- Starting price
- Free · Apple lists monthly premium from $0.99
- Free tier
- Yes
- Platforms
- iPhone · iPad · Android · Apple Silicon Mac · Apple Vision compatibility
- Developer
- Stéphane Montlouis-Calixte / LeStudio316
- Launched
- 2019
- Updated
- Aug 3, 2026
The verdict
Bible Strong is one of the most capable independent mobile Bible-study projects, especially for French-speaking users. It combines 40+ claimed translations, parallel reading, Hebrew and Greek interlinear links, Strong's numbers, lexicons, notes, highlights, tags, studies, cross-references, topical resources, timeline, reading plans, audio, offline files, and optional cloud sync in a GPL-licensed codebase. Its 100,000+ Android downloads matter more than the small US Apple sample. The reservations are significant: opaque and duplicated premium prices, an undated generic privacy policy, contradictory store security labels, unclear licensing detail for every bundled translation, and the inherent limits of Strong's nineteenth-century lookup system. It is a strong free tool, not a shortcut to knowing biblical languages.
Try Bible Strong ↗Opens bible-strong.app
Bible Strong is a bilingual French-and-English mobile study Bible created by Stéphane Montlouis-Calixte and branded LeStudio316. It began with a particular advantage for the francophone Christian community: accessible links from translated Bible words to Hebrew and Greek entries through Strong's concordance. The current project has grown into a wide study environment with reading tabs, parallel versions, original-language texts, interlinear display, notes, highlights, bookmarks, tags, verse links, rich-text studies, history, reading plans, audio, topical and dictionary resources, commentaries, a biblical timeline, offline downloads, accounts, sync, and backups.
The project is unusually inspectable. Its public GitHub repository contains roughly 1,890 commits at review time, active 2026 development, English and French localization, product architecture and data documentation, and a GNU General Public License version 3. The repository describes React Native, local SQLite, Firebase authentication and sync, analytics, Firestore, storage, notifications, audio, and other components. Public code does not prove the store binary matches every commit or that data handling is safe, but it makes capabilities and dependencies more auditable than a closed marketing page.
Strong's numbers are useful indexes, not inspired meanings. James Strong's nineteenth-century concordance assigned numbers to Hebrew and Greek lemmas so readers could locate occurrences and consult a brief dictionary. Clicking a number can reveal the underlying lemma and related verses, but a gloss does not supply grammar, syntax, discourse, textual criticism, semantic range in context, or modern lexicography. Choosing one English definition and inserting it into a verse is a common word-study error. Bible Strong lowers the entry barrier; it does not confer language competence.
This researched review uses Apple ID 1454738221, current store listings, official and repository documentation, the GPL license, privacy text, and release history. We did not install the app, download licensed Bible files, create a Firebase account, or purchase premium. Apple reports about 4.8 from 94 US ratings. Google reports roughly 4.6 from 6,380 ratings and more than 100,000 downloads, showing a much larger Android footprint than the Apple count alone suggests.
