Trying to figure out how the different base packages compare...

There seem to be two different ways of working out what Logos is like from the perspective of someone who doesn't have a copy to hand.

One is to look at the videos posted on the Logos site or by other people online, and the other is to look at the comparison chart. Unfortunately there is no demo, something which would have made it really easy to see the differences.

The comparison chart is really overwhelming, and without even knowing what most of the resources are it's very hard to know how useful they actually are.

The videos are really useful - you get a great feel for what sorts of things you can do and the sorts of answers Logos gives. However the major downside with the videos is that you have no idea which base package they're demoing it on (I assume it's one of the top ones), so it's effectively impossible for someone like me (who is considering the 'Bible Study' base package) to figure these things out.

Am I missing something, is there an easier way? A set of videos for each base package?

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Robert Pavich

Robert,

No...there is no easy way...they do (as a person would think) demo on one of the higher packages, it's only good business.

I'd look at the comparison chart, decide what's important to me, and then print it, highlight the differences and go from there.

That's how I did it.

One of the main things to keep in mind is that some of the snazzier stuff (sentence diagrams) are found in higher packages also...

It really depends what you are going to do with it...that's key.

Robert Pavich

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/197969#Comment_197969

I can tell you also, what I did recently. I bought "Christian Home Library" for my sister in law...checked it out...decided that it wasn't what she'd like, called, refunded it...and bought the "Bible Study Library" in the same day....all downloads!

So at worst..you have 30 days to figure it out....try your best bet at a package and if it's lacking in an area...then refund your package, and try again....

Ask some more questions, fill in some of mine and I think you'll have a real good idea of what you need.

John Murphy

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/197970#Comment_197970

Just some thoughts on buying a base package.

1. Unless you're really constrained by money, do not get the Christian Home Library. It doesn't have any reverse interlinears so all of the cool things you can do with those are unavailable.

2. If you're not exactly sure what you want I would buy a lesser package over a more expensive package because you can always upgrade.

3. Unless you KNOW whoever is going to use the package is REALLY INTERESTED in the original languages, I would stick with either the Bible Study Library or the Leaders Library (I would lean towards Bible Study library myself). The reason for this is that you can save your hard earned cash for buying commentary sets or resources you are really going to use, rather than shelling out extra for Greek and Hebrew resources that you probably will not use (again, if you decide you ARE going to use them you can always upgrade).

4. Most of the cool stuff you see in videos if they do not reference Greek or Hebrew resources ARE available in all packages except the Christian Home Library. Biblical People/Places/Things, many images, maps, charts, searching the original language WITHOUT knowing Greek or Hebrew, etc. etc.

Just some opinions

spitzerpl

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/197985#Comment_197985

It would be kind of cool to have a "recommended Base Package for this video" suggestion. So, for instance, if the video is about recording notes Logos would have next to the video "recommended package: ANY." If it was about using the reverse interlinear It would say "Bible Study Library and up", etc.

Robert Pavich

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/197988#Comment_197988

It would be kind of cool to have a "recommended Base Package for this video" suggestion. So, for instance, if the video is about recording notes Logos would have next to the video "recommended package: ANY." If it was about using the reverse interlinear It would say "Bible Study Library and up", etc.

Being from an Engineering background...I'd probably comment..."recommended" means "not necessary" and so you'd have someone saying...."well...do I need it or not?"

I'd say.."required minimum package-Scholars or above"

But a good suggestion nonetheless.

tom

There seem to be two different ways of working out what Logos is like from the perspective of someone who doesn't have a copy to hand.

One is to look at the videos posted on the Logos site or by other people online, and the other is to look at the comparison chart. Unfortunately there is no demo, something which would have made it really easy to see the differences.

The comparison chart is really overwhelming, and without even knowing what most of the resources are it's very hard to know how useful they actually are.

The videos are really useful - you get a great feel for what sorts of things you can do and the sorts of answers Logos gives. However the major downside with the videos is that you have no idea which base package they're demoing it on (I assume it's one of the top ones), so it's effectively impossible for someone like me (who is considering the 'Bible Study' base package) to figure these things out.

Am I missing something, is there an easier way? A set of videos for each base package?

For the most part, all of the packages (the exception is Christian Home Library) will do the same thing. What is different between them are the resources (books).

Allen Browne

This question gets asked frequently, so here's a flowchart to help you decide:

This is an oversimplification, but hopefully it helps you know where to start looking.

tom

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198013#Comment_198013

This is an oversimplification

Very true, I am a "heavy" user, but I just have the original language package because most of the books in the scholars package do not match my theology.

