If you've ever wished you could scribble in the margins of your Bible — circle a word, draw an arrow between two verses, sketch out a thought mid-devotion — Pencil Bible was made for that exact moment. It's a beautifully minimal Bible app built specifically for the iPad and Apple Pencil, giving you the freedom to write, highlight, draw, and journal directly alongside Scripture.^1
Unlike feature-heavy Bible apps that pack in commentaries, cross-references, and social feeds, Pencil Bible strips everything back to the essentials: the text and your pen. Choose from popular translations like ESV, NIV, NLT, CSB, and NKJV, customize your font and layout, then annotate with the full power of Apple PencilKit — including pressure sensitivity, tilt support, and Apple Pencil Pro tools. Version 3, launched in December 2025 and rebuilt from the ground up in Swift, delivers zero-lag performance, smoother navigation, multi-device iCloud sync, and annotation support on iPhone for the first time. Since launch, regular updates have resolved early subscription issues and added dark mode.^2
Pencil Bible is an indie project born from a simple frustration. Founder Erin Walker, based in South Africa, used to wake early for Bible study only to find his pencils and notebooks commandeered by his kids for drawings of kittens and trees. He searched for a digital solution and found nothing that offered true freehand annotation on iPad. The idea became an Indiegogo campaign in 2020, survived two years of development across three different agencies, rejection by two Bible publishers, and a threat from Apple to remove the app — and emerged as the leading Bible journaling app on the App Store. Erin documents the entire journey transparently on his Medium blog, including the difficult decision to abandon a cross-platform React Native codebase and rebuild natively in Swift.^3
Why Christians Love Pencil Bible: "I've been waiting forever for someone to create a Bible app that gives me the freedom to draw & write next to scriptures!"^1 One user shared, "This is the only Bible I will ever need! It is stunningly beautiful." Another wrote, "If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. Best Bible app ever."^1 On Reddit, a user noted they "gave it a try, and tbh, I do like it so far" — reflecting growing word-of-mouth discovery.^5 What keeps people coming back is the one thing no other Bible app offers: true margin space. As one reviewer put it: "This app is still the only one I have found that allows writing with my Apple Pencil in a nice wide margin and I can't tell you how much I love that feature!"^2 The developer, Erin, personally responds to nearly every review — a small touch that reflects the heart behind the project.
Platforms: iOS (iPad + iPhone) Pricing: Freemium (free with 10-chapter annotation limit; premium unlocks unlimited)