✓ The good
- Exceptional study breadth - Bible reading, original-language links, notes, plans, audio, references, studies, and timeline coexist in one app
- Strong francophone focus - French users receive far more language and study support than many English-first competitors provide
- Public GPL source - users and developers can inspect, modify, redistribute, report issues, and contribute under an established open-source license
- Offline resources - translations and study databases can remain available without continuous connectivity once downloaded
- Parallel and tabbed study - multiple passages and versions can stay open and be compared side by side
- Active development - frequent 2025 and 2026 releases add backups, bilingual resources, selectors, display options, and stability fixes
- Large Android adoption - 100K+ installs and thousands of ratings provide a more meaningful usage signal than the small Apple sample
✗ Watch out
- Premium pricing is incoherent - Apple lists three different monthly purchases at $0.99, $3.49, and $7.99 without a public comparison
- Privacy policy is generic and undated - it omits modern vendor, retention, account deletion, sync-content, analytics, and breach details
- Store disclosures conflict - Google says shared personal information is not encrypted while the policy promises security and Apple links diagnostics to advertising
- Strong's can encourage word-study fallacies - brief definitions and numbers do not replace grammar, context, or modern scholarly lexicons
- Translation licensing is insufficiently documented - the repository claims 40+ versions, including copyrighted translations, without one clear public rights table
- Accessibility is not declared - Apple lists no supported accessibility features despite a dense interface and original-language content
Best for
- French-speaking Bible readers who want integrated Strong's, dictionaries, cross-references, audio, and offline study
- Bilingual French-English users comparing translations and resources without deleting one language to install the other
- Pastors, students, and serious lay readers who understand Strong's as a starting index rather than final interpretation
- Open-source users who value public code, issue tracking, frequent commits, and the possibility of community contribution
Avoid if
- You need a simple distraction-free reader with little setup, few panels, and no study-tool learning curve
- You require institutionally licensed academic lexicons, critical editions, advanced syntax search, and documented scholarly citation
- You will store sensitive notes in cloud sync before the developer publishes current encryption, retention, deletion, and vendor details
- You need transparent premium entitlements, verified accessibility, or guaranteed availability of every advertised translation in your region
What Bible Strong is
Bible Strong is a mobile Bible reader and personal study workspace. It advertises more than forty French, English, Hebrew, and Greek texts; tabs and parallel comparison; interlinear and Strong's links; notes, highlights, bookmarks, tags, links and studies; Nave's Topical Bible, dictionary, cross-references and commentaries; plans, BibleProject-linked material, audio, text to speech, and a chronological timeline. Accounts can sync data through Firebase, while core resources can be downloaded for offline use.
It is not the separate similarly named Bible Strongs Concordance app, a desktop-grade original-language research suite, an accredited course, a pastor, or a guarantee that every resource carries equal textual or licensing quality. It also links to the developer's separate AudiBible product; that does not mean every audio feature lives inside Bible Strong itself.
Why Bible Strong is more than a Strong's concordance wrapper
Many inexpensive apps place a KJV beside Strong's definitions and stop there. Bible Strong builds a working environment around the lookup: parallel versions, original texts, tabs, theme and font controls, annotations, linked studies, topical indexes, cross-references, audio, plans, timeline, offline packages, bilingual resources, and optional synchronization. A user can move from reading to a lemma, collect related verses, write a study, and return later.
Integration can either support context or accelerate overconfidence. The safest workflow begins with paragraph and book context, compares several reliable translations, observes grammar with qualified tools, checks a contemporary lexicon or commentary, and only then summarizes a word's role in this passage. Keep a note of source and edition. Never preach that a Greek or Hebrew word “really means” every gloss in its entry.
Original-language lookup is accessible but academically bounded
The repository describes Hebrew and Greek interlinear text, word-by-word translation, Strong's numbers, etymology, definitions, usage, lemma search, and all verses associated with an entry. Original-language resources include the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, Septuagint, and Textus Receptus in the project description. Availability and exact edition should be confirmed in the app.
An interlinear rearranges or aligns languages and can conceal word order, morphology, idiom, textual variants, and translation decisions. Strong's dictionary predates a century of linguistic, manuscript, and lexicographic scholarship. Use the number to identify a lemma and occurrences, then consult context, morphology, a current lexicon, multiple commentaries, and—when the conclusion matters—someone trained in the language.
Annotations, sync, and automatic backups raise the privacy stakes
Bible Strong stores highlights, notes, bookmarks, tags, links, studies, tabs, preferences, and reading progress. An optional Google, Apple, email, or Firebase-backed account can synchronize data. A late-2025 release introduced automatic backups retaining up to ten restore points, and 2026 repository documentation confirms Firestore, Firebase Auth, Storage, Analytics, and account deletion code.
Bible notes can reveal beliefs, doubts, counseling topics, relationships, health, politics, locations, and pastoral material. The public policy merely lists name, first name, email, IP, operating system, visited pages, queries, and connection time, then promises generic access controls and backups. It does not say which annotations sync, whether content is encrypted at rest or end to end, backup retention after deletion, analytics fields, subprocessors, or cross-border locations. Keep sensitive notes local or elsewhere until those answers exist.
