- Starting price
- $19.99/month · $119.88/year after trial
- Free tier
- No
- Platforms
- Web · iPhone · iPad
- Developer
- Your Giving, Inc. / Tithe.ly
- Launched
- 2021
- Updated
- Aug 9, 2026
The verdict
Sermonly is a focused web-first writing environment for pastors who want research, Bible text, notes and a clean delivery view in the same document. Its AI Researcher can accelerate a first pass, but Sermonly’s own terms say third-party AI content may be inaccurate or incomplete. The $119.88 annual plan is more sensible than monthly for regular users; the 2.0 mobile rating, absent collaboration, restrictive sermon-license language and contradictory privacy picture keep it from being an automatic recommendation.
Try Sermonly ↗Opens sermon.ly
Sermonly is a subscription sermon-writing workspace now presented as part of Tithe.ly. The public brand uses “Sermonly,” while Apple still lists the companion application as “Sermon.ly” under seller Your Giving, Inc. They are the same product: the app bundle is ly.tithe.sermonly, the store links to sermon.ly and the current website identifies the service with Tithe.ly. It is not Sermonary, despite a previous fuzzy audit match. Sermonary is a separate browser product with different ownership, plans and presentation tools.
The core workflow is intentionally narrower than a full Bible-study library. A pastor opens a sermon, chooses or creates a template, writes in a structured editor, inserts passages from built-in Bible translations, collects snippets from websites or digital books and labels material with tags. A read-only preaching mode removes editing controls for delivery. Existing Word, Pages or plain-text files can be imported, with the current upload interface advertising a maximum of fifty files. The product is available through the web and an iPhone/iPad companion rather than a native Android listing we could verify.
AI Researcher adds generated outlines, biblical character studies and contemporary examples. That can shorten blank-page time, but the service’s terms explicitly classify AI results as third-party content and disclaim their accuracy, completeness and suitability. The pastor—not Sermonly, Tithe.ly or a model provider—must verify quotations, historical claims, applications and biblical interpretation. Sermon preparation also includes confidential pastoral observations and copyrighted source material, so the right question is not only whether AI writes a useful outline but what content may be sent through it and retained.
This researched review uses Sermonly’s current marketing, price and terms pages, Apple’s exact app record and release history, public app feedback and the faith.tools identity page. We did not subscribe, upload manuscripts, generate an outline, inspect every Bible translation, evaluate theological output, confirm an AI vendor, measure search quality, test backups or deletion, audit security, accessibility or copyright compliance, or preach from the reader. Apple’s 2.0 average comes from only four ratings, so it is a warning signal rather than a statistically stable verdict. One review calls the browser experience good while saying the app does not work; older reviews describe verse-insertion problems.
✓ The good
- Purpose-built writing flow - sermon structure, Scripture, research and delivery sit in one uncluttered workspace
- AI disclaimer is candid - the terms clearly place verification responsibility on the user instead of implying generated authority
- Import path - Word, Pages and text manuscripts can move into the library rather than starting from zero
- Built-in Bible access - passages can be inserted without constant copying between browser tabs
- Templates and tags - repeatable structures and organization help regular preaching calendars
- Preaching mode - a read-only delivery screen reduces accidental edits at the pulpit
- Web accessibility - the main workspace is available wherever a supported browser and account are available
- Simple annual math - the yearly plan cuts the effective monthly price in half
✗ Watch out
- No ongoing free tier - the workspace stops behind a subscription after the seven-day trial
- Weak mobile evidence - Apple shows 2.0 from four ratings, including complaints that the app fails or handles verses poorly
- AI needs line-by-line checking - generated outlines, examples and character studies can invent or flatten important context
- Privacy disclosure mismatch - Apple says the app collects no data, while the service requires accounts, payments, cloud manuscripts and AI requests
- No collaboration - current material does not offer coauthoring, comments or a formal review-and-approval workflow
- Restrictive license language - terms limit commercialization of sermons beyond ordinary pastoral duties
- Deletion and continuity risk - canceled or removed accounts may lose stored sermons, and features can change without an uptime promise
- No verified Android app - Android-first pastors must rely on the web experience
Best for
- Solo pastors who prepare sermons weekly and want fewer tabs between editor, Bible and research notes
