Bible Gateway vs Olive Tree Bible App

Updated November 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Bible Gateway

Searchable online Bible and mobile app with hundreds of translations and a paid Plus study library.

Free plan + paid

Visit Bible Gateway Bible Gateway profile

Olive Tree Bible App

Offline Bible study app with commentaries, study Bibles and Greek and Hebrew tools you can add to a library.

Free plan + paid

Visit Olive Tree Bible App Olive Tree Bible App profile

The short answer

Bible Gateway suits readers who want fast passage search and side-by-side translation comparison in a browser, with an optional subscription for commentaries. Olive Tree suits pastors, teachers and serious readers who want to build a permanent library of study books that works offline. The biggest difference is the model: Bible Gateway rents its study library online, Olive Tree sells books you keep and download.

Bible Gateway or Olive Tree Bible App: our take

Bible Gateway is a website with companion iOS and Android apps. Its free tier is broad: search across 200+ translations, compare versions side by side, follow reading plans, get a Verse of the Day email and listen to audio Bibles. Many modern English translations are available, which makes it a common choice for quick lookups. The free site and app show ads. Bible Gateway Plus removes ads and adds 70+ premium resources such as study Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, maps and Greek and Hebrew word tools, for $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year after a 7-day free trial. That library only lives online and stays available only while you subscribe.

Olive Tree is an installed app for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, with no web version. It is built for study: a split view puts a commentary or dictionary next to the text, and the Resource Guide surfaces related passages from your own library for the verse you are reading. Strong's-tagged Bibles, interlinears and parsed Greek and Hebrew texts support word study. Notes, highlights and reading plans sync across devices, and downloaded books work fully offline. The app and a set of Bibles are free, but most commentaries and study Bibles are bought individually from a store of 35,000+ books, which then stay in your account. Costs add up as the library grows, and the store-centric layout can feel busy for casual reading.

Choose Bible Gateway if you mostly read, search and compare translations, want to work in a browser on any computer, or prefer a modest subscription to buying books one by one. Choose Olive Tree if you prepare sermons or lessons, need offline access while travelling, or want to own specific commentaries for the long term. Some people use both: Bible Gateway for quick lookups and Olive Tree for deeper study.

Choose Bible Gateway if…

Readers who want fast passage search and translation comparison, with optional commentaries
You need Web, which Olive Tree Bible App doesn't list
Fast search and side-by-side comparison across many translations
Includes many modern English versions

Choose Olive Tree Bible App if…

Pastors, teachers and serious readers who want commentaries and word study offline on every device
You need macOS and Windows, which Bible Gateway doesn't list
Resource Guide shows related commentary for the passage you are reading
Full offline use once books are downloaded

What is Bible Gateway?

Bible Gateway is a long-running website and companion mobile app for reading, searching and listening to the Bible. Its core is free: you can look up any passage, compare translations side by side, run keyword searches across versions, follow reading plans, sign up for a Verse of the Day email and play audio Bibles in a number of languages. It is especially popular for quick lookups because many modern English translations that other free apps can't license are available here. The paid Bible Gateway Plus subscription, with a free trial, removes ads and adds a digital library of study Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, encyclopedias and maps, plus Greek and Hebrew word tools. That makes it a lighter, browser-based alternative to buying a full Bible software package. It suits people who want fast search and translation comparison, and pastors or students who want commentaries without installing desktop software. The free site shows ads, and the study library only lives online.

What is Olive Tree Bible App?

Olive Tree is a Bible study app for phones, tablets and computers that goes further than a plain Bible reader. Next to the text you can open a commentary, study Bible or dictionary in a split view, and its Resource Guide pulls in passages from your own library that relate to the verse you're reading. Strong's-tagged Bibles, interlinears and parsed Greek and Hebrew texts make word study possible without formal language training. Notes, highlights, bookmarks and reading plans sync between devices, and downloaded books work fully offline, which suits travellers and missionaries. The app and a set of Bibles are free; most of the depth comes from commentaries and other books bought one by one from Olive Tree's store, which then stay in your account. That makes it a good fit for pastors, teachers and serious lay readers who want to build a library over time, but the cost adds up compared with free readers. It runs on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows.

Side by side

Attribute	Bible Gateway	Olive Tree Bible App
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	iOS, Android, macOS, Windows
Best for	Readers who want fast passage search and translation comparison, with optional commentaries	Pastors, teachers and serious readers who want commentaries and word study offline on every device
Status	Active	Active