Resource Review · Devotional Apps
Bible in One Year
The free 365-day reading plan that walks you through the whole Bible with a warm daily commentary in your ear — the one that has actually gotten millions of people to finish.
- Editor rating
- 4.8 / 5
- Starting price
- Free
- Free tier
- Yes
- Platforms
- iOS · Android · Web
- Developer
- Alpha (HTB)
- Launched
- 2012
The verdict
The most approachable “read the whole Bible” app there is. Free, structured, and carried by Nicky and Pippa Gumbel’s warm daily commentary, it solves the real problem with Bible-in-a-year plans — staying motivated — better than almost anything else. If you have started and quit a reading plan before, start here.
Try Bible in One Year ↗Opens bible.alpha.org
Bible in One Year — now officially titled The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel — is a free daily reading plan that takes you through the entire Bible in 365 days, paired each day with a short, encouraging commentary from Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, the couple behind the global Alpha course. It is produced by HTB, an Anglican church in London, and the Alpha ministry, and it has become one of the most-used Bible-reading plans in the world, with millions of people across more than 160 countries having gone through it.
The problem with most “read the Bible in a year” plans is not the reading — it is the quitting. People start strong in Genesis, hit the genealogies or Leviticus, lose the thread, and drift away by March. Bible in One Year is engineered against exactly that. Each day mixes a passage from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Psalms or Proverbs so the reading never gets stuck in one stretch, and the daily commentary ties it together and gives you a reason to come back tomorrow.
That commentary is the secret. Reading or listening to Nicky and Pippa walk through the day’s passages — warm, practical, personal, and short — turns a solo slog into something closer to a daily conversation with two trusted guides. It is the feature that has carried so many readers across the finish line who never made it before, and it is the reason this app deserves a spot for anyone who wants to actually finish the Bible.
✓ The good
- Completely free with no ads — the whole plan, commentary, and audio at no cost
- Warm daily commentary from Nicky and Pippa Gumbel that explains the passages and keeps you motivated
- Smart daily structure — OT, NT, and Psalms/Proverbs each day so you never bog down in one section
- Audio option — read it or listen to the whole day’s reading and commentary on a commute or walk
- Three lengths — Classic (~25 min), Express (~15 min), and Youth (~12 min) — so it fits real schedules
- Offline sync, progress tracking, and a full history so you never lose your place or miss a day
- Available in many languages and on iOS, Android, and the web, with a huge global community doing it together
✗ Watch out
- It is one plan, not a full Bible app — limited as a general reference reader or study tool
- The commentary reflects one ministry’s warm, applicational voice rather than verse-by-verse scholarship
- A fixed 365-day track gives less freedom than a build-your-own plan
- No deep study features — no original languages, cross-references, or commentary library
- Translation selection is narrower than a dedicated multi-version reader
Best for
- Anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in a year and actually finish
- Readers who have started and abandoned a reading plan before
- People who prefer a guided daily devotional with teaching, not just a raw reading checklist
- Listeners who want to do their daily reading by audio on a commute or walk
Avoid if
- You want a full study app with commentaries and original languages (use Logos or Olive Tree)
- You prefer to build your own custom reading plan and pace
- You want many translations side by side for comparison (use YouVersion or Olive Tree)
- You want a verse-by-verse academic commentary rather than a warm devotional one
What Bible in One Year is
Bible in One Year (The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel) is a free, guided daily reading plan that takes you through the whole Bible in a year. Each day pairs readings from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Psalms or Proverbs with a short written-and-audio commentary from Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, who pioneered the Alpha course. It is produced by HTB and Alpha and is used by millions of people worldwide.
The app offers three daily lengths — Classic (about 25 minutes), Express (about 15), and Youth (about 12) — so it fits different schedules and ages. It includes an audio version of each day’s reading and commentary, offline sync so you never miss a day, progress tracking, full history, and availability in many languages on iOS, Android, and the web. It is a focused devotional reading plan rather than a general-purpose Bible app.