- Preachers with an established review process who will treat AI as brainstorming rather than exegesis
- Existing Tithe.ly churches that prefer a related vendor and can accept a separate subscription
- Users who value a clean read-only delivery view and cloud access more than advanced library depth
- Pastors willing to export or retain independent copies of every manuscript
Avoid if
- You need a permanent free plan, Android-native application or offline-first archive
- Elders, teaching teams or editors must comment and collaborate in the same document
- You would paste identifiable counseling stories, safeguarding details or unlicensed book excerpts into an AI request
- Original-language research, scholarly libraries and detailed citation management are central to your process
- You plan to sell, syndicate or repurpose sermons commercially without first understanding the service’s license restrictions
What Sermonly is
Sermonly is a writing and delivery system, not a complete sermon in a button. It organizes the familiar work of gathering material, shaping an outline, placing Scripture, drafting transitions and carrying a stable manuscript to the preaching moment. The cloud library makes old work searchable and reusable, while templates prevent every new message from beginning as an empty page. AI Researcher is an optional source of raw material inside that process.
The boundaries matter. Sermonly is not a substitute for reading the whole passage, consulting reliable sources, praying, knowing a congregation or submitting teaching to accountable human review. It is also not a full church-management suite merely because the Tithe.ly brand is attached. Its value is concentration: one specialized surface for writing and reading sermons. Churches should assess it as a manuscript repository and AI processor, not just as a prettier word processor.
Why weekly preachers use Sermonly
A general document editor can hold a sermon, but it does not understand the recurring parts of sermon preparation. Sermonly adds templates, Scripture insertion, research capture, tags, a sermon library and a delivery mode around the document. That reduces mechanical friction across a weekly cycle. A preacher can begin from last season’s proven structure, keep source fragments adjacent to the draft and switch to a screen designed for reading without carrying the editing chrome into the pulpit.
The AI Researcher distinguishes the current product from a simple sermon archive, but speed is not the same as reliability. Ask for questions and competing possibilities rather than a finished authoritative interpretation. Verify every quoted word at its original source. Check whether a modern example is real, whether a character summary collapses several passages and whether the outline arises from the text or merely attaches verses to a theme. The more fluent the draft, the more deliberate the review should be.
AI Researcher: useful scaffolding with explicit user responsibility
Sermonly advertises AI-generated sermon outlines, biblical character studies and modern illustrations. These are high-friction tasks at the beginning of a message, so a fast set of possibilities can help a preacher identify gaps or alternative structures. The terms are unusually direct: AI material comes from third parties, and YGG does not warrant that it is accurate, complete, useful or appropriate. That disclaimer should govern the workflow more strongly than the polished output does.
Never cite a generated story, statistic, quotation or historical detail without opening a trustworthy original source. Do not assume a character study distinguishes what the text says from later inference. For interpretation, begin with the passage’s literary unit and context, then use AI to challenge the outline—not to determine it. Remove personal pastoral information before prompting. A church should also decide who reviews AI-assisted preaching and whether disclosure or internal documentation is appropriate.
Editor, snippets and Bible text: a practical research-to-manuscript bridge
The editor combines a structured manuscript with snippets saved from websites or digital books. Templates support recurring forms, Bible translations provide insertable passages and tags make the growing library easier to retrieve. File import accepts Word, Pages and TXT material, while the current importer describes a fifty-file limit. For pastors leaving years of desktop documents behind, the ability to bring a representative archive into a single searchable system is meaningful.
Import does not settle ownership or citation. Keep source names and page links with every excerpt; do not turn a digital book into a private copied database beyond its license. Check that the text of a verse matches the translation named in the sermon, especially after editing around it. The terms list an NIV license but do not promise that every translation or permission remains unchanged. Retain local originals until formatting, dates, tags and all manuscript text have been verified after migration.