Offline bilingual resources and frequent releases show real engineering effort
The app can download French and English resource sets together, switch between them without deletion, and retain them offline. Reading themes, fonts, line spacing, full-screen scrolling, book and version selectors, a direct go-to-verse control, background audio, speed control, text to speech, and multiple tabs support sustained study rather than one-off lookup.
The developer has released rapidly through 2025 and 2026, including critical fixes and major architecture modernization. That pace is encouraging and can also introduce regressions—the release history mentions duplicate studies, Strong display errors, white screens, and critical bugs that required follow-up versions. Back up before major upgrades, keep at least one plain export if available, and check issue reports when a release changes databases or sync.
Pricing
Free app
$0
The project describes Bible Strong as free and open source, and the stores allow installation without payment. Public pages do not clearly separate every free feature and resource from premium.
Bible Strong premium
$0.99/mo or $3.49/mo listed
Apple currently displays two one-month products with the same premium name at different prices. They may be legacy, regional, promotional, or distinct entitlements, but the public site does not explain them.
Monthly subscription
$7.99/mo listed
Apple also lists a generic one-month subscription at $7.99. Do not subscribe until the in-app purchase screen states exactly what it unlocks, renewal timing, trial, restoration, and cancellation.
The free tier is substantial enough to justify installing before paying. The public repository and official description call the project free and open source, while the store exposes paid premium products. Open-source licensing of code does not require the hosted sync service, copyrighted Bible files, or store distribution to be free.
Apple's purchase list is presently unacceptable as a buying guide: “Bible strong premium - 1 mois” appears at both $0.99 and $3.49, and “Abonnement mensuel - 1 mois” appears at $7.99. There is no public feature matrix explaining whether these are legacy products, price migrations, donations, different premium levels, or duplicate store records.
Before approving any purchase, capture the in-app paywall, list every entitlement, confirm trial length, renewal price, cancellation route, family sharing, cross-platform recognition, restore-purchase behavior, and what happens to downloaded resources and notes after expiration. If the screen remains ambiguous, stay free and contact the developer.
The GPL-3.0 repository can be cloned and modified, but building a private copy requires technical skill, developer tools, Firebase credentials, content assets, and compliance with translation licenses and the GPL. “Open source” is a freedom and audit benefit, not a promise of effortless self-hosting or free access to every copyrighted dataset.
Where Bible Strong falls behind
Privacy documentation is the largest weakness. The English page is literally headed “Model privacy policy,” contains awkward machine-like wording and a postal line that appears to combine a street address with “Postcode,” and gives no effective date. It does not describe Firebase, Firestore, Analytics, Storage, crash reporting, synced annotations, backup lifecycle, vendors, account deletion, children, legal bases, or regional rights.
Store safety labels are alarming and inconsistent. Google says the app shares personal information, collects no data, does not encrypt data, and offers deletion requests—an internally odd combination. Apple says linked name and email support functionality and personalization and linked crash data serves third-party advertising. The repository contains Firebase Analytics but no obvious advertising SDK in the inspected dependency list. Only a corrected data-flow audit can resolve this.
Pricing lacks basic product discipline. Three monthly entries at three prices without entitlements create avoidable mistrust. The official website needs a dated table in French and English, regional tax note, grandfathered-plan explanation, refund route, and an explicit distinction among donation, premium service, and resource purchase.
Resource rights need a manifest. The repository advertises ESV, NIV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, Semeur, Segond 21, NBS and other copyrighted translations alongside public-domain and original-language texts. Users need an in-app attribution and license screen identifying publisher, edition, territory, offline permission, audio source, modification, and availability for each resource. Open-source application code does not open-license Bible text.
Accessibility is undocumented. Apple lists no declared support, and the project materials do not provide a user-facing matrix for VoiceOver, TalkBack, keyboard access, dynamic type, contrast, dyslexia-friendly fonts, bidirectional Hebrew, Greek diacritics, audio controls, captions, switch control, or accessible timeline navigation.
Study depth remains uneven. Nave's Topical Bible, Treasury-style cross-references, Strong's dictionaries, and some older commentaries can be useful but carry historical language, inherited assumptions, and dated scholarship. Every resource should show author, date, tradition, edition, and limitations so a user does not mistake age or public-domain availability for authority.
