Resource Review11 min read

Sola – Bible Reading Plans

4.8App Store rating · 40 ratings

A focused free companion builds genuinely flexible, word-count-balanced Bible plans and enriches them with maps, timelines, videos, sharing, and catch-up controls—but it is a scheduler around Scripture, not a full Bible reader, and sync and Android security disclosures remain weak.

Visit official site ↗

Starting price: Free; optional supporter purchases
Free tier: Yes
Platforms: iPhone · Mac · Apple Vision · Android
Developer: Samuel Jusaitis
Launched: 2021
Updated: Aug 2, 2026

About 4.8 from 40 US ratingsApp Store rating

1K+ downloads · rating not displayed publiclyGoogle Play

Core app free · optional $0.49–$9.99 support itemsPrice

iOS Jun 18, 2026 · Android Jun 17, 2026Latest releases

iPhone-focused iOS app · Android · Apple Silicon MacPlatforms

The verdict

Sola is one of the best small apps for designing a Bible reading plan around the books, order, days, pace, and workload you can actually sustain. Its word-count balancing, missed-reading reschedule, editable sections, shared host plans, maps, timeline, and BibleProject videos are excellent; just bring a separate Bible app, do not expect participant progress or discussion, and understand that cross-device sync remains incomplete while Google Play says transmitted app data is not encrypted.

Try Sola – Bible Reading Plans ↗

Opens sola.app

Sola – Bible Reading Plans is a focused planning companion built by Australian designer and developer Samuel Jusaitis. Users choose the books or ranges they want to read, determine their order, set a duration and reading days, and let Sola divide the material into a schedule. Recent releases balance assignments by word count rather than simply by chapter, show estimated weekly reading time, allow sections and read counts to be edited after creation, preview upcoming readings, and reschedule missed work without rebuilding the plan.

The app adds context without trying to become a study Bible. Maps show cities, rivers, regions, and landmarks associated with the current reading. A timeline places biblical books, rulers, and major events together, and embedded BibleProject videos provide overviews. Plans can be shared by link or QR code and hosted for friends or a small group. The host can update the plan for everyone; participants see their own checklist, while current public reviews say the host cannot see other readers’ progress and there is no built-in group discussion.

Sola’s public records are unusually active for a solo-developed niche app. Version 1.5.26 reached iOS in June 2026, with several fixes and features in the preceding weeks. The exact US App Store record is about 4.8 from 40 ratings, and Google Play shows more than 1,000 downloads. The core product is free. Apple lists optional supporter items from $0.49 to $9.99 and “Super Host” items at $2.99 and $5.99, but the public site does not publish a durable entitlement table. That makes the app feel donation-supported, though the exact boundary of every supporter feature should be confirmed in-app.

This researched review uses Sola’s official site, privacy policy and terms; the exact Apple and Google listings; version history and public reviews; and the faith.tools profile. We did not install the app, generate a plan, test every possible book range, join a hosted plan, verify map coordinates or timeline dates, inspect video licensing, measure accessibility, or analyze network traffic. Store privacy labels are developer declarations, and the Google and Apple disclosures notably differ.

✓ The good

Excellent custom planning - users choose books, ranges, reading order, duration, and active days instead of accepting a fixed calendar
Balanced workload - word-count scheduling avoids treating Psalm 119 and a short chapter as equivalent assignments
Flexible recovery - pace adjustment, schedule settings, missed-reading rescheduling, and editable sections reduce all-or-nothing failure
Useful context - maps, timeline, and relevant BibleProject videos answer where, when, and what-before-you-read questions
Simple group sharing - links and QR codes distribute one host-managed plan without requiring a church-management system
Actively maintained and affordable - June 2026 releases and a genuinely free core make the app easy to recommend experimentally

