The short answer
The best prayer app for praying with Scripture in writing, quietly and on your own, is Bible Studies for Women ($79.99 a year). If you want guided audio prayer, Hallow (Catholic) and Abide are the stronger choices. For a free prayer list, PrayerMate rotates the people you pray for, and Echo Prayer lets you mark requests answered.
- Best for quiet, written prayer: Bible Studies for Women, with guided prayers drawn from Scripture and prayer requests you can mark answered ($7.99 a month or $79.99 a year).
- Best for guided audio prayer: Hallow for Catholic prayer ($69.99 a year, with a free daily tier), or Abide for Scripture meditations you listen to.
- Best free prayer list: PrayerMate, free to use, for praying through people, churches and missions a few at a time.
- Best for answered prayer and sharing: Echo Prayer, free, with an optional Echo Plus+ subscription for creating groups.
- Free with no subscription at all: Lectio 365 and Pray As You Go, covered below the main five.
Members of the Word makes Bible Studies for Women, one of the apps in this guide. We checked every other app's price and features on its App Store listing, Google Play listing or official site on September 29, 2026. Prices are in US dollars and can vary by country.
Search for a prayer app and the results mix Christian prayer apps with Muslim prayer-times apps. This guide covers Christian prayer apps only.
On the Christian side, audio apps with narrated sessions and well-known voices fill most of the page. That suits many people, but it hides a simple question: do you want to listen to a guided prayer, or pray quietly in your own words?
We label each app's tradition, say whether it is audio or written, and give the full price per year. All five picks work on iPhone and Android, and we checked each one on its store pages and website on September 29, 2026.
At a glance
| App | Tradition | Audio or written | Price per year | Free version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bible Studies for Women | Christian, notes where traditions differ | Written, no audio | $79.99 ($7.99/mo) | No, and no free trial |
 Hallow | Catholic | Mainly audio, with a journal | $69.99 ($9.99/mo) | Yes: daily prayers, rosary, 9-day intro |
 Echo Prayer | Christian, no denomination stated | Written prayer list | Free, or $15 for Echo Plus+ (site price) | Yes, the core list |
| PrayerMate | Christian, no denomination stated | Written prayer list | Free, optional $10.99 Patron | Yes, the whole app |
 Abide | Christian, no denomination stated | Mainly audio | $39.99 on its site, store prices vary | 7-day free trial |
Our app
Members of the Word
1. Bible Studies for Women
Best for praying with Scripture in writing, quietly and on your own
Bible Studies for Women is a guided Bible study app with a full Prayer tab. It earns first place here for one kind of prayer: quiet, written prayer grounded in the passage you are reading.
The Prayer tab has guided prayers drawn from Scripture, prayer prompts, quiet prayer, and a way to pray with today's verse. Prayer requests sit in your journal as ongoing or answered.
Every study session ends with Pray it through, so your prayer follows from the passage you have just studied. Writing is always optional, and you can reflect quietly instead.
There is no audio or narration of any kind, and what you write stays on your phone.
- Best for
- praying with Scripture in writing, quietly and on your own
- Price
- $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year. No free trial
- Platforms
- iPhone and Android
What stands out
- Guided prayers drawn from Scripture, prompts and quiet prayer
- Prayer requests you can mark answered, kept in your journal
- A prayer stage at the end of every study session
- Full Berean Standard Bible offline, with highlights, notes and bookmarks
- A private journal stored on your phone, with export any time
Worth knowing
- It costs the most per year of the five: $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year, with no free version and no free trial.
- There is no audio, no groups and no shared prayer lists. If you want guided audio prayer, Hallow or Abide will suit you better.
- Your journal lives only on your phone and cloud backup is off, so export your entries or rely on your phone's own backup.
- We make this app, which is why we are clear about the price and the limits.
Make space for prayer.
Guided prayers, gentle prompts, or simply quiet, whenever you need it.
2. Hallow
Hallow, Inc.
Best for guided audio prayer in the Catholic tradition
Hallow describes itself as a Catholic app, with content reviewed by Catholic Church leaders. Its listing also says it is meant as a resource for people of all faiths.
