Review Score – 46.25/100
The Bible Word Match Game
This is another app by RD Games, who also produced Jesus Bible Trivia Challenge. Like that one, this has upbeat music, is geared mainly toward adults (and adult Bible nerds at that, maybe), and gives a certain thrill to the user who can do well in the app.
Like that other app, this one gives you lots and lots of challenges as you go through every book in the Bible, filling in the missing words from selected verses, in either the King James or New American Standard translations.
It’s gratifying to know the verses so well as to be able to fill in (or guess!) the missing words, but most kids won’t know these translations, and no amount of game coins or happy music can likely overcome the frustration they may encounter in this app.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 51/100
This app doesn’t build biblical literacy so much as test it, but if the player learns some verses a bit more accurately, that technically improves his or her biblical literacy.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 25/100
Doesn’t really build a love for God and the Bible, but if you have a love for the Bible already, you may do well in the game.
Appeal for kids – 15/100
It’s geared for adults who know a particular version of the Bible (user can toggle between KJV and NASB); kids may become quickly frustrated.
Other Factors – 80/100
There is a certain thrill to knowing the given verse so well that you can fill in the blanks quickly, especially since doing so before the timer runs out gives you bonus points.
Overall Review Score – 42.75/100
Bible Songs for Kids (Offline)
Thirty-one older church songs for kids. Songs include “I’ve Got the Joy,” “Fishers of Men,” “This Little Light of Mine,” “Jesus Loves Me,” and more of that sort.
This would be a nice thing to have playing in the background while babies are sleeping or kids are coloring.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 30/100
Bible-based songs often include truths about God that may “stick” with kids.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 50/100
Likewise, a song about God’s love may come to a child’s mind when he or she needs it most.
Appeal for kids – 50/100
If the child is quite young, the songs will feel new and fresh; church-savvy kids may find the songs old and boring. My daughter loved having the songs to play on demand, but she thought the singers sometimes sounded “a little weird” and as if these were just recordings from another device (as opposed to fresh recordings or “real” kids singing).
Other Factors – 40/100
This is a solid app playing old favorites in a good format. It might be a nice tool for the VBS teacher who doesn’t play an instrument. Even after I exited the app, I found myself singing, “He brought me to His banqueting table…”
(Find more online music ideas with this list of kids’ worship songs.)
Overall Review Score – 42.5/100
The Bible App for Kids
This is probably the best-known and most-used Bible app for kids. It’s made by the creators of The Bible App. This is an attractive and stable app that gives a clickable tour through 41 Bible stories.
Kids get a nice, multi-spread presentation of the story, complete with written text and spoken narration. Very professional presentation. Much of the fun comes by clicking on the elements of the spread to trigger new animations or sound effects.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 40/100
There are many stories here, but the content felt shallow and the emphasis seemed to be on the animations to trigger by touching different parts of the screen.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 20/100
Again, the fun of this app seemed to be more the animations than anything about the Bible itself.
Appeal for kids – 40/100
It’s pretty and works well and is fun, but it quickly gets boring. My daughter got frustrated that the tile-placing activity she tried wouldn’t let her correct a mistake, so she quit playing with the app.
Other Factors – 10/100
A good alternative to secular screen time activities, but there are other apps that go deeper with the Bible.
Overall Review Score – 27.5/100
Noah’s Elephant in the Room
This is an attractive game loosely connected to Noah’s Ark, in which the child controls an elephant as it runs through various settings, avoiding mud and collecting peanuts.
There was almost no Bible teaching content, and the game itself, while slick and well-produced, was somewhat frustrating.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 5/100
Almost nil.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 5/100
This is a fun game, but the tie to biblical things is pretty loose.
Appeal for kids – 55/100
It is an attractive game; my daughter found it hard to learn at first.
Other Factors – 10/100
I like the idea of having Bible-themed games, but as a game, this didn’t stack up well compared to the other game apps; and as a Bible activity, it was very shallow. Also, only the “farm” level was free; the other two levels have to be purchased.
Overall Review Score – 18.75/100
God for Kids: Bible Devotional
This is a crowd-funded app. It scrolls the screen always to the right, revealing new questions or challenges, somewhat related to the Bible. There are in-app purchases you can make, with prices listed in British pounds.
There was a certain suspense or challenge about trying to answer the question or solve the puzzle to keep the screen scrolling right, but it wasn’t terribly fun or instructive.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 20/100
The four “adventures” take kids on a scrolling quest to learn that Jesus is Lord, etc.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 20/100
Felt very light on this.
Appeal for kids – 10/100
My daughter didn’t like it, and some of the questions weren’t related to the Bible and were U.K.-centered, such as, “In what year was Queen Elizabeth II born?”
