The New Logos Subscription Model and How to Save Money
What's with all these new Logos subscription tiers and libraries. We'll explain what's going on and what you should get. We've also got a deal for 2 months free.
Logos released a new version of Logos Bible Study on October 21. It includes some interesting new features and a new user interface; however, they also introduced a new subscription model. So, what's new in the new Logos, and should you subscribe to one of the three new tiers of Logos version 37?
What Do You Call the New Logos?
For over 20 years, I've used Logos 3, 4, or some other version that ended in a small number. When Logos 10 came out, that became the last version that we'd described that way. What we called Logos 10 was called something like Logos 10.24.01. They just dropped the final numbers and called it Logos 10. We're dropping the 10 and getting Logos 37 as the first version of the new Logos (my Partner Link gets you 2 free months), which we thought they'd call Logos 11.
Logos Changed the Way You Buy the Logos Bible Study Platform
In the past, most people upgraded to Logos XX by paying for new features plus a library of new books. Now, you pay for a monthly, annual, or two-year subscription and add a library of books in a separate purchase.
Think of it like this. You decide to lease a home to own. YOu're paying monthly for the right to live there and over time you build up enough equity that you can buy it and own it outright. However, you decided you also want to make some improvements, so you add on a new bedroom and bathroom. You turn on of the rooms into a home theater and you build a nice gazebo out back.
Logos asks you to subscribe to get the new version and then asks you to add-on. You pay monthly for the new version of Logos like you pay monthly for the house. You add onto the house and make improvements like you buy a 2025 Library for the new Logos 37. If you quit paying for the home, the bank will kick you out. If you quit paying for the new Logos, then you lose the new features, unless you subscribe for a minium time. I'll explain that below when we discuss the "Legacy Fallback License".
To get new features, you will have to subscribe. Logos told me:
We will no longer sell a perpetual license to feature sets to consumers. For software, subscription will be the only way to get a premium Logos experience.
The subscription doesn't give you libraries of books. You will get the tools needed to use the new features. These will mostly come from Logos and not other publishers like Zondervan, Holman, or Baker, to name a few.
Three Tiers of Subscriptions
Logos reduced the number of different groups of features from nine to only three. They are as follows:
- Logos Premium - Focused on lay leaders who teach a small group in their church or community. The tools sit at the intermediate level of skill or knowledge and focus on English language study. Think of the old Bronze level of feature sets.
- Logos Pro - Focused on pastors and preachers who pastor a church or often preach and teach the Bible. They need advanced-level tools and will get access to intermediate-level language tools in Greek and Hebrew. People who study deuterocanonical books will need this level of subscription. Think of the old Preaching Suite or Silver packages.
- Logos Max - Bible students who need serious language study tools for advanced research will want to pay for this level. You get the whole feature set at this level to study Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Syriac, and more. Scholars or language nerds will want this subscription.
Most Logos users will want the Logos Pro level unless they need hardcore Bible study tools. However, lay people should get Premium, and then if they think they need more, they should jump up to Pro. Start lower and move up if you need it.
Logos Subscription Pricing and Benefits
How much does the new Logos subscription cost, and what do you enjoy besides the latest features? We'll share the full price. You can get discounts if you own Logos 10 or an older version.
- Logos Premium - $9.99/month, $99.99/year, or $189.80 for two years.
- Logos Pro - $ 14.99/month, $149.99/year, or $284.80 for two years.
- Logos Max - $19.99/month, $199.99/year, or $379.80 for two years.
If you own Logos 10 Bronze or higher, take $3, $5, or $7 off the monthly price of the three tiers. What if you own something lower than Logos 10 Bronze now? The discount gets smaller ($1, $2, $3).
Logos also offers discounts for Faculty and Students who subscribe annually. These users also get excellent deals on libraries—more on those below.
What else do you get besides the new features? Take 5% off every purchase from the store. Get another free book each month and up to eight Logos Mobile Ed courses each quarter. Pro and Max subscribers get access to the Logos Sermons service, which lets you host sermons online in a podcast or transcript format.
Pro and Max subscribers will earn an annual coupon worth 5% of all purchases the previous year. This coupon arrives in February each year and is only for current subscribers. So, if you plan to cancel your subscription, don't do it until after February, or you'll lose this perk.
Legacy Fallback License
What happens if you cancel your subscription? You will lose access to the features that you get by subscribing. However, there's something Logos calls a "Legacy Fallback License," which allows users to keep offline features when they end their subscription after 24 straight months of subscribing. You'll keep the features that don't need cloud or AI. If you have any questions about this, contact Logos to see what you'll lose before you cancel.
What Do You Get in the New Logos Subscription?
What's available in Logos after a user subscribes? We'll cover the new features in another fuller article, but here's a quick listing of new features taken from Logos PR documents:
- Dark mode without restart.
- Get Started Wizard - shows up on the new Logos Dashboard.
- Smart Search - use regular language to search your library.
- Insights - quick looks at your most essential library tools with one click.
- Dynamic toolbar - we covered this in a previous article.
- Help Center (see screenshot below).
- Factbook improvements - new sections and "lenses" to see what's in their passage.