✗ Watch out

Not a full Bible reader - the product schedules passages and links context but does not replace a translation-rich reading app
No complete cross-device sync - an older developer response says iCloud sync was planned, while current public material does not announce delivery
Limited group accountability - hosts cannot see each participant’s progress, and plans have no native comments or study discussion
Android encryption warning - Google Play says data is not encrypted and that app activity and performance may be shared
English-only interface - Apple lists English, narrowing use in multilingual churches and international groups
Privacy policy is stale - the 2021 document predates years of accounts, sharing, supporter purchases, and contextual integrations

Best for

Readers building a custom whole-Bible, Testament, genre, or selected-book plan around a realistic weekly schedule
People who repeatedly abandon chapter-balanced plans because daily workload varies too sharply
Small-group hosts who need one shared schedule but do not need visible accountability or discussion tools
Visual learners who want a map, historical timeline, and BibleProject overview near the assigned passage

Avoid if

You need the Bible text, audio, highlights, notes, original languages, or offline translations inside the same app
Your group requires leader dashboards, participant progress, comments, pastoral moderation, or organization administration
You need verified cross-device synchronization, encrypted Android transmission, or current detailed privacy documentation
You require iPad-native layout, web access, broad localization, or a formally documented accessibility conformance report

What Sola – Bible Reading Plans is

Sola is the planning layer between an intention to read Scripture and the Bible app or printed Bible used for the actual passage. It records scope, order, pace, scheduled days, and completion; supplies geographic and chronological context; embeds explanatory videos; and distributes a common plan to friends. That narrower identity explains why the interface can be more flexible than the fixed plan catalogs inside very large Bible platforms.

It should not be confused with unrelated apps named “Sola Bible.” This review covers Samuel Jusaitis’s app with bundle ID app.sola and Apple ID 1487787716, currently titled “Sola – Bible reading plans.” The older faith.tools slug calls it a Bible companion app. The product is not an AI Bible chatbot, denominational commentary set, or Bible-text publisher.

Why word-count scheduling is more important than another plan library

Many Bible apps offer hundreds of plans but very few ways to reshape them. Sola starts with the reader’s constraint: perhaps five evenings a week, Acts before Paul’s letters, Psalms on weekends, or three years for a careful whole-Bible reading. Word-count balancing makes each assignment closer in effort, while previews and estimated time expose an unrealistic plan before it becomes a burden.

That flexibility protects the purpose of a plan. A schedule should serve attentive reading, not make a person hurry through long chapters to preserve a streak. Sola’s catch-up and pace controls acknowledge missed days without treating them as failure. The healthiest workflow is to choose a conservative pace, keep one unscheduled margin day, read the passage in context, and revise the plan when life changes rather than silently accumulating debt.

The plan builder turns scope, order, and calendar into one realistic schedule

Users select books or book ranges, arrange sections, choose duration and reading frequency, and preview the resulting assignments. Newer versions schedule by word count, show estimated minutes per week, allow section ranges and read counts to be edited later, and let readers adjust current pace. Completed plans move to a Past Plans view, and progress checkboxes include a pie chart.

This matters for plans that depart from standard one-year reading. A new reader can alternate a Gospel with selected Old Testament books; a class can follow its syllabus; a pastor can set a congregation-wide sequence; and a careful reader can choose a multi-year horizon. Public reviews mention both a twenty-four-month limit in older versions and a successful three-year plan more recently, so current maximum duration should be confirmed in the builder rather than copied from old descriptions.

Maps, timeline, and videos add orientation without burying the reading

For the scheduled passage, Sola surfaces map locations, a visual timeline of books, rulers and major events, and relevant BibleProject videos. The map layer is described as Mapbox-powered in the developer’s portfolio. These aids are especially helpful when a reader encounters unfamiliar geography, overlapping kingdoms, exile chronology, or a book whose literary structure is not obvious.

Context aids remain secondary sources. Map boundaries and ancient place identifications can be debated, timeline dates may be approximate, and BibleProject videos are concise interpretive overviews rather than neutral substitutes for the text. Use the tools to formulate better questions, then compare a reputable atlas, study Bible, commentary, and the passage itself when an issue matters.