Cloud library and preaching mode: convenient, but not the only archive
Sermons follow the user across browser and Apple devices, and preaching mode presents a clean, read-only version for delivery. Preventing accidental edits is a sensible design choice. The account library also makes prior outlines and illustrations easier to retrieve than a folder of inconsistently named files. For a traveling pastor, access from more than one device can be the decisive feature.
Cloud availability creates a single point of dependence. The terms say the service may back up or alter data, change or remove features and does not guarantee uninterrupted availability. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period, refunds are generally unavailable and account deletion can make sermons inaccessible. Export each finished message to a durable format, keep it in a second controlled location and carry an offline preaching copy for any service where network or device failure would be disruptive.
Pricing
Seven-day trial
$0 for 7 days
Temporary access to evaluate the editor and import workflow; a continuing free plan is not advertised.
Monthly
$19.99/month
Flexible access for short-term use, billed at twice the annual plan’s effective monthly price.
Annual
$119.88/year
$9.99 per month when paid yearly; the better value for a pastor who has validated the workflow.
The seven-day trial is enough to import a few representative sermons, build one current message, try the delivery view and inspect account controls. It is not an ongoing free tier. Schedule the trial during a real preparation week and cancel before renewal if the product does not reduce enough friction to justify a subscription.
Monthly access is $19.99. It makes sense for a temporary evaluation or a short preaching assignment, but twelve monthly payments total $239.88. The annual plan is $119.88—$9.99 for each month represented—and therefore saves $120 over a full year at the posted rates.
The annual discount is only valuable after the actual browser workflow succeeds. The low-count 2.0 Apple rating suggests the native companion should not be the sole reason to subscribe. Confirm the web editor, import fidelity, delivery reliability, translation access, search and independent backup path before committing for a year.
Treat the manuscript library as part of the true switching cost. Subscription price is visible; cleanup, migration and recovery time are not. A church paying from shared funds should document who owns the account, who can retrieve sermons if a pastor leaves and how manuscripts will be exported before cancellation.
Where Sermonly falls behind
Mobile reliability - the small Apple sample is poor, and the most concrete public feedback favors the browser over the app.
Privacy transparency - “Data Not Collected” cannot explain a cloud service with login, billing, manuscripts and AI processing.
Collaboration - no current coauthoring, elder comments, version approval or preaching-team workflow is advertised.
Research depth - it does not replace the original-language tools, commentaries and linked libraries in specialist Bible software.
Archive guarantees - the terms reserve broad flexibility while export, retention and recovery procedures are not prominently explained.
License clarity - pastors who commercially republish sermons should obtain clarity on restrictions before building a valuable archive.
Sermonly vs. Sermonary vs. Logos Sermon Builder
Sermonly is the focused, relatively simple option: editor, Scripture, snippets, templates, AI Researcher, library and preaching mode for $19.99 monthly or $119.88 annually. Sermonary is a separate web sermon-building platform with block-based writing, presentation options and its own plans. The similar names are not evidence that the products or companies are related.
Logos Sermon Builder sits inside a much larger Bible-study ecosystem. It can connect a sermon to an owned theological library, guides, original-language tools and presentation workflows, but cost and complexity can be much higher. A general editor such as Word, Google Docs, Obsidian or Pages costs less or may already be available, though the pastor must supply the template, Scripture, organization and delivery discipline.
Choose Sermonly when a compact dedicated workflow saves time and the church has a separate research and review process. Choose Sermonary when its composition and presentation model fits better, Logos when deep linked study is central, or a general editor when ownership, collaboration and portability outweigh specialist convenience. In every case, keep the text, sources and congregation ahead of the software.