Other Factors – 15/100
The app was a bit buggy (it kept telling me I wasn’t connected to Wi-Fi, though I was).
Overall Review Score – 16.25/100
As the market for Bible apps for kids becomes more robust and mature, we will continue to see more examples in all quality levels. Some will try to entertain kids in ways that are “near” to the Bible and God. Some will be fun little toys or time-fillers, like coloring books and puzzles. And some will deeply engage kids in a love for God and His Word.
As the field gets more crowded, we’ll all rely more on word of mouth and roundups like these to steer us toward apps our kids might like and that might help them on their journey of faith. We hope this one helps you!
Currently available on iPhone/iOS only
David vs. Goliath: A Righteous Tale
This is an amazing app that all new Bible apps for kids should be measured by. It’s beautiful, humorous, professionally made, very fun, engaging, and biblically sound.
The story of David is built around individual screens or spreads. These arrive with terrific animation and music, and then the narrator sets the stage. In one early screen, young David is out with his sheep. Another screen shows Samuel scribbling away at his desk while his wife keeps calling him down to dinner and a mouse scurries around on the floor. You can touch various elements on the screen to trigger great animations. There is fun interaction between the narrator and the characters on the screen. And you always know what to click on when you’re ready for the story to advance.
If you are familiar with the old Living Books interactive stories from yesteryear (like Ruff’s Bone), then imagine that level of playfulness updated to modern technology and featuring a Bible story. There are mini-games (like helping David practice his aim with the sling or unlocking all the secrets in every spread) and lots more fun to be had.
My favorite aspect of this app is that, like the Superbook app, it starts with the premise that the Bible is amazing, fascinating, powerful, and a rich and important object of study. The storytelling is engaging and uses several techniques to make you lean forward and delve into the story and the meaning of it all. It’s entertaining and educational and pulls you into the Bible with humor, professional presentation, and intelligent variety.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 94/100
It covers only one segment of David’s life, but it does it extremely well.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 100/100
This is what all Bible apps for kids should be like; it doesn’t stay on the surface of the story but goes deeper into meaning, and it does so in clear and simple ways.
Appeal for kids – 100/100
Very fun, funny, attractive, stable, and engrossing.
Other Factors – 90/100
It’s available for iOS only, which I hope is going to be remedied soon.
Overall Review Score – 96/100
Currently available on Android only
My Talking Bible Stories
Nearly 200 narrated Bible stories read by an older British man. One colorful picture at the top of each story, and then lots of text. Best used as an audiobook or story read-along. Felt like a narrated slideshow from the 1960s. But quite a lot of content.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 90/100
For each main section, like “Jesus – Teacher and Healer,” there are 24 short narrated stories.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 90/100
Simplified paraphrases of the story bring out God’s power and love.
Appeal for kids – 85/100
If a child likes audiobooks and can understand the British accent—and doesn’t mind the lack of glitz—this is a treasure for long trips or devotions. My daughter loved the idea of having this as an audiobook to have playing in the background or on trips.
Other Factors – 60/100
Kids may be put off by the old-fashioned slideshow feel of the presentation.
Overall Review Score – 81.25/100
Bible Stories for Kids (by Best Projects)
This app appears to include audio Bible stories and animated episodes from The Beginner’s Bible series of yesteryear. The voice track of these animated episodes is in English but the written text is in German. There appear to be over 100 audio stories (though there is overlap between categories, so there may be fewer) and six animated episodes.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 90/100
Lots of Bible story content, done in a professional and engaging way; the videos, while looking old and out of style, add a visual component to the learning.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 90/100
The audio dramas, especially, were winsome and well-produced.
Appeal for kids – 85/100
There’s not any glitz in this app, but the audio stories are great for playing while kids are in the car or working on activities at home. My daughter really liked the audiobook element.
Other Factors – 35/100
The animation quality is low by modern standards and may turn kids off.
Overall Review Score – 75/100
Bible for Children: Bible Study
An eclectic app that contains brightly colored illustrations of Bible stories, four songs, and a collection of “prayer quotes” designed as memes that can be shared with others. Lots of clicks needed and intrusive ads. Somewhat confusing interface.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 90/100
There are 35 Old Testament stories and 25 from the New Testament.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 90/100
The stories are detailed and not shallow.
Appeal for kids – 15/100
The art is poor and the pure/solid colors look like something from the 1960s. My daughter thought the stories were okay but the look was off-putting.
Other Factors – 62/100
There’s no whiz-bang fun in this app and the art is not great, but if a kid will read the stories, good things could happen.
