Best Examination of Conscience Apps for iPhone and Android (2026)

The best examination of conscience apps in 2026 are mostly free: on iPhone, start with Confess or Metanoia, and on Android, with Metanoia or ConfessIt. If you want questions that follow the Ten Commandments, look at Metanoia, Reconcile or ConfesGuide; if you want an app that keeps a running list of what you mean to confess, look at Confess, Shrive or Holier. Below is what each one does, what it costs and how it handles your privacy, according to each app's store listing as checked on October 12, 2026.

We make Holier, one of the apps below. We've tried to be fair, including where another app is the better pick.

What app do Catholics use for examination of conscience?

There's no single app every Catholic uses. Most people choose from four kinds:

• Dedicated confession apps, such as Confess, Metanoia, Reconcile, ConfesGuide and ConfessIt. They walk you through questions, let you mark what applies, and show it to you when you go.
• All-in-one Catholic apps, such as Laudate. It's free, and its App Store listing describes "5 Confession apps for different groups" alongside the Mass readings, the Liturgy of the Hours and the Catechism.
• Prayer apps with an examen, such as Hallow and Little Way. Little Way's listing also includes confession prep across eight areas of life, and Hallow's website lists a free three-part audio Confession Guide that includes an examination of conscience.
• Apps that use AI, such as Holier, and Holy Habits, which lists confession logging and an examination of conscience alongside AI habit suggestions.

The examination itself is the same in all of them: an honest look at your life since your last Confession, in the light of God's word (CCC 1454). If you'd like to learn it without an app first, start with our examination of conscience or how to do an examination of conscience.

Examination of conscience apps compared

Prices are US prices. Privacy is what each app reports on its App Store privacy label, or in Google Play's Data safety section for Android-only apps. These labels are the developers' own statements.

Free vs paid: do you need to pay for an examination of conscience app?

No. A free app covers the examination of conscience well. Confess, Metanoia, ConfesGuide, Laudate and ConfessIt are free with no in-app purchases listed, and Confessio: Confession Prep is free on the App Store. Free doesn't mean thin: Metanoia has 243 questions and a Confession Mode, and Confess has three modes, from a two-to-four-minute Daily Check to a full examination by state of life.

Paying gets you something specific in each case:

• Reconcile is free, with Premium at $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year for a Beatitudes examination and Confession Insights.
• Contrite costs $0.99 once on Google Play.
• Holy Habits is $9.99 a month or $89.99 a year. It's a broader Catholic habit tracker with challenges and a community forum.
• Holier is $7.99 a week, $79.99 a year, or $149.99 once, for a guided nightly examen in a chat that keeps your list.

If cost matters, start with a free app. You can always move later.

Which examination of conscience apps use the Ten Commandments?

The Catechism asks for an examination made "in the light of the Word of God" (CCC 1454), and the Ten Commandments are the most common way Catholics do it. These apps follow them, according to their listings:

• Metanoia: 243 questions arranged by the Ten Commandments, guided or as a full list, and you can add your own.
• Reconcile: a guided examination with Catechism and Scripture context, plus a five-minute Quick Prep.
• ConfesGuide: a concise adult examination by the Ten Commandments and a simpler one for children, from Fr. James Socías's booklet Short Guide for Confession.
• Confessio: Confession Prep: the Ten Commandments joined with your state of life, a view by the seven capital sins, and a children's examination for ages 7 to 12.
• Contrite (Android): a commandment-by-commandment examination, personalized by state of life.

Others take a different route. Confess arranges its full examination by state of life and cites the Catechism on each question. Little Way uses eight areas of life. Holier doesn't use a checklist at all: it asks questions in a conversation, and the confessional list it builds is organized by the seven deadly sins. If you like working down the commandments one by one, one of the apps above will suit you better.

Which examination of conscience apps remember your list?

An examination is easier when you don't have to hold everything in your head until Saturday. Apps handle this in different ways:

• A running list. Confess keeps a running confession list across sessions and can delete summaries automatically after a period you choose. Shrive is a simple sin log you add to as you notice things, with a "Confession Time" screen. Holier adds what you name each evening to one list.
• Marks and counts. Reconcile and Confessio: Confession Prep let you mark items and note how often. Reconcile's walkthrough then pulls in what you marked.
• A screen for the confessional. ConfesGuide gives you a private checklist in large, bold type, and Confessio has a dark, large-print view that keeps the screen on.
• Little or nothing kept. Metanoia can keep your confession history as dates only, and Contrite's "Burn" button destroys your preparation when you're done.

Whatever you use, a list is only as private as the place you keep it. We look at paper, phone notes and apps in is it safe to keep a list of your sins?, and at each app's privacy in confession app privacy compared. For apps that help you notice what repeats, see apps that help you remember your sins.

What's the best examination of conscience app for iPhone?

For most iPhone users, Confess is the place to start: free, no account, Data Not Collected on its privacy label, a running list, and a black "private confession screen" for when you go. Metanoia is the pick if you want a full Ten Commandments examination, open-source code and 14 languages. ConfesGuide suits anyone who wants a short, classic examination with nothing extra. If you'd like to be guided through an examen each night and have the list build itself, that's what Holier is for.

What's the best examination of conscience app for Android?

On Android, Metanoia and ConfessIt are the free picks. ConfessIt has been on Android since 2012, is open source, and shows 4.9 stars from 1.18K reviews on Google Play; its examination comes with a walkthrough of what the priest will say. Metanoia brings the same Ten Commandments examination it has on iPhone. Reconcile and Confessio: Confession Prep are on both platforms too, and Contrite is a new $0.99 Android app with a personalized examination. Confess and Holier aren't on Android.

Where Holier fits, and where it doesn't

Holier: Catholic Confession is an iPhone app by Reconciled Software (iOS 17.6 or later; there's no Android version). Each evening it guides a short examination of conscience as a chat in the tradition of the Ignatian examen, and anything you name goes onto a numbered confessional list that opens with "Bless me, Father." It also offers a chat for the moment of temptation, with encouragement and a prayer, and shows the days since your last Confession and your last examen. Your sin list is encrypted on your iPhone with a key that never leaves it; conversations are processed to power the AI, then discarded. You sign in with Apple, and there's a passcode lock. It's a free download, and full use takes a subscription: $7.99 a week, $79.99 a year, or $149.99 once, per its App Store listing (October 2026), with no free trial. Version 1.3 added a daily reminder time and lets you review what the chat found before it's saved. Holier is new. It helps you prepare; only a priest absolves.

It isn't the best pick for everyone:

• Android users: try Metanoia or ConfessIt.
• Anyone who wants free: Confess, Metanoia and ConfesGuide cost nothing.
• Children: ConfesGuide and Confessio: Confession Prep include children's examinations.
• Anyone who'd rather not involve AI: Metanoia says it makes zero network calls, and Confess says it has no server communication.
• Anyone who wants audio prayers: a prayer app like Hallow or Pray As You Go fits better.

A word before you choose

An app is a help, not the Confession. The questions matter less than going slowly and honestly, with God who already knows you. If you're unsure whether something was serious, write it down and ask the priest; the Church sets out what makes a sin mortal (CCC 1857 to 1859), and you don't have to judge your own case alone. If examining your conscience leaves you anxious and going in circles, tell your confessor. A calmer app may help too: Lumen describes itself as built for people prone to scrupulosity, with no streaks and no nagging.

For the full field of confession apps, see the best Catholic confession apps. If you'd rather start with a short nightly prayer, see the best examen apps.