The bottom line
Sermonly solves a real weekly problem with a coherent set of specialist tools. The editor and preaching view are more defensible reasons to use it than AI: they reduce repeated mechanical work without pretending to replace pastoral judgment. AI Researcher can still provide useful questions, outline alternatives and search leads, and the terms appropriately warn that its output may be wrong. The recommendation is therefore conditional. Trial the web product on an actual sermon, remove sensitive details, verify every generated claim, test imports and exports, keep independent copies and do not rely on the poorly rated Apple companion until it proves reliable on your device. If that process saves meaningful time, the annual plan is fairly straightforward; if not, a portable document workflow remains safer and cheaper.
Alternatives to Sermonly
SermonaryA separate browser-based sermon builder with structured blocks and presentation-oriented tools.
Logos Bible SoftwareA deep research library and sermon workflow for pastors who need linked scholarly tools.
Sermon SparkAn AI-oriented sermon ideation tool best treated as brainstorming rather than authority.BibleStudyTools.comFree web reference material that can support a manuscript kept in a general editor.
Planning CenterA broader church-service planning ecosystem when team coordination is the larger need.Frequently asked questions
Is Sermonly the same as Sermonary?
No. Sermonly, whose Apple app is styled Sermon.ly, is operated by Your Giving, Inc. and presented with Tithe.ly at sermon.ly. Sermonary is a separate product with different ownership, plans and tools. The earlier audit match came from name similarity, not shared identity.
How much does Sermonly cost?
Sermonly advertises a seven-day free trial, then $19.99 monthly or $119.88 paid annually, described as $9.99 per month. It does not advertise an ongoing free tier. Confirm taxes, renewal date and current cancellation controls at checkout.
Can Sermonly write a sermon with AI?
AI Researcher can generate outlines, character studies and contemporary examples. Sermonly’s own terms say AI content may be inaccurate, incomplete or unsuitable. A preacher should verify every fact and quotation, interpret Scripture from its full context and submit the final teaching to accountable human review.
Who owns sermons stored in Sermonly?
The terms address user content and grant the service rights needed to operate the platform, while also placing restrictions around use and commercialization. Because account loss can make stored sermons unavailable, retain independent originals and obtain legal clarification before commercially licensing or republishing a substantial archive.
Does Sermonly work on Android?
The main product works in a web browser, but we did not find a current official native Android listing. Apple provides an iPhone and iPad companion requiring iOS 13 or later. Android users should test the browser workflow on their actual device before subscribing.
Is Sermonly private?
Do not infer that from Apple’s “Data Not Collected” label. The web service necessarily handles account information, payments and cloud sermon content, and AI requests may involve third parties. Avoid identifiable pastoral cases, review the current terms and seek a clear vendor explanation of providers, retention, training and deletion.
Can a preaching team collaborate in Sermonly?
Current public materials do not describe real-time coauthoring, comments or a formal approval workflow. A solo preacher can use templates and a shared process outside the service, but teams that need in-document review should verify the current product or select a collaborative editor.
Sources & further reading
More Sermon Prep Apps
AlignedAIAn ambitious, low-cost pastor workspace that adapts outputs to a church’s statement of faith, sermons, documents, voice, and selected tradition—valuable for drafting and retrieval, but doctrine settings cannot verify truth and broad connected-data access deserves far clearer disclosure.SermonarySermonary has quietly become the favorite of pastors who want sermon prep to feel less like wrestling with a word processor - and more like building with blocks.
Logos Sermon BuilderThe sermon-prep module that turns the Logos library into a drag-and-drop outline - the natural workflow for any pastor already living inside Logos.
Pulpit AIUpload one sermon and walk away with a month of derivative content - the post-production multiplier built specifically for preachers.
Sermon ShotsThe tool that finally lets a one-person comms team keep up with a preaching pastor - by turning every Sunday sermon into a week of vertical clips on autopilot.
Sermons.comA curated sermon archive built around pastor-ready outlines, illustration packs, video clips, and a weekly inbox drop - the comfortable middle path between crowd-sourced chaos and the seminary-priced subscription.