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Bible Reading Plans Compared: How to Pick One You Will Actually Keep

By the ItsBible team · Updated November 8, 2026 · Facts checked November 8, 2026 · How we check our guides

The best Bible reading plan is the one you will keep. For most people that means starting small, with one Gospel and a chapter a day, and moving to a Bible in a year plan once the habit holds. If you already read every day, choose by your goal: a chronological plan to follow the story in order, the M’Cheyne plan for depth, or one book at a time to know it well.

The comparison below puts the main kinds of plans side by side. After it, find your situation: new to the Bible, reading the whole Bible, reading with someone else, or starting partway through the year.

Bible reading plans compared

PlanDaily readingGood for
One Gospel, then a chapter a dayOne chapterNew readers and busy seasons
One book at a timeOne to three chaptersKnowing a single book well
Bible in a yearA little over three chaptersReading every book once
Chronological Bible in a yearAbout the sameFollowing the story in the order events happened
Bible in six monthsAbout six or seven chaptersA season with more time
M’CheyneFour chaptersDepth: the New Testament and Psalms twice in a year
A psalm or a proverb a dayOne chapterDays when you can do little else
An audio planOne episodeListening on a walk or a commute

The Bible has 66 books and 1,189 chapters: 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New. At one chapter a day, reading it all takes a little over three years. A little over three chapters a day takes one year, and about six and a half a day takes six months.

A Bible reading plan for beginners

If you are new to the Bible, or coming back after years away, start small:

  1. Read the Gospel of Mark, one chapter a day. Mark has 16 chapters and moves quickly, so you meet Jesus in a little over two weeks.
  2. Then read Acts, which tells what happened next, in 28 chapters.
  3. Add a psalm a day if you have a few more minutes. There are 150 psalms, so there is always another.
  4. Keep going, one chapter a day, through John and the rest of the New Testament.

This takes a few minutes a day, and missing a day costs one chapter, not a pile of catching up. Some people who start at Genesis lose heart in the laws of Leviticus. Starting with the life of Jesus gives you a center to read everything else around.

Bible in a year, in six months, or in the order events happened

A Bible in a year plan reads every book in twelve months. The simplest goes straight from Genesis to Revelation. Many mix Old and New Testament readings each day, so you are never stuck in a long stretch of laws or family lists for weeks at a time.

A chronological plan arranges the readings in roughly the order events happened. Psalms are read near the parts of David’s life they reflect, and the prophets alongside the kings they spoke to. The pace is about the same as a plan that goes book by book. The catch is jumping between books, which some readers love and others find hard to follow.

A six month plan doubles the pace. It suits a season when you have more time, not a first attempt.

Whichever you choose, if you fall behind, skip to today’s reading instead of trying to read three days at once.

The M’Cheyne plan

The M’Cheyne plan, prepared by the Scottish minister Robert Murray M’Cheyne, has you read four chapters a day from different parts of the Bible, so that over a year you read the New Testament and Psalms twice and the rest of the Bible once. If four chapters is too many, read two a day and take two years. It is a lot of reading, and not the best first plan.

One book at a time

Staying with one book until you finish is a gentle way to know part of the Bible well:

Plans for couples, families and groups

For couples, the plan matters less than reading together. Choose a short book, read the same chapter each day, and share one line that stayed with you. Ruth, Philippians and James are gentle places to start, and a chapter a day keeps it going through busy weeks.

For families with children, read the story chapters aloud: the beginning of Genesis, the life of David, the Gospel of Mark. Keep it short and ask one question afterward, such as “What did you notice?”

For a small group or a church, a shared plan gives everyone something to talk about. If your church publishes one, reading alongside people you know is a good reason to choose it.

Seasonal plans: Advent, Lent and the new year

The church year gives natural places to begin. These guides each give one chapter at a time, with every reading linked to its chapter:

Audio and video plans

If you take things in better by listening, an audio plan can carry you through. Ascension’s Bible in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz walks through the entire Bible in 365 episodes, so you always know what comes next.

BibleProject offers more than 30 reading plans in YouVersion’s Bible app, including a journey through the whole Bible that uses its animated videos.

How to choose, in four questions

  1. How much time do you really have? Choose a pace you could keep in your busiest week.
  2. What do you want from it? The whole story, one book known well, or comfort for right now.
  3. Do you want company? A plan your church or a friend is reading is easier to keep.
  4. Structure or freedom? Dated plans keep you on schedule. Undated plans forgive missed days.

How to keep going

  1. Pick a set time, like the first cup of coffee or just before bed.
  2. When you miss days, skip ahead to today instead of catching up.
  3. Read one psalm on days you can do nothing else.
  4. Write down one verse a day that stayed with you.
  5. When a chapter is hard, find out what it meant to its first readers before you move on.

Reading plans on ItsBible

ItsBible is a quiet place to read the Bible free in the World English Bible, with no ads. Its short reading plans need no account: pick one and read a little each day. Every chapter is explained free, so when a passage is hard to follow you can see its setting in plain words, and English chapters can be read aloud to you in six voices. If a nudge helps, you can get a verse of the day by email, and every email has a link to stop.

When a question comes up, you can ask it on the Ask page, with three free answers a day. The AI points to passages and ItsBible prints them from the World English Bible, so every verse shown is the real text. Where Christians disagree, you see the main views side by side. It is a help for reading, not a replacement for a pastor or your church.

Following a plan made for another translation

Many plans are printed alongside a particular translation, but a reading plan is just a list of passages, so you can follow it in any Bible. The World English Bible is a modern English translation in the public domain. Catholic plans include books that are not in Protestant Bibles, so for those readings use a Catholic Bible.

Questions people ask

What is the best Bible reading plan for beginners?

Start with the Gospel of Mark, one chapter a day, then read Acts, then keep going through the rest of the New Testament one chapter at a time. Add a psalm a day if you have time. It is short enough to keep and gives you the life of Jesus first.

How many chapters a day do I need to read the Bible in a year?

A little over three. The Bible has 1,189 chapters, so three or four chapters a day takes you through it in a year. About six and a half a day finishes it in six months, and one chapter a day takes a little over three years.

What is a chronological Bible reading plan?

It arranges the readings in roughly the order events happened, so psalms sit near the parts of David’s life they reflect and the prophets are read alongside the kings they spoke to. The pace is about the same as a Bible in a year plan.

What is the M’Cheyne Bible reading plan?

A plan prepared by the Scottish minister Robert Murray M’Cheyne: four chapters a day, so that in a year you read the New Testament and Psalms twice and the rest of the Bible once. You can take it at half pace over two years.

What if I fall behind on a reading plan?

Skip to today’s reading and keep going. Catching up on several days at once is how most plans get abandoned. You can always come back to the chapters you missed later.

Do I need an account to follow a Bible reading plan?

Not on ItsBible. Its short reading plans need no account, and every chapter is free to read in the World English Bible.

Can I follow a plan from another ministry in a different translation?

Yes. A reading plan is a list of passages, so it works in any Bible. Catholic plans include books that are not in Protestant Bibles, so use a Catholic Bible for those days.

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