Shared plans coordinate the calendar, not the community

A host can share a plan through a link or QR code, and later host edits can flow to participants. Logged-out users can view shared plans, while accounts support a more persistent relationship. Notifications can be scheduled for reading plans, and the current Readings view can show the following week when weekly scheduling is used.

The feature solves distribution elegantly but stops before accountability. A current App Store review says the host cannot see another reader’s progress and requests comments. That is a privacy-friendly default for informal friends, but it will disappoint leaders expecting attendance, completion analytics, discussion, safeguarding, or pastoral follow-up. Pair Sola with the group’s existing communication channel and ask consent before making completion visible anywhere.

Pricing

Best value

Sola core

Free

Custom plans, personal tracking, contextual maps and timeline, BibleProject videos, sharing, and current schedule controls are presented as a free product on both stores.

Monthly Supporter

$0.49–$1.99/month

Apple lists several monthly supporter price points. The public website does not explain whether the amounts are equivalent voluntary choices or unlock different benefits.

Supporter features

$0.99–$9.99

Apple lists multiple items under the same “Supporter features” name. Treat these as optional in-app purchases and verify whether each is one-time, recurring, or tied to a specific entitlement.

Super Host

$2.99 or $5.99

The App Store lists two Super Host items without a public comparison table. Group leaders should inspect the paywall and renewal wording before choosing one.

Sola’s core is free on iOS and Android. The official site does not place plan creation, maps, timeline, videos, or basic sharing behind a conventional subscription table. That makes it one of the easiest custom planners to try alongside a user’s current Bible app.

Apple lists optional in-app purchases with unusually flexible amounts: monthly support at $0.49, $0.99, or $1.99; several “Supporter features” items from $0.99 to $9.99; and Super Host at $2.99 or $5.99. Because identical names appear at different prices and the public website does not define billing periods or benefits, the store paywall is the authoritative checkout surface.

The likely model is support for an independent developer rather than a large premium-content subscription. That is a strength when payment is genuinely optional, but clear entitlement language still matters. The app should explain whether a contribution removes a limit, increases hosted-plan capacity, recurs automatically, or simply supports development.

Groups should not infer an organization license. There is no public church console, seat management, data-processing agreement, single sign-on, member directory, or support SLA. Super Host may expand sharing, but verify its exact participant and plan limits before designing a ministry workflow around it.

Where Sola – Bible Reading Plans falls behind

Cross-device continuity. A 2022 developer response said iCloud synchronization was planned, and a 2026 review still frames sync as a limitation. The public feature page and release notes do not announce finished cross-device progress sync. Sola should document whether accounts sync plans and checkmarks across iPhone, Android, Apple Silicon Mac, reinstall, and device replacement—and offer export before a reader commits to a multi-year plan.

Android transport disclosure. Google Play says the app may share app activity and performance with third parties, collect personal information and device identifiers, and that data is not encrypted. That is a serious wording problem for any account-backed shared plan. The developer should either correct an inaccurate declaration or enable and document encryption in transit, including every API and analytics endpoint.

Privacy-policy age and breadth. The policy was last updated in September 2021. It broadly covers names, email, device and log data, partners, direct marketing, business transfers, and crash reporting, but it does not map current hosted plans, QR links, progress, Mapbox, BibleProject, purchases, retention per field, or account deletion in product language. A current data inventory would be more useful than generic template clauses.

Group depth. Shared plans have no visible participant progress, comments, leader prompts, notes, or discussion. That is appropriate for a lightweight schedule but means Sola cannot replace a small-group platform. A privacy-preserving compromise would let each participant explicitly share selected completion status with a named host while keeping notes private.

Platform and accessibility scope. Apple describes an iPhone-only design, even though it can run on some Macs and Vision devices, and lists only English. Apple says the developer has not declared accessibility support. A native iPad layout, web view, localization framework, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, keyboard navigation, contrast statement, and accessible map alternatives would expand the audience materially.