- Smart Synopsis - AI-generated synopsis from search results with footnotes.
- Summarize tool - quick summaries of books, passages, or search results. More is coming.
- Bible Study Builder - the Wordsearch Lesson Maker, but reimagined for Logos and with better-resulting questions.
- Sermon Assistant - Only for Logos Pro and Max Subscribers...
- Outlines - AI-suggested sermon themes and outlines.
- Questions - AI-suggested questions for discussion based on your sermons built using Logos Sermon Builder
- Applications and illustrations - AI-generated sermon applications and illustrations from your sermons.
- Sermon Builder/Manager on Android - Android users can now use this tool, not just iOS users.
New 2025 Libraries to Add More Books to Logos
If the three subscription tiers didn't confuse you, the three tracks of libraries with eight different levels will. Each comes with books you own and can use if you subscribe to Logos. We'll offer a more in-depth recommendation in another article. But let's look at the three tracks and who they're meant for.
The tree tracks focus on who's using Logos. For example, the Standard Track Libraries help people who use Logos for personal use and to teach a Bible study or small group. If you buy a Logos Premium subscription, then you'll likely want to consider the Standard Track Libraries. Take a look at the price and what each includes, and you can buy what you can afford or need.
Next, we see the Leader Track, which focuses on church leaders. Again, if you teach a class or Bible study, you'll want to take a look at this track. You'll get more intermediate-level books.
The Preacher Track Libraries were designed for preachers and pastors. Logos Premium subscribers will likely want to look here.
Finally, the Research Track Libraries will help people who subscribe to Logos Premium or Max. These users write commentaries, translate for new Bibles or in missionary settings, or teach at a seminary or Bible college.
Look for more complexity with Denominational Libraries coming in January 2025.
Recommended Upgrade Path for Different Users
What should you do if you want to upgrade to Logos. First, consider using my Partner Link. Logos gives you one month free and using my link gets you a second month free if you upgrade to a subscription.
First, choose a subscription level. Most users will want Logos Pro, the mid-level tier. You get the most bank for your buck. Since the majority of my readers are pastors, teachers, and serious Bible students who need to do language study, but might not possess an advanced level of Hebrew and Greek skill, then get this tier for $14.99/month, unless you already own Logos 10 Bronze or above. Then it's just $9.99. You can save more with an annual subscription.
Second, you need to pick a library of books. You can get the subscription alone, but why not add some books to your library at a discount. Take a look at the Libraries for 2025 and choose what you an afford. Logos will let you split up payments into a couple of months up to a year to pay off your purchase.
As we said above, they offer several tiers of libraries too. For now, go with Standard and then add to it later. Or jump to the Preacher level if you're subscribing to Pro. They seem to fit together well.
Logos gave me the the Gold Library, but if they hadn't, that's what I would have bought. You add the Preacher's Outline and Semon Bible, the ESV Expository Commentary Collection, and Theologocial Wordbook of the Old Testament to name a few. It's only $600 and if I wanted, I could pay for it over several months to make it more affordable. Logos doesn't charge interest, but you do pay a small fee for processing.
5 Best Bible Apps for Android and Fire Tablets for 2021
What are the 5 best Bible apps for Android for 2021? These run on Android phones, tablets, and the Amazon Fire tablet.
If you own an Android smartphone or tablet or maybe an Amazon Fire Tablet, then we've got the 5 best Bible apps for Android. This list usually stays the same each year. So what has changed for 2021?
I tested these apps on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. I used to own the Tab S7 but handed it down to my son, an Android first guy. Most of the time, I use the iPad, but Android works great too. So, here's my list for 2021!
What's your favorite Bible app on Android or Amazon Fire Tablet. Comment below or head over to the YouTube video above and comment there.
Bible App by Olive Tree
Olive Tree's Bible App sits atop our list because it's still the best mobile Bible app available for reading, study, and sermon prep. Why do I call it the "best"? Olive Tree presents the Bible and Bible study material with the perfect balance of usefulness and simplicity. That's hard to do. Just ask the other more technical Bible study apps listed below.
UPDATE: The Bible App by Olive Tree is no longer supported on Amazon Fire tablets.
Open Olive Tree on a tablet, and you get two areas by default. On the left, you'll see a kind of Windows Explorer or macOS Finder kind of navigation window that takes up the left half of the screen when you tap the menu. To see this menu, you'll need to tap the menu button that looks like three horizontal lines in the upper left corner.
The Bible sits on the left when the menu isn't open. On the right, you'll see the Resource Guide. These two can link up so that when you scroll or swipe from page to page in the Bible, it will move the commentary you have open to the right.
Add word study features by opening a tagged Bible. Tap on a tagged word, and you'll see a popup window that defines the word in its original language. You also get Audiobooks, reading plans, devotionals, maps, highlights, note-taking, and it all syncs up with your computer version of Olive Tree.
There's more to this app, but this hits the highlights and explains why I put it first in my 5 Best Bible Apps for Android list.
Logos Bible App from Faithlife
The Logos Bible App (Amazon Fire App) and its other similar apps from Faithlife come in second in our roundup because of its power and array of useful features. It's a little bloated, but I'd rather have too many features that don't get in the way of the basics than not enough, like the ability to add user notes.