Sessions are mainly audio: the rosary, Lectio Divina on the daily readings, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Examen and Night Prayer. If you want to be led through prayer by a voice, it has the widest range of sessions in this guide.
- Best for
- guided audio prayer in the Catholic tradition
- Price
- Free daily prayers. Full library $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year (US)
- Platforms
- iPhone and Android
What stands out
- Over 10,000 guided prayer and meditation sessions, per its listing
- Rosary, Examen, Lectio Divina and Night Prayer
- A journal after every prayer
- Prayer reminders and offline downloads
- Hallow Family for sharing prayer intentions
Worth knowing
- The free tier covers daily prayers, including the rosary, and a 9-day Intro Prayer Challenge. The rest of the library needs the $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year subscription.
- Rosary, novenas, saints and the Liturgy of the Hours are central, so it will feel most natural to Catholics.
3. Echo Prayer
The Parable Group, Inc.
Best for a simple prayer list with reminders and answered prayers
Echo Prayer is a clean prayer list. You add requests, sort them into categories, and get push or email reminders to pray.
When a prayer is answered you can mark it, so you have a record of what God has done. You can also share requests with friends and let people know you prayed for them.
- Best for
- a simple prayer list with reminders and answered prayers
- Price
- Free. Echo Plus+ $15 a year on its site, store prices vary
- Platforms
- iPhone and Android
What stands out
- Unlimited prayer list with categories
- Mark prayers as answered
- Push or email reminders to pray
- A "Pray Now" focus mode
- Share requests with individuals or groups
Worth knowing
- Creating groups and feeds needs Echo Plus+. Its site says $15 a year after a 7-day free trial, while the App Store listing mentions a 14-day trial.
- It is a list and reminder tool, with no guided prayers or Bible reading.
Echo Prayer on App Store Echo Prayer on Google Play Echo Prayer on Website
4. PrayerMate
Discipleship Tech
Best for praying through long lists of people, churches and missions
PrayerMate turns your prayer list into a stack of cards. Each day it shows one person or topic from each category, so everyone gets prayed for over time without the list becoming overwhelming.
You can also subscribe to prayer feeds from churches and charities, which add their current requests to your cards.
- Best for
- praying through long lists of people, churches and missions
- Price
- Free. Optional Patron subscription $0.99 a month or $10.99 a year
- Platforms
- iPhone and Android
What stands out
- Swipeable prayer cards, one per category each day
- Your own categories, with people added from your contacts
- Prayer feeds from churches and charities (500+ on its site)
- Scheduling by date, weekday or "not prayed for a while"
- Daily reminder and PIN lock
Worth knowing
- It is free to use. The optional Patron subscription adds extra color schemes, and some prayer packs are sold separately.
- Many built-in feeds are UK-based, such as London City Mission and UCCF, which may matter less to US users.
PrayerMate on App Store PrayerMate on Google Play PrayerMate on Website
5. Abide
Guideposts
Best for Scripture meditations and sleep stories you listen to
Abide is a Christian meditation app from Guideposts. It offers guided meditations on Bible passages, bedtime Bible stories and an NIV audio Bible.
If you want Scripture-based audio for anxious moments or for falling asleep, and you would rather not follow a Catholic pattern of prayer, Abide is the audio choice here.
- Best for
- Scripture meditations and sleep stories you listen to
- Price
- $39.99 a year or $9.99 a month on its site, after a 7-day free trial. Store prices vary
- Platforms
- iPhone and Android
What stands out
- More than 2,000 guided Christian meditations, per its listing
- 365+ bedtime Bible sleep stories
- NIV audio Bible and topical prayer plans
- Journal your thoughts in daily entries
- Background music and nature sounds
Worth knowing
- The App Store lists several Abide Premium prices, from $7.99 to $44.99, so the price you see may depend on the offer.
- Almost everything is audio, and the App Store listing is marked "Contains Advertising".
Audio prayer apps vs quiet, written prayer apps
Prayer apps split into two kinds. Some lead you through prayer with a voice, music and a set length. Others give you a quiet place to pray in your own words and keep track of what you prayed for.
