Logos Bible Software Review Negative #: Start Up Time
I am impatient. I, like you, live in a Fast Food world with Instant Access to everything. Therefore, even though I know its extremely shallow, the most frustrating thing for me with Logos Bible Software is its load time. Occasionally, after double-clicking the Logos icon on my desktop, it might take 2 or 3 minutes for the software to actually load and be ready to use. Then to make matters worse, it seems that more often than not, there is some sort of Update to the software or to one of my Logos Bible Software resources, and after this downloads, the software wants me to shut it down and restart it, which only means that I have to go through the load time all over again.
The way I work around this is to think ahead. If I think I am going to be using Logos Bible Software sometime in the next two hours during my study, I will just get it started right away. This way, it is ready and waiting when I need it.
In case you are curious how long it takes, here is a video of me starting Logos after purposefully not starting it up for a while:
Good If You Have The Money
Used daily for 2+ years
I love the ease of finding a lot of information about a text quickly on one screen. I also enjoy being about to work across my desktop, tablet, and phone somewhat seamlessly.
ProsI love the ease of finding a lot of information about a text quickly on one screen. I also enjoy being about to work across my desktop, tablet, and phone somewhat seamlessly.ConsThe software itself is expensive. Also, the resources are costly it is almost always cheaper to buy a used commentary from the internet than to buy the same commentary in Logos. Finally, the newer version is a memory hog and runs slow, even on my fairly new laptop.
Rating breakdown
Used monthly for 1-2 years
This is great for preparing for sermons and for writing any teaching material.
ProsI like that its easy to find resources based in a scripture text. It will take you right to the exact page. ConsI dont like that it is expensive to add on more resources. A once a month subscription at the same price would be more ideal.
Rating breakdown
Used weekly for 2+ years
I will NEVER STOP USING Logos Bible Software! Get the app, too!
Rating breakdown
A Money Saving Way To Grow A Logos 8 Library
I realize that not all of our readers are interested in Bible software. Certainly you can study Scripture very well without computer software! In fact, sometimes Bible study is better without screens because usually distractions come with screens. However, for some Christians, Bible software is a good tool that helps with in-depth Bible study and research. When I was in seminary and in the first part of my ministry I used BibleWorks. But around seven years ago I stopped using BibleWorks and started using Logos Bible Software. Ive written reviews of Logos here before, so I wont go into it again, but let me say: I really like Logos and it has helped me become a better student of Scripture in many ways.
If youre like me, you look at Logos and notice that some of the base packages are pretty expensive! Yes, theres no getting around it: the Silver, Gold, Platinum, etc. packages cost a bunch. However, there is a less expensive way to build a good Logos library: do it a little at a time over time and watch for deals.
For another example, you could get Logos 8 Reformed Starter Base Package for $294 or the regular Logos 8 Starter Base Package for $294 and build on one of these packages in a way mentioned in the previous paragraph. Of course, there are more expensive Base Packages, but you dont necessarily have to get the most expensive one. You can do a slow build and save money that way.
Shane Lems
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Start Small Now Go Big Later
Have your eye on the massive library in Logos 9 Platinum but arent ready to make the investment? Begin with Starter, and when youre ready to upgrade to Silver, youll only pay for whats new to you. That means your upgrade will be much less than the regular price, and you can work your way up to the library of your dreams as your budget allows.
Need help picking? Answer a few quick questions.
Payment Plans
Sermon Notes And Photos
The new Sermon Notebook is another game-changing feature for the Sermon Builder.
The Sermon Notebook is right next to the Sermon Info tab in the right-hand column. Click it to create a new sermon notebook or use an existing notebook. This will link whatever notes you create in that notebook to your sermon.
Now when you are studying, you can take notes that might be helpful for a future sermon. Then, any time you want, you can click the Sermon Notes tab to see all of your notes. Its wonderful!
And if that wasnt enough, Logos now allows you to insert photos into notes. So you can save screenshots, images, or even pictures from your phone using the mobile app to your notes. These images can even be turned into slides.
Ill be using this feature a lot.
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Logos 9 Pros And Cons
What I like
- Vibrant reading plans and devotionals
- Layouts for different types of study or reading
- Workflows that provide guided study
- Deep study with original language, persons and places of the Bible, and exegetical or topical study
What I dont like
- Can be expensive: but is it really? More on this below
- Can be hard to learn: especially if you dont know where to look and how to ask for help!
