Ever wish you could tap any Bible verse and instantly understand what it means — without juggling a stack of commentaries? Life Bible (formerly Tecarta Bible) was built for exactly that. Created by Ming Siu and Mike Allen, two developers in Palo Alto who simply wanted a better way to take notes during church, it's grown into one of the most content-rich Bible study apps available — with over 2 million users worldwide.^1
Life Bible gives you access to 40+ free translations (NLT, NIV, KJV, ESV, CSB, NASB, NKJV, and more), with 150+ Study Bibles and commentaries available through Premium. The standout "Explain" feature lets you tap any verse and see insights drawn from Study Bibles, commentaries, and Bible Project videos.^3 The TouchPoints library covers 500+ felt-need topics like anxiety, faith, marriage, and courage — with Scripture answers and video content to help you find what God's Word says about life's biggest questions.^2
The app is built for serious study without being intimidating: split-screen reading alongside commentaries, simultaneous search across all 40 translations, AI-powered verse search, custom highlight colors, verse-by-verse journaling, and full sync across phone, tablet, and the web.^2 Audio Bibles include a sleep timer for winding down at night, and group plans let you read and discuss devotionals with family and friends in real time.^2
Tecarta partners with every major Christian publisher — Tyndale, Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, Crossway, Moody, NavPress, B&H, Lockman, and more — giving you access to trusted resources like the Life Application Study Bible, MacArthur Study Bible, ESV Study Bible, and Thru the Bible Commentary.^4
Why Christians Love It"Life Bible is by far the easiest one I have used to organize notes. The ability to place a note right alongside the verse is wonderful. I can use a color to highlight verses that speak of the grace of God and view all those verses in one place. It is one of the few apps I use every day."^1
"I've had the Tecarta Bible app for over seven years and it has been a consistent, convenient and accurate resource for Bible study."^1
"I've fallen in love with the Life (Tecarta) Bible app. The only app I've found that has good study Bible content in an easy to use interface."^5
Notable- Founded in 2009 by Ming Siu (CEO) and Mike Allen (CTO); rebranded from Tecarta Bible to Life Bible in June 2023^4
- Based in Palo Alto, California — a close team of developers and designers who love reading the Bible^4
- Available on iOS, Android, and web with full cross-device sync^2
- Life Bible Book Club launched January 2026: a guided plan to read the entire Bible in a year, with monthly reading schedules, discussion questions, and in-app group chat^6
- Daily reading Streaks encourage consistency and can be toggled off in Settings for those who prefer not to track^7
- Over 450 quick topical reading plans and 150 devotional books by renowned authors^2
- ESV text updated to the 2025 edition (October 2025)^8
- Bible Search! app retired and merged into Life Bible^4