Overall Review Score – 64.25/100
This really is a Bible-teaching app; it may not be cool for kids, but it promotes God’s Word
Bible Puzzles for Toddlers (Baby Bible Puzzles)
In a way, this simple puzzle app really is for Toddlers. But there are multiple ads to click through, and some of the ads are for adult products (I saw one for a robotic vacuum cleaner over and over). But all is forgiven because of the fun “Halleluiah!” from Handel’s Messiah that plays whenever the child correctly solves a puzzle. I found myself with a silly grin on my face and solving just one more puzzle to get that “Halleluiah” again.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 5/100
Almost nil. The puzzle pieces placed onto the puzzle are in biblical garb, but there is no teaching happening.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 25/100
I suppose a positive association between Bible characters and the musical affirmation might make toddlers like Bible stories a bit more.
Appeal for kids – 90/100
It’s easy and fun and the musical reward doesn’t seem to get old. My daughter said, “I love this app. This is really fun.”
Other Factors – 50/100
It probably would get old, though, and the ads are a bit irritating. Still, fun times.
Overall Review Score – 42.5/100
Bible Songs for Kids
This app has only ten songs and the adult voices are played through an odd filter that seems to be an attempt to make the singers sound like children. Songs are a little more current but still old, like “Here I Am to Worship” and “Awesome God.”
Improves Biblical Literacy – 20/100
Same as Bible Songs for Kids (Offline), but fewer songs to choose from.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 40/100
Same as Bible Songs for Kids (Offline), but fewer songs to choose from.
Appeal for kids – 35/100
My daughter liked having the songs, but she thought the singers sounded strange.
Other Factors – 25/100
It was odd that there were so few songs available.
Overall Review Score – 30/100
Bible Trivia Quiz (by iDailybread.org)
This is a fun idea for a game, but it’s soured by its use of advertisements and by the questions used as trivia. The child gets thirty seconds to answer ten trivia questions. As soon as they get one wrong, a window pops up asking if they want a second chance (by watching an advertisement). If they say yes, an ad plays for thirty seconds. At the end of that time, the game goes back to the missed trivia question. Watching ads is the way to improve your score, “claim prizes,” and get second chances throughout. Also, some of the “easy” questions are very difficult, and vice versa. It almost begins to feel like a delivery vehicle for advertisements.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 55/100
By presenting biblical trivia and showing right and wrong answers, Bible knowledge may be increased.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 25/100
The app seems more designed to build love of what’s featured in the advertisements.
Appeal for kids – 20/100
My daughter said it was a fun game and challenge but she didn’t know many of the answers even in easy mode, and watching the ads was annoying.
Other Factors – 10/100
It’s a frustrating experience; the star feature of the app is its presentation of ads.
Overall Review Score – 27.5/100
Bible Puzzles Game
An odd tile puzzle app in which the child assembles images from the Bible (creation, ten commandments, etc.). The interface has no instructions and the whole app seems to have been translated from Spanish (some non-English text remains in the app: “Men misbehaved earth and God told Noah that soon would come a great dilubio”) and the tiles often do not respond to touch and do not go where you place them, giving you an annoying buzzer sound.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 5/100
The focus is on assembling the images, not on any sort of Bible teaching.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 5/100
It’s a puzzle activity only.
Appeal for kids – 25/100
My daughter actually enjoyed the puzzles and the sound effects, but she found the tactile problems irritating.
Other Factors – 40/100
It’s a free app that has kids work Bible-related puzzles on their device. That’s a good thing.
Overall Review Score – 18.75/100
Puzzles of the Bible and Jesus
This is a tile sliding puzzle app that tracks how many moves it takes you to reassemble the picture as intended. It has twelve images of Jesus and the Bible. When you select one, the image shows in its complete form, and then a couple of tiles move. The countdown timer starts, and you have to try to put the tiles back into place in as few moves as possible. This feels like an adult game, and indeed, the images could’ve been of anything—NASCAR drivers or potted plants—and the core “game” would remain the same.
Improves Biblical Literacy – 0/100
Nil.
Builds Love of God and Bible – 0/100
One might do it because of an already existing love, but it won’t be likely to build any.
Appeal for kids – 10/100
My daughter said it felt like a game teenagers would like.
Other Factors – 10/100
It felt like something that could be made in 5 minutes by swapping out graphics, once the tile-moving mechanism was in place.
Overall Review Score – 5/100
Others
It looked like a children’s product, but it is not. It seems to be a harmony of the gospels of sorts, but it was text-heavy and had no audio component.
Looks like a Bible app for kids but is really a list of Bible reference tools like commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and more.
Honorable Mention for Adults
The Bible Project
Go to https://thebibleproject.com/ and watch the videos being made by these two animators and theologians. Their library is growing all the time. These aren’t kids’ animations. They would be great for adult home fellowship groups or Sunday schools.