- Android version has a few bugs
Logos 9 Mobile App Improvements
Speaking of the Logos 9 Mobile app, Faithlife produces a full suite of Logos 9 Mobile apps depending on your purpose for studying the Bible. Of course, you can find it in iOS for your iPhone or iPad. It also runs on Android and Kindle.
For the first time, the Logos Factbook shows up in the mobile app. With it, you can search for the things you can find on the desktop version like
- People
- Greek and Hebrew words
- Bible passages
Find it in the menu (the three lines on the right end of the bottom toolbar. Factbook shows up 2nd from the top.
The example of a Factbook search for King Darius from Daniel shows different items related to that Biblical person. We get a Key Article about him from The Lexham Bible Dictionary, media from various sources, entries in language studies, and events from the timeline. Theres a list of other resources too, like Bible dictionary entries. At the bottom, you can perform a full search of the library for our search item.
A second big addition to the mobile app helps preachers who use Logos on their computer to write sermons. The Logos 9 Preaching Mode will show sermons in your Sermon Builder database on your iPad, Android tablet, or even a phone.
Users of Proclaim worship presentation software also produced by Faithlife can also control their sermon presentation. Just tap on the images in the Preaching Mode to show them on-screen during a Proclaim worship service.
Note that Faithlife offers various kinds of mobile apps:
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Logos Shows You How The New Testament Uses The Old Testament
A cheer went up from all Logos users when this new feature was announced.
But the good folks at Faithlife put together a tool that lets you browse the New Testament for uses of the Old Testament.
That means if I want to find every time the book of Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament, I just open the new tool and select Quotation as the Type of use I want to look up.
Then Id choose my source book.
And just like that, Logos gives me a report of every time the book of Isaiah is directly quoted in the New Testament!
Other New Features And Tools
Logos 9 adds a few other features. We wont go as deep into each of these.
- New Before and After images open from the Tools menu
- Bible Books Explorer shows visual information about each book
- Documents makes it easier to see what you shared with others and find what others shared with you
- Logos Mobile App Reference Scanner now you can save references found by the reference scanner to a Passage List which will sync to the desktop
- New visualizations do a Bible search and it shows results, but if you click the Charts button at the top you get new view options to search results visually
- Logos offers the best online Bible study site if youre a customer.
On the New visualizations above, open the Facets menu and you see all the kinds of visualizations available. They added some interesting new view options like Lollipop or Pectoral.
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Read To Learnnot For Entertainment
In seminary, you will need to read differently than you do when you read for fun. Some of you already might have learned this in your undergraduate studies, but others of you may find it odd to think that there are different kinds of reading.
When you are studying, you should not be reading the same way you just finished reading your last engrossing novel. You read a novel curled up on your sofa with a blanket and a warm drink. You read it from beginning to end. You are reading for the sheer delight and entertainment of it.
While you will enjoy learning, reading for learning is different from reading for entertainment. It is an active exercise aimed at information extraction. I had a teacher once who called all of his books his friends that he had conversations with. This analogy has stuck with me. I encourage students to think of their textbook and essay authors as teachers because, after all, they will be teaching you something. And there are a few things about these textual teachers that are even better than live teachers:
- They stay on topic
- They dont let others interrupt their train of thought
- You can rewind and fast-forward their discussion. You can pause them, go back to listen one more time to what they said, and even check out the ending first.
As you open up one of these new teachers, come with the purpose of understanding their arguments and informationnot for entertainment.
What Should You Do
If you were a Logos Now subscriber, you have to decide what to do next. Heres a list of possible responses to the situation.
For now, Im doing two things. First, Ive decided to take the next 8 months and consider whether the new Faithlife Connect Essentials will best meet my Bible study software needs. Before all of this, I was a fairly committed Logosian. Now Im not as sure and feel a little uneasy about the company. I was planning to jump ship entirely before they reversed their decision, so they did at least temporarily keep me as a user.
Second, I plan to get more proficient with Accordance Bible Software. They seem to offer the best solution for my needs.
I still struggle with a few things. Logos syncs with other platforms except their web app exceptionally well. Accordance relies on Dropbox and on mobile you have to do this manually and their Android apps too new to even include sync of notes, highlights and other user-created tools. The notes features in Logos are better than Accordance. They offer better text formatting and will automatically create Bible verse links when theyre typed. I dont have to manually add the link to turn a Bible verse into a pop-up or hyperlink. The diagramming tool in Logos is great and Accordance doesnt offer an analog.
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Logos Bible Software Review Positive #: Create Your Own Study Notes
One great feature of Logos Bible Software is that you can create your own sets of study notes or sermon notes right within the program itself. These notes can then be linked, cross-referenced, and searched within Logos Bible Software just like any other resources.