Why this is the Bible-in-a-year plan people finish
The single biggest reason Bible in One Year works is the daily commentary. Most reading plans hand you a list of chapters and wish you luck; the hard part — staying motivated when the reading gets dry or confusing — is left entirely to you. Bible in One Year fills that gap with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel’s short, warm, practical reflections that explain what you just read and connect it to real life, so each day ends with encouragement rather than a checkbox. That is the difference between a plan you start and a plan you finish.
The second reason is the structure. By giving you a piece of the Old Testament, a piece of the New, and a Psalm or Proverb every single day, the plan keeps the reading varied and forward-moving — you are never trapped in a long genealogy or legal section with no relief. Add the audio option, the three time-length choices, and a global community of readers doing the exact same passages on the same day, and you have a plan built specifically to defeat the reason most people quit.
The daily commentary from Nicky and Pippa Gumbel
Every day, after the readings, Nicky and Pippa Gumbel offer a short commentary that draws the passages together and applies them. It is warm, personal, and practical rather than technical — closer to a trusted pastor talking you through the text than to an academic note — and it is available both to read and to listen to. For most users this is the heart of the app and the reason they keep coming back.
That tone is a deliberate strength and a thing to understand going in: this is one ministry’s encouraging, applicational voice, not a neutral verse-by-verse scholarly apparatus. For a daily devotional whose job is to keep ordinary people reading and growing, that warmth is exactly what works — but a reader wanting rigorous exegesis should pair it with a study Bible or commentary.
Smart structure and three daily lengths
The plan’s daily mix — Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms or Proverbs together — is the quiet engineering that keeps people moving. Instead of reading the Bible straight through and stalling in the hard stretches, you always get variety in a single sitting, which keeps the momentum that long single-book runs tend to kill.
On top of that, the app offers three lengths: Classic at roughly 25 minutes for those who want the full experience, Express at around 15 for busy days, and Youth at about 12 aimed at younger readers. Being able to choose a shorter track on a hard day — rather than skipping entirely — is a small feature that does a lot to keep a streak alive across a full year.
Audio, offline sync, and progress tracking
You can listen to the entire day’s reading and commentary as audio, which turns a commute, a workout, or the dishes into your daily Bible time. For a lot of people that audio option is the difference between doing the plan and not, because it fits into time that would otherwise be lost.
The app also syncs offline so you can pull your readings down ahead of a flight or a patchy-signal day and never miss one, tracks your progress through the year, and keeps a full history so you can go back to a previous day’s passage and reflection. Combined with the global community doing the same reading each day, these make a year-long commitment feel supported rather than solitary.
Pricing
Free
Free
The complete 365-day plan with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel’s daily commentary, the audio version, the Classic, Express, and Youth lengths, offline sync, progress tracking, and full history — all at no cost, with no ads.
There is nothing to pay. Bible in One Year is completely free and ad-free, funded by HTB and the Alpha ministry as part of their mission rather than sold as a product.
That free package is the whole thing: the full 365-day plan, the daily written and audio commentary, all three lengths, offline sync, progress tracking, and history, in many languages across iOS, Android, and the web.
There is no premium tier to upsell and no paywalled content, which is part of why it has spread so widely. If you want to support it, the ministry behind it accepts donations, but every feature of the app is available free to everyone.
Where Bible in One Year falls behind
It is one plan, not a Bible app. Outside the daily reading, it is a limited general reader — there is no broad translation library, no reference search, and no study apparatus. For everyday Bible reference you will still want a full app alongside it.
The commentary is devotional, not scholarly. Nicky and Pippa Gumbel’s reflections are warm and applicational by design; a reader who wants verse-by-verse exegesis, original-language notes, or critical scholarship should pair the plan with a study Bible or commentary.
The track is fixed. The 365-day, three-stream structure is the whole point, but it gives less freedom than a build-your-own plan for readers who want to choose their own books, pace, or order.
Study depth is shallow on purpose. There are no original languages, cross-references, or commentary libraries here. It is a guided reading plan, and it does not pretend to be a research tool.