When you look at all that Faithlife packs into Logos, you can only say wow! There's a reason this ends up in our 5 Best Bible Apps for Android, but not at the number one spot.
The app divides into a few main areas.
- Home Screen - layouts for study are here, along with information from Faithlife about sales or books.
- Library - find your books to open and read.
- Book Reader - you can open a bunch of books, and they will show up on screen accessible via the center button, the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
- Search Screen - use it to search your Bible or books.
- Main Menu - find all the major features of the Logos app here, like the Guides.
You can open multiple books and sync them using the center button on the bottom toolbar. Set up some or all of the books to sync up or don't. I have a few Bible translations and a few study Bible's or commentaries open all the time, all of which I set to sync up, so they move from verse to verse together. I also open books I'm reading too, but they don't sync with a Bible.
On the Bible, you can do word studies, searches, and add notes or highlights. Open the menu, and you can search your library in one of the Guides. A passage guide finds everything about your passage. The Exegetical Guide searches for content related to language study. Other guides work similarly.
You'll find many other features, mainly in the main menu at the far right on the bottom toolbar. And remember, it all syncs nicely with the computer app or their web app.
Faithlife also offers a few other apps for Bible study and reading. You can download...
- Faithlife Study Bible - focused on their study Bible and the Lexham English Bible translation.
- Faithlife eBooks - a simplified version of the app for reading books primarily, but still has some study features.
- Biblia - Spanish language version of the app.
- Verbum Catholic Bible - app focused on Catholic users.
The Bible App from Life.Church
I always fight with myself about adding The Bible App (Amazon Fire App) to my roundup of best Bible apps for any platform, but I always do it for one reason. It's the most popular Bible app available on mobile devices.
I don't like including The Bible App because it's not really a complete Bible study app. You can't do word studies or read commentaries and Bible dictionaries. But that's not what Life.Church intended for its users to do.
Instead of more advanced Bible study, The Bible App excels as a simple Bible reading app that also includes social networking built-in and sharing to social media easily and elegantly. You can...
- Download and read hundreds of versions of the Bible, most of them available offline.
- Listen to audio Bibles.
- Set the app to remind you to read a daily reading and devotion or see a verse of the day in text or visual format.
- See what your friends are reading, highlighting, sharing, or commenting about the Bible.
- Watch videos to help you understand the Bible.
- Bookmark verses.
- Share verses with others via social media, email, or text.
Accordance Bible Software
The Accordance App (Amazon Fire App) on Android has gotten better but still lags behind its iOS cousin and the other apps in our roundup for a couple of glaring weaknesses. First, you can't add your own user notes yet. That's gotta change, and Accordance should feel embarrassed they haven't added the feature in 2021.
Second, the syncing features in the app are weak by comparison. Accordance should add its own syncing tool to keep your user content fresh on Android and a computer.
While Accordance really needs the improvements above, it still deserves a spot in our top 5. Of course, you can read the Bible and other books in your library. Accordance sells a lot of great Bible study tools, thanks to a huge library of quality resources. They are often the first company to release a book when it gets published. For example, they released the new 2020 version of the NASB before the others on the list. Logos doesn't even have it out yet.
Accordance works great as a Bible or book reader. It lets you search, and you can select a word and Amplify it, which means study by searching for related content.
Tecarta Bible
Bible study observers may not know as much about Tecarta Bible (Amazon Fire App $5.99 for NIV) as the others in this roundup. But they should because it's a decent app.
The app includes the most-used translations. You can download the KJV for free and buy others for download. If you don't want to pay for a translation, you can "stream" them, which means use them as long as you have an Internet connection on your phone or tablet. You'll have to buy commentaries, but unlike others, Tecarta lets you try them.
The app displays parallel translations and shows the commentary in a 2nd or 3rd window. Add notes, bookmarks, highlights, or share verses.
If you tap and hold on a word, the app shows a box popup that says "Define," and it will go online to give you a definition from an Internet search.
5 Best Bible Apps for Android and Fire Tablets for 2021 Summary
Which of the 5 apps included in our roundup of the 5 Best Bible Apps for Android should you download? Why not download all of them? Of course, you should start with the app from the company you already use on a computer, if you own one. I'm a Logos Bible Software user on my Macs, so I primarily use Logos, even though I like Olive Tree better on mobile.
UPDATE: If you use an Amazon Fire Tablet, you can't download the Olive Tree app since it's no longer supported. For a fifth Bible app on a Fire Tablet, look at Laridian's Pocket Bible. It's also terrific.
Update: You can also install the Google Play Store on an Amazon Fire Tablet. It's complicated, but if you think you can handle it, fire up the Silk browser on your Fire and head over to the helpful how-to article at Android Police.
If you must make me recommend one over another, then I'm going with Olive Tree first. It's got the cleanest and simplest interface. It has enough features for most users. People who need more advanced tools will likely not work on a tablet or smartphone very long. They're using a computer-level Bible study suite from either Logos or Accordance. However, don't end your search with Olive Tree. You can try out all of them for free and settle on one with the best features for your needs.