- Audio and guided: Hallow (Catholic) and Abide. Best if you like to be led, want prayer on a walk or at bedtime, or find a blank page hard to start.
- Written and quiet: Bible Studies for Women, Echo Prayer and PrayerMate. Best if you want silence, pray in your own words, or keep a list of requests.
- Read or listen: Lectio 365 lets you read the day's devotional or listen to it, morning, midday and night.
Free prayer apps with no subscription
PrayerMate is free to use, and its Patron subscription is optional. Echo Prayer is free for a personal prayer list, with Echo Plus+ for groups and feeds.
[Lectio 365](https://www.lectio365.com) from 24-7 Prayer, an interdenominational movement, is a completely free daily devotional with no in-app purchases in either store. Its iPhone app does not run on iPad.
[Pray As You Go](https://prayasyougo.org/) from Jesuits in Britain is a free daily audio prayer of about 10-13 minutes, with no subscription or registration.
Hallow is free only in part: daily prayers and an intro challenge are open, and the full library is paid. Bible Studies for Women has no free version.
How to choose a prayer app
Four questions settle it quickly.
- Which tradition is it written from? A Catholic app such as Hallow centers the rosary and the saints. Many other apps do not name a tradition at all.
- Do you want to listen or to write? Audio apps lead you. Written apps leave room for silence and your own words.
- What does it cost per year? Monthly prices hide the total, and some apps list several prices depending on the offer.
- Where do your prayers go? Check whether entries stay on your phone, sync to an account, or are shared with a group. For more on this, see our guide to the best prayer journal apps.
Which one should you choose?
You want to pray in writing with Scripture, quietly and on your own
Bible Studies for Women. Guided prayers come from Scripture, every study ends in prayer, and requests can be marked answered.
You want guided audio prayer in the Catholic tradition
Hallow. For guided audio prayer, Hallow is a stronger choice than our app: rosary, Examen and Night Prayer, with a free daily tier.
You want guided audio prayer and Scripture meditation, not specifically Catholic
Abide. For listening rather than writing, Abide is a stronger choice than our app, with thousands of meditations and sleep stories.
You want a free prayer list with reminders and answered prayers
Echo Prayer. The core list, reminders and answered prayers are free.
You pray through many people, churches and missions
PrayerMate. It rotates your list so everyone is prayed for over time, free.
How we chose
We started from the apps that appear when people search for a prayer app today, kept the Christian ones, and chose five that run on both iPhone and Android.
We checked each app on the App Store, Google Play and its own website on September 29, 2026, and compared tradition, audio or written prayer, price per year and what is free.
We make Bible Studies for Women and placed it first for a narrow reason: it is the strongest option here for quiet, written prayer tied to Scripture. For guided audio prayer we recommend Hallow or Abide instead.
Frequently asked questions
What is the #1 prayer app?
It depends on how you pray. Hallow has the most App Store ratings of the apps here (378K) and suits Catholic audio prayer. For quiet, written prayer with Scripture, Bible Studies for Women; for a free prayer list, PrayerMate or Echo Prayer.
Is Hallow really free?
Partly. Daily prayers, including the rosary, and a 9-day Intro Prayer Challenge are free. The full library costs $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year in the US.
Is there a prayer app with no subscription or ads?
Yes. Lectio 365 and Pray As You Go are free, with no in-app purchases and no ads label on Google Play. PrayerMate is free with an optional Patron subscription. Bible Studies for Women has no ads, but it does need a subscription.
What is the best prayer diary app?
For writing prayers alongside the passage you are studying, with entries kept on your phone, Bible Studies for Women. For a list of requests you can mark answered, Echo Prayer. Our guide to the best prayer journal apps compares more options.
Is there a prayer app that does not need an account?
Bible Studies for Women has no account, and your writing stays on your phone. Pray As You Go says it needs no subscription or registration.
Can a prayer app help me grow closer to God?
A prayer app can give you a steady place and time to pray, which is where most growth starts. Our guide to apps to get closer to God looks at Bible, study and prayer apps together.