Bible Strong vs. Blue Letter Bible vs. AndBible vs. Olive Tree
Blue Letter Bible offers mature original-language links, interlinear tools, dictionaries, commentaries, audio, and search with a large English-speaking user base and clearer institutional support. Bible Strong distinguishes itself through French-English bilingual resources, open source, visual themes, integrated timeline, and a more personal study workspace.
AndBible is also open source and Android-focused, with workspaces, modules, Strong's support, commentaries, dictionaries and deep offline control. Its module ecosystem and interface can be technical, while Bible Strong serves both major mobile platforms and feels more curated. Olive Tree offers a polished cross-platform library and sells modern premium Bibles, study Bibles, commentaries and original-language books with clearer licensing, but a serious library can become expensive and the source is closed.
Choose Bible Strong for bilingual breadth, active GPL development and a generous integrated free toolset; Blue Letter Bible for established English web and app study; AndBible for Android module control and open-source depth; or Olive Tree for a commercial licensed library and mature multi-device ecosystem. Logos or Accordance remains a different class for advanced academic work and budget.
The bottom line
Bible Strong deserves attention because it is not a thin concordance app. A solo developer and contributors have built an active bilingual study environment with real offline value, a large Android audience, public GPL code, and features that can support years of reading and note-taking. Start with the free experience, verify which translations are legally available in your region, keep a backup, and use Strong's as an index rather than an interpretive shortcut. Do not buy a monthly product until the three Apple prices are explained, and do not place confidential study or counseling notes in sync until a modern privacy notice explains encryption, vendors, retention, deletion, and backups. With those reforms, Bible Strong could become one of the best accessible francophone Bible tools; today it is powerful but administratively immature.
Alternatives to Bible Strong
Blue Letter BibleA mature free English Bible-study app with interlinear tools, lexicons, Strong's, commentaries, audio, and broad institutional support.
AndBibleAn open-source Android study Bible with offline modules, workspaces, dictionaries, commentaries, and extensive user control.
Olive Tree BibleA polished commercial study platform with a large licensed bookstore, split-window study, notes, sync, and multiple devices.
Bible HubA free reference-heavy app and website for parallel translations, interlinear pages, lexicons, cross-references, and commentaries.Frequently asked questions
Is Bible Strong free?
It is free to install and the project describes itself as free and open source. Apple also lists monthly in-app purchases at $0.99, $3.49, and $7.99, but no public page clearly explains their different entitlements.
Is Bible Strong open source?
Yes. Its active public GitHub repository uses the GNU GPL version 3, allowing use, inspection, modification, and redistribution under that license. Bible translations and hosted services can have separate rights and costs.
Does Bible Strong work offline?
Yes. The project advertises downloadable Bible and study resources, and recent releases allow French and English resource sets to remain installed together. Account sync, initial downloads, some audio, and online content still require connectivity.
Does Strong's tell me what Hebrew or Greek really means?
Not by itself. Strong's numbers identify lemmas and help find occurrences, but brief glosses do not provide grammar, syntax, discourse, textual variants, or full contextual semantic range. Use modern lexicons, commentaries, and language training for consequential claims.
What Bible translations does Bible Strong include?
The repository claims 40+ resources across French, English, Hebrew, and Greek, naming LSG 1910, Segond 21, NEG79, NBS, Semeur, Darby, KJV, ESV, NIV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, BHS, Septuagint and Textus Receptus among examples. Actual availability can vary by version, territory and license.
Is Bible Strong private?
The answer is not clear enough. It uses Firebase services and can sync sensitive notes, while its generic undated policy omits modern data-flow detail and Apple and Google disclosures conflict. Keep sensitive material local until the developer publishes a complete current policy.
Why is Bible Strong more popular on Android?
Google reports 100K+ downloads and roughly 6.38K ratings, versus 94 US Apple ratings. That can reflect geography, the project's francophone audience, Android market share, price sensitivity, and store differences; the public data does not prove one single cause.
Sources & further reading
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