Sola vs. YouVersion vs. BibleProject

Sola is best when the user wants to design the calendar. YouVersion is a complete Bible platform with many translations, audio, highlights, notes, social plan participation, and a huge prepared-plan library; its custom plan controls are less central. BibleProject provides exceptional videos, podcasts, classes, and structured reading experiences, but does not offer Sola’s granular book-range, order, day, and word-count scheduling.

The Bible Recap is a stronger guided whole-Bible experience when daily teaching and a fixed chronological sequence are the goal. Bible in One Year combines Scripture with daily commentary. Mere Bible is better for distraction-free text reading. Sola can sit above any of these: use it to decide what is due, then open the preferred text or audio source to complete the reading.

Choose Sola for a self-designed plan and useful context with minimal cost. Choose YouVersion for the all-in-one reader and community, BibleProject for educational depth, or The Bible Recap for a prebuilt daily teaching journey. A plan is only successful if it protects slow comprehension, prayer, and application; the most feature-rich calendar is not automatically the wisest pace.

The bottom line

Sola solves a real problem better than many larger Bible apps: it lets the reader define the books, order, days, and horizon, then distributes the workload by word count and provides graceful ways to preview, edit, catch up, and reschedule. Maps, a timeline, BibleProject videos, notifications, and link or QR sharing add context and coordination without overwhelming the plan. Its gaps are equally clear: no built-in Bible library, no participant progress or discussion, uncertain cross-device continuity, English-only presentation, a 2021 privacy policy, and an alarming “data isn’t encrypted” Android declaration. Use it as a free planning companion, keep the actual reading in a trusted Bible source, and do not rely on it as the sole record of a multi-year journey until sync and export are explicit.

Alternatives to Sola – Bible Reading Plans

YouVersion Bible App 4.9The broad all-in-one choice for Bible text, audio, prepared plans, notes, highlights, sharing, and social participation.

BibleProject App 4.9A visual learning platform with videos, classes, podcasts, and reading journeys focused on biblical literary context.

The Bible Recap 4.7A chronological whole-Bible plan paired with concise daily teaching for readers who prefer a fixed guided path.

Mere Bible 4.6A minimalist, distraction-resistant Bible reader that complements Sola’s scheduling layer well.

Frequently asked questions

Is Sola Bible Reading Plans free?

Yes. The core app is free on Apple and Google, with optional supporter and Super Host purchases. Apple lists amounts from $0.49 to $9.99, but the public site does not clearly describe each entitlement or billing period, so read the in-app checkout before paying.

Does Sola include the Bible text?

Sola is primarily a reading-plan companion. It schedules passages and supplies maps, timeline material, videos, and links to supported Bible apps; it is not presented as a translation-rich Bible reader. Keep a separate Bible app or print Bible for the assigned text.

Can I make a custom Bible reading plan in Sola?

Yes. Users can select books or ranges, choose their order, set a time horizon and reading days, preview assignments, and later edit sections, counts, or pace. Newer versions balance workload by word count and can reschedule missed readings.

Can a small group read a Sola plan together?

Yes. A host can distribute a plan by link or QR code and update it for participants. Public reviews indicate the host cannot see each participant’s progress and there is no native comment thread, so use a separate communication channel if the group wants discussion or accountability.

Does Sola sync between devices?

Do not assume complete sync. An older developer response said iCloud synchronization was planned, and current public pages do not clearly document cross-platform progress sync or export. Test with a disposable plan before relying on multiple devices or a long-term schedule.

How private is Sola?

Apple lists linked purchase history, name, email and user ID plus unlinked crash data. Google lists personal information and device IDs, sharing of activity and performance, and says data is not encrypted. The privacy policy dates to 2021. Avoid sensitive notes and ask the developer to clarify the Android encryption declaration.

Does Sola use AI?

The reviewed product is not marketed as an AI Bible chatbot. Its core is deterministic plan scheduling with contextual maps, timeline data, and BibleProject videos. Do not confuse it with unrelated “Sola Bible” products or infer generated interpretation from the older “Bible companion” label.