And best of all, when you partner your study notes with one of the Logos apps mentioned in #2 above, you can actually preach or teach right from your mobile device. No more taking a set of paper notes to the front with you. Instead, just take your Kindle or your iPad, and preach or teach from it! Cool!
Final Thoughts And Recommendationpermalink
Logos Bible Software is a professional-level tool, and it comes with a professional price tag. Like any professional, we should invest in tools that save us time and improve the quality of our work. I believe Logos 9 is worthy of investment. I only wish I would have started using Logos earlier in my ministry and seminary studies!
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So Should You Get Logos Bible Software 8 Well
This is the best tool out there. But like I said earlier, it isnt for everyone. Here are a few factors that might make Logos a pretty bad choice for you:
- Logos is expensive. Seriously: even if you go with the bottom-shelf package, youll spend a few hundred bucks. Is it a great deal? Absolutely! But you need to think of this as an industry-grade tool, because thats the kind of price youll be paying.
- Logos takes time. Its a force-multiplier: you get out what you put in. This is NOT some theo-magical device that makes the Bibles most difficult passages become clear. Youll still need to put in hard work, but the return on that investment is amazingly high.
- Logos is high-tech. If you have trouble finding your way around a smart phone, youre gonna have a bad time in Logos 9. Its got a learning curve that you need to scale first.
Remember: you dont need the Batmobile for a 15-minute commute. -)
Bible Software: Why This User Says You Should Invest In Logos
If you regularly spend time reading or teaching the Bible, you should seriously consider adopting Bible software into your life. If you are in seminary or full-time ministry, you definitely should consider investing in Bible software.
I have been using Bible software almost every day for over 10 years as a college minister and MDiv student. Logos Bible Software provides the best user experience in terms of features, resources, and functionality on the Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
Faithlife, the company behind Logos, recently released Logos 9 in October 2020. This guide will highlight some of my favorite features and how they might benefit you and your ministry. It is not intended to be a full review of Logos 9. Instead, I want to share how Logos 9 has proven useful for me in my ministry, seminary studies, and devotional life.
Whether you are someone who hasnt taken the plunge into Logos or you are deciding whether to upgrade to the latest version, I hope this post will help provide some direction and perhaps some inspiration!
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The Best Bible Study Software Just Got Better Logos 9 Is Here
Ive been using Bible Study Software for over two decades. I have used various versions of nearly everything on the market, including numerous software packages that are no longer available. About ten years ago, I started using Logos Bible Software, and have never looked back!
And this years version, Logos 9, is the best version yet!
Before you reader further, know that if you want to get Logos, you can get an exclusive partner discount on Logos Bible Software .
The following post will cover some of the updates and items in the new version of Logos Bible Study Software, but let me share with you something that I am particularly happy about, which has been around for a while, but I have only recently started using
At my place of work, they recently installed new computers. In the process, the company banned all of us from downloading and using any sort of software other than software that was approved. And guess what? Logos Bible software was NOT approved.
But not to worry! Logos has me covered!
I recently discovered that I can access the online version of Logos with no problem from my work computer! All I have to do is visit app.logos.com, sign in, and Im ready to study the Bible! Of course, if you have a cell phone or tablet, they provide great apps for your convenience as well.
Reading Plans And Portabilitypermalin
Every year, I aim to read through the Bible in its entirety. I have been following the MCheyne reading plan alongside D. A. Carsons For the Love of God ever since my undergrad years. Back then, I would carry Carsons book with me everywhere like an animal because I didnt want to miss a reading while traveling to conferences or going overseas. But no more. Wherever my iPhone goes, my entire Logos library comes with me.
Logos helps keep me on track by queuing up my Bible daily reading, bringing me directly to the passages I am scheduled to read as well as opening up For the Love of God, so I can enjoy Carsons commentary on those passages. It is wonderfully convenient and easy.
Beyond your Bible reading, Logos can also create reading plans for any other book in your library. Maybe you want to read through Bavincks Reformed Dogmatics over the next six monthsbut only on weekdays. Logos can create a custom reading plan for you readily available on all of your devices. Next time youre stuck in the waiting room at the dentist, you can spend some time with Bavinck instead of aimlessly scrolling through Instagram.
When it comes to writing a sermon or preparing a Bible study, I can go to any coffee shop armed with just my iPad and have all my commentaries, dictionaries, and other biblical resources available at my fingertips.
Pretty awesome, if you ask me.
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