Logos is the most popular Bible study software available and is used by millions worldwide, especially Christian leaders. Because the company distributes Christian content, uses a Greek word as its name, and its parent company is called Faithlife, many users assume they’re supporting a Christian initiative when they buy its resources. But there are four things you should know about Logos:

1. Logos is not a Christian company.

Although Logos specifically sells Christian products, has many Christian staff, and its mission is to “equip the Church,” it should not be considered a Christian company for three important reasons:

1. It is not owned by Christians. In 2021, Faithlife (and Logos) was sold to a secular private equity firm called Cove Hill Partners.^[1] So all profits that Logos makes flow to secular investors.

2. It does not seek to hire Christian staff. None of the three job ads posted at the time of writing mention anything about having a faith, going to church, Christian values, or anything else faith-related.^[2]

3. It does not internally identify as a Christian company. As noted by one employee as early as 2015, “I know the company is not Christian, but the lack of commitment to Christian values is troubling.”^[3] Others noted, “there was not a single meeting that ever opened or closed in prayer. There was never a sense that the actual Gospel enterprise was ever considered,”^[4] and “I had fewer conversations about faith here than anywhere else I have ever worked.”^[5] Logos does not explicitly claim to be a Christian company,^[6] so their stated mission to “equip the Church” is misleading, given many would assume this is out of a spiritual conviction, not merely a business strategy. One of the original founders of Logos does, however, make it clear that it is primarily a business strategy (see next).

2. Logos was previously owned by Christians.

Logos was originally created by two Christian Microsoft employees who met at church. They founded the company with investment from family and friends.^[7] One of them, Bob Pritchett, became the CEO and later published the book Fire Someone Today: And Other Surprising Tactics for Making Your Business a Success. It draws on his experience as the CEO of Logos/Faithlife.

In chapter 10, Profit Is Why You Are in Business, Pritchett explains how he initially saw the mission of the company (to equip the church) as the first priority. After encountering some difficult financial situations, he came to believe instead it is profit that should be the first priority.

Profit is the first mission of every business. It protects and enables all the others. Goals may inspire your business and cash may keep it alive, but if your business is not pursuing a profit it is not a business, it is a hobby.

Pritchett explicitly contrasts Logos with nonprofit organizations which do try to pursue their stated goals as their first priority. A nonprofit that amasses revenue, but fails to achieve its objectives, has failed. Whereas if Logos generates a profit to the detriment of its service to the church,^[8] it has still succeeded.

Unfortunately, many people get so wrapped up in the secondary purposes of their business that they lose sight of the primary purpose. [profit]

Pritchett even mentions how they at times pursued profit to the detriment of other presumably Christian initiatives: “We took projects at a loss to keep a competitor from getting them.” Notably lacking in his decision-making is any reference to Scripture, or any Christian values at all. The book was clearly written for a secular audience, but as the CEO of a Bible software company it is striking. He instead assumes that readers will be convinced by pure pragmatism.

3. Logos’ primary concern is still profit.

In addition to the founder’s own explicit statement that Logos is primarily focused on making money, this is also clear from its users and staff. A number of users have expressed concern about profiteering, and premium options have been the subject of mockery. Logos does have a free plan, but this is a common marketing tactic used by many secular software companies.^[9]

Faithlife has also received a substantial amount of criticism^[10] from its current and former staff on the company review website Glassdoor.^[11] The company’s focus on money is frequently mentioned:

• “There is tension between its stated mission and its profit driven nature”^[12]

• “the trend has continued to be one of make the largest profit margin possible.”^[13]

• “They are not a Christian company. They are for profit with the only emphasis being on profit.”^[14]

• “They sell a product for Christians, but constantly express it’s the business and money that’s important.”^[15]

• “the new owners of the company only care about money”^[16]

• “The dollar is the top line, the bottom line, and everything in between.”^[17]

• “Sales team regularly told to lie and manipulate people to get them to buy products they don’t need”^[18]

• “it’s painfully obvious that their only concern is the bottom line, and that, despite the fact that they’re in the business of selling Christian products, genuine Christian ethics are conspicuously absent.”^[19]

Like similar secular products, Logos locks users into their platform, making it difficult to use alternatives after purchasing resources in Logos’ proprietary format. This has recently been lamented by users who fear they are now trapped into a product they may no longer want:

“In a monopolistic situation that we are facing, no customer is able to leave for a competitor bcos [sic] no good one exists and it is too costly to switch even if a good competitor existed. Pray for viable competitors, otherwise we are screwed.”^[20]

“I have NEVER INVESTED $12,000 INTO A PRODUCT except for a home, a car, and LOGOS. Being retired and on a budget, I do EXPECT that my investment will remain with me and always be usable!”^[21]

4. It’s not just Logos that’s the problem.

It’s best if software specifically designed to assist Christian ministry is free and open source, prioritizing access over profit, even if this is not a biblical requirement.^[22] The open source movement has been a remarkable success in the secular world, yet rather than leading the way in generosity, Christians are lagging behind. Logos should be collaborating with other Christian developers rather than competing against them.