Translation choice is narrower than a dedicated reader. The plan presents the daily passages in a limited set of versions rather than the full comparison library you would get from YouVersion or Olive Tree.
Bible in One Year vs. YouVersion plans vs. The Bible Recap
All three help you read through the Bible on a schedule, but they differ in how much guidance and which voice you get, so the right pick depends on the kind of daily companion you want.
YouVersion has hundreds of reading plans, including many one-year tracks, inside a full free Bible app with every translation, audio, friends, and streaks. It is the most flexible option and great if you want to choose among many plans and keep everything in one app — but most of its plans are lighter on a single, consistent daily teaching voice than Bible in One Year is.
The Bible Recap is the other heavyweight guided year — Tara-Leigh Cobble’s chronological plan with a daily podcast/commentary built around the theme that God is the hero of every passage. It is excellent and similar in spirit; the main differences are a chronological reading order and a different teacher and tradition. Many people choose between Bible in One Year and The Bible Recap purely on which daily voice they connect with.
Bible in One Year is the warm, guided, finish-it default. The Gumbels’ daily commentary, the OT/NT/Psalms structure, the three lengths, and the audio option make it the plan most likely to carry a first-timer all the way through. If finishing the Bible with an encouraging guide is the goal, start here — and keep a full Bible app like YouVersion for everything else.
The bottom line
Bible in One Year is the best on-ramp there is for reading the whole Bible, because it solves the part everyone actually struggles with: motivation. The free plan’s smart daily structure keeps the reading moving, and Nicky and Pippa Gumbel’s warm commentary — readable or listenable — turns a year-long slog into a daily encouragement that millions of people have actually completed. It is a guided devotional plan rather than a study suite, so you will want a fuller Bible app beside it, and its teaching is warm rather than scholarly. But if you have ever started a Bible-in-a-year plan and quit, this is the one most likely to get you to the end — and it costs nothing to try.
Alternatives to Bible in One Year
YouVersion
The free, full Bible app with hundreds of reading plans including many one-year tracks, every translation, audio, and community. The flexible, all-in-one alternative.
The Bible Recap
Tara-Leigh Cobble’s chronological read-through with a daily podcast/commentary on how God is the hero of every passage. The other great guided year.
First15
A daily 15-minute devotional built around meeting God first thing — guided reading, reflection, and prayer. A shorter daily-devotion alternative.
Our Daily Bread
The classic free daily devotional — a short Scripture reading and reflection each day. A lighter, lower-commitment daily habit than a full year plan.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the Bible in One Year app free?
- Yes — completely free and ad-free. The full 365-day plan, Nicky and Pippa Gumbel’s daily written and audio commentary, the Classic, Express, and Youth lengths, offline sync, progress tracking, and history are all included at no cost. It is funded by HTB and the Alpha ministry rather than sold.
- What is the difference between “Bible in One Year” and “The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel”?
- They are the same app. It was long known as Bible in One Year and is now officially titled The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel. Many people still search for it by the original name, which is why both are used interchangeably.
- How does the daily reading work?
- Each day gives you passages from the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Psalms or Proverbs, followed by a short commentary from Nicky and Pippa Gumbel that ties them together and applies them. You can read or listen, and you can choose Classic (~25 min), Express (~15 min), or Youth (~12 min).
- Can I listen to it instead of reading?
- Yes. The app includes an audio version of each day’s reading and commentary, so you can do your daily Bible time on a commute, a walk, or while doing chores. For many users the audio option is what makes finishing the plan realistic.
- Who is behind the Bible in One Year app?
- It is produced by HTB, an Anglican church in London, and the global Alpha course, with daily commentary from Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, who pioneered Alpha. Millions of people across more than 160 countries have used the plan.
- Is it a full Bible app or just a reading plan?
- It is primarily a guided daily reading plan with commentary, not a full reference Bible or study suite. It does not have a deep translation library, original-language tools, or commentary stacks. Most people use it for the daily plan and keep a full Bible app like YouVersion for general reading and study.