There's No Single Best Bible Reading Plan — But There's One Best for You
Every January, millions of people commit to reading the Bible in a year. By February, most have quietly stopped. The problem usually isn't motivation — it's a mismatch between the plan and the person. A plan designed for a retired seminary professor looks very different from one designed for a busy parent of three.
This guide compares the most popular Bible reading plans available in 2026, explains who each one is built for, and gives you a practical framework for staying on track regardless of which you choose.
The M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Designed by Scottish pastor Robert Murray M'Cheyne in the 1840s, this plan takes you through the New Testament and Psalms twice and the Old Testament once in a single year. You read four chapters per day from four different parts of the Bible — two for personal reading and two for family reading.
Best for: People who want breadth and variety. Because you're reading from multiple locations simultaneously, you're less likely to get bogged down in a difficult section. The cross-canonical design also surfaces connections between Old and New Testaments that sequential reading misses.
Challenge: Four chapters a day is a real commitment — roughly 20–25 minutes of focused reading. It also requires some discipline to hold four different narrative threads simultaneously.
What you need: A printed or digital copy of the M'Cheyne schedule (freely available online), a Bible, and a journal for notes.
The Chronological Bible Reading Plan
The chronological plan rearranges the Bible's books and passages into the order events occurred historically rather than the order they appear in your Bible. Job is read alongside Genesis, the Psalms are inserted within the historical books of Kings and Chronicles, and the prophets appear alongside the kings they addressed.
Best for: People who want historical context and narrative flow. Reading Isaiah alongside the reign of Hezekiah changes how you hear the prophet's words. This plan is especially valuable for people who feel like the Old Testament is a confusing, disconnected collection of old stories.
Challenge: Some passages — genealogies, the legal sections of Leviticus, the measurements of the Tabernacle — arrive in clusters and can be slow going. Having historical and cultural notes handy helps enormously.
HolyJot offers a structured chronological Bible reading plan with daily readings, historical context, and journaling prompts built in. It's one of the most popular options for people who want more than just a checklist.
New Testament in a Year
This plan covers only the 27 books of the New Testament across the year, with a pace of about one chapter every two to three days. Some versions pair each day's reading with a Psalm or Proverb.
Best for: Absolute beginners, people returning to Scripture after a long break, or anyone who finds the Old Testament's volume and complexity discouraging. The New Testament tells the story of Jesus, the early church, and the core of Christian doctrine — it's the right place to build your foundation.
Challenge: It doesn't cover the whole Bible, which means you'll eventually need a plan that does. Think of this as a ramp, not a destination.
The One Year Bible
The One Year Bible (published by Tyndale) is a physical Bible organized into 365 dated readings. Each day's reading includes a passage from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. It's available in multiple translations including NIV, NLT, and KJV.
Best for: People who want an all-in-one solution with no planning required. You open to today's date and read. The variety of genres in each reading — narrative, poetry, epistle — keeps things from feeling monotonous.
Challenge: Falling behind can feel particularly discouraging because your bookmark is visually behind the current date. The fix: decide in advance that you'll catch up by reading a bit extra when life calms down, not by trying to double up every day you miss.
Thematic and Topical Plans
Thematic plans organize readings around a topic — the names of God, the life of David, the parables of Jesus, the armor of God — rather than following the canonical or chronological order. They typically run 21 to 90 days.
Best for: People in a specific season of life or ministry who want their Bible reading to speak directly to a particular question or challenge. A plan on prayer during a season of grief, or a plan on leadership during a transition at work, can feel profoundly timely.
Challenge: They don't cover the full counsel of Scripture. Use them as supplements to a longer-range reading plan, not as a replacement.
How to Track Progress and Not Fall Behind
The number one reason people abandon Bible reading plans isn't busyness — it's guilt. They miss a few days, feel like they've failed, and quietly set the plan aside. Here's how to avoid that trap:
- Give yourself a grace buffer. Most plans have more than enough flexibility to miss one or two days per week. Don't panic over a single missed day.
- Use a catch-up strategy, not a catch-up sprint. If you fall a week behind, add one extra chapter per day until you're back on track. Don't try to read seven days of content in one sitting — you'll burn out.
- Track in writing. A simple checkmark system in a journal, or a reading tracker in an app, creates a visual record of progress that motivates continued effort. The HolyJot prayer and journal app includes reading tracking alongside your notes and reflections.
- Read for understanding, not completion. If a passage genuinely moves you, stop. Pray. Write. The goal of a reading plan is not to check boxes — it's to encounter God in his Word. A plan that helps you do that slowly is better than one that moves you quickly through text you didn't absorb.
Which Plan Should You Choose?
Here's a simple decision framework:
- New to the Bible or returning after a long break? Start with the NT-in-a-year.
- Want historical context and narrative flow? Go chronological.
- Want variety and cross-canonical connections? Try M'Cheyne.
- Want zero planning and a physical Bible? The One Year Bible is for you.
- In a specific season and want focused depth? Find a thematic plan.
Whatever plan you choose, pair it with a simple journaling habit. Even two or three sentences per day — what you read, what stood out, what you're praying — compounds powerfully over a year. See the HolyJot Bible reading plan options to get started with a plan that includes built-in journaling prompts.
Ready to commit? Create your free HolyJot account and track your reading alongside your prayers and journal entries in one place.