Because of the theology found in the scholars packages, I was not going to spend the $$$$ on books that I would never use. I just purchased the books that I did want in that are found in scholar packages and saved $$.

Mark Barnes

Am I missing something, is there an easier way?

Most of the differences between the different base packages are a difference between the number and quality of resources, and are not fundamental differences as such. For example, it's not that Scholar's won't let you look up Greek words, whereas Scholar's Silver does. It's just that Scholar's Silver has access to more Greek lexicons.

However, there are some more fundamental differences. The list below is not complete, but it is a guide:

Home is missing major functionality, including reverse-interlinears, timelines, Biblical People/Places/Things, the Bible Word Study, Exegetical Guide and topic searching. I'd avoid Home unless you have no choice.
Home through Leaders don't have Greek/Hebrew texts (though you can still access Greek/Hebrew words through the reverse interlinears. They also have very limited lexicons for looking up those Greek/Hebrew words. They're also missing Compare Bible Versions, syntax searching, various visualisations, and Greek pronunciations and New Testament Semantic Domain Coding. They're missing some features of the Passage and Exegetical Guide, but probably nothing that's important to you.
Original Languages is missing Timelines and the Bible Word Search, Greek pronunciation, New Testament Semantic Domain Coding.

If you're interested in features, the very last section of the comparison guide will be most helpful to you (though reverse interlinears are mentioned much higher up).

Robert Slowley

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198031#Comment_198031

Thank you for all the replies everyone. I probably want the Scholar's edition, but as I can't afford that now I may have to wait until the following Christmas

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198031#Comment_198031

Mark ... just for my own edification .... I have OL. What is 'Bible Word Search' and 'New Testament Semantic Domain Coding'? I was under the impression BWS was an optimized search assuming a Bibical text (which my OL has in L3 and L4) but maybe there's something else? Semantic domain coding I'd assumed connect to Nida and Swanson which OL has. But there's more?! I notice the current L4-OL doesn't have Timelines even though they came in the L4 crossgrade from L3. But who knows the logic.

Scott S

The comparison chart is really overwhelming, and without even knowing what most of the resources are it's very hard to know how useful they actually are.

To learn about many of these resources and get ideas on building a library, get Glynn's commentary and reference survey http://www.amazon.com/Commentary-Reference-Survey-Comprehensive-Theological/dp/0825427371/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266637712&sr=1-1

Ronald Quick

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198044#Comment_198044

When I was considering purchasing a Bible software program several years ago, I made a list of all the resources I "had to have." Then I printed out the comparison list and calculated if it would be cheaper to purchase the resources individually or in a base package. I settled on Scholars Silver even though it was about $100 more than buying the resources separately. I did that because there were a number of resources in it that peaked my interest.

This took quite a bit of time, but it was well worth it.

By the way, there were a number of resources in the base package that I did not know how valuable they would become to my study until after I had them.

I later upgrades to Gold then Platinum.

Hope this helps.

Robert Slowley

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198066#Comment_198066

Thanks, that is helpful. I've spent the evening working out how I can ebay things I don't need / get the bus instead of driving for a few months, etc to get the scholars package.

Did scholars silver + upgrade to gold cost much more than if you'd just bought gold initially?

Mark Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198037#Comment_198037

What is 'Bible Word Search'

I think Mark is referring to that little Bible word puzzle maker that George Somsel raves about. [:P] It's otherwise called "Word Find".

'New Testament Semantic Domain Coding'

Derek Browning

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198067#Comment_198067

I'm not sure if this helps, but when I was researching some of the resources I put together an excel sheet so that I could filter by packages (Scholars and above). I haven't went through it to test it for quality, but I believe it's pretty accurate.

3007.Logos4Analysis.xlsx

Praiser

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198067#Comment_198067

Thanks, that is helpful. I've spent the evening working out how I can ebay things I don't need / get the bus instead of driving for a few months, etc to get the scholars package.

Robert, were you aware that you can purchase a package on a payment plan? The following is from the Logos Blog post on Dec 1st.

Stay on Budget with Logos Payment Plans

Today’s guest post is by Ryan Rotz, from the Logos Bible Software marketing team.

We understand that churches are on a tight budget. Pastors often have a fixed amount they can spend on books every month, which makes any large purchase seem daunting.

And let’s not forget the students. School is expensive and big-ticket items, however essential, are often