However, assigning all the blame to Logos would miss a crucial point about Christian publishing. While Logos develops tools for studying Scripture and Christian teaching, they are less involved in creating the content itself,^[23] and it is the sale of this biblical teaching that is forbidden by Scripture (2 Cor 2:17). In fact, if it weren’t for Bible publishers insisting on royalty payments, the creators of Logos would have published the original version as shareware.^[24] Authors, academics, and Bible translators also choose to commercialize their works and utilize platforms like Logos to do so.

Since publishers want to maximize profits, they are rarely interested in offering their works through free software that doesn’t actively encourage purchases, which is why Logos has been an ideal partner, and has the widest selection of Christian resources available. Free Bible apps, on the other hand, have far less resources to choose from. Since Christians are usually attached to a particular Bible version, it doesn’t matter how good a Bible app may be, it will still be shunned if it doesn’t include the user’s preferred translation.

Nevertheless, there are good free alternatives to Logos that you should consider to avoid participating in this trade, such as:

• Sword Project software – various study tools available on multiple platforms
• STEP web app – a web-based study app requiring no installation
• Global Bible Tools – Greek/Hebrew reader’s bibles
• MARBLE – comprehensive tools for studying Scripture in the source languages
• Bible Hub – a comprehensive study website with linked resources
• e-Sword – free proprietary Bible software^[25]

If Christians had decided to donate to free alternatives rather than pay for Logos, these initiatives would be even more comprehensive than they are today. The longer users persist in paying for commercial software, the slower a free future will eventuate.

Logos was sent a draft of this article prior to publication and was invited to give a response that would be published with the article. They did not respond.

---

1. Cove Hill Partners’ portfolio. ↩︎

2. From jobs advertised on 11 Nov 2025 (Sales Operations Specialist, Events Marketing Manager, Growth Insights Analyst). ↩︎

3. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Faithlife-E888280-RVW7724837.htm ↩︎

4. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Logos-E471916-RVW5414334.htm ↩︎

5. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Faithlife-E888280-RVW84020064.htm ↩︎

6. Logos Forum: is Faithlife/Logos a Christian Company? ↩︎

7. Faithlife’s history page. ↩︎

8. Such as when it sunset its church management software because it was not profitable enough, with one employee stating, “that has put the burden of ‘breaking up’ with Faithlife’s clients on the frontline staff that are also losing their job. Imagine communicating with a frustrated pastor who is losing tech that Faithlife has made essential to his ministry while trying to maintain professional [sic] knowing that it’s not your fault and you are just as much or more effected by this news.” ↩︎

9. They also provide substantial discounts for academics and Bible translators. While not to downplay the company’s ability to demonstrate some generosity, in balance with all the other evidence, this too profits Logos by raising awareness of its products. ↩︎

10. There are reviews under the names Logos and Faithlife. ↩︎

11. While reviews on Glassdoor are anonymous, most reviews on Faithlife appear to be legitimate given the inside knowledge revealed and also the company’s responses to many of the reviews, implicitly confirming they are from actual staff members (regardless of potential bias). ↩︎

12. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Faithlife-E888280-RVW84020064.htm ↩︎

13. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Faithlife-E888280-RVW80225275.htm ↩︎

14. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Faithlife-E888280-RVW9131779.htm ↩︎

15. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Faithlife-RVW9177717.htm ↩︎

16. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Faithlife-E888280-RVW69655159.htm ↩︎

17. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Logos-E471916-RVW5414334.htm ↩︎

18. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Logos-E471916-RVW2514832.htm ↩︎

19. https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Faithlife-E888280-RVW85480259.htm ↩︎

20. From the Logos English forum. ↩︎

21. From a comment on the Youtube video Welcome Video from Bill McCarthy, CEO. ↩︎

22. Software isn’t a form of Christian ministry, and so is not subject to the dorean principle. However, other Christian ethics are relevant, such as generosity, stewardship, and avoiding partiality. ↩︎

23. They have been involved in the creation of Study bibles, critical texts, translations, and other resources through Lexham Press (which was recently sold to Baker Publishing Group). ↩︎

24. From Faithlife’s history page: “by August 1991, it was clear a shareware business model wouldn’t support the license fees required to access the most popular modern Bible translation.” ↩︎

25. Only some of these are open source (i.e. open to collaboration and adaptation), but all are at least freely available. ↩︎