If you've ever opened a Bible app only to be greeted by social feeds, push notifications, and pop-ups before you can even reach Scripture, Tov was made for you. Created by developer Trent Cowden — a follower of Jesus and lead developer at Waha, a disciple-making ministry — Tov strips away everything that gets between you and God's word.^1
At its core, Tov is a beautifully minimal Bible reader built around the Berean Standard Bible, a respected creative commons translation.^2 But it's the thoughtful details that set it apart: over 30,000 cross-references let you trace themes and connections woven throughout Scripture, a built-in reading history remembers every passage you've visited so you can jump back effortlessly during sermons or study, and you can even hide verse numbers for an uninterrupted, reader's Bible experience.^1 Everything works offline, and the entire app — every feature, every book — is completely free with no paywalls.^3
The name "Tov" comes from the Hebrew word for "good," and Trent's vision was simply to create a good Bible app — one he'd actually want to use every day. Recent updates have added color themes, customizable text sizing, and refined typography, keeping the experience fresh without adding clutter.^3
Why Christians Love It"This app has really blessed me and given me a renewed joy for approaching Scripture on a mobile device. It keeps a history of where you read — it's intuitive and it blows my mind that more apps haven't done this." — App Store review^3
"Tov emulates the simplicity and shalom of the word of God, and that is why it is my favorite Bible app." — Adam^3
"Tov's minimalistic approach results in an intuitive, well-functioning, and incredibly beautiful app for reading The Bible. The care it's been crafted with is immediately evident and it's an utter joy to use." — App Store review^3
Notable- Featured on Hacker News as a Show HN project in March 2025, drawing praise from the developer community^4
- Built with React Native by a professional developer who also leads development on Waha, a global disciple-making app^1
- Perfect 5.0 rating on the App Store with universally positive reviews^3
- Currently iOS only (iPhone, iPad, Mac with Apple Silicon, and Apple Vision) — no Android version yet
- Completely free with zero monetization — no ads, subscriptions, or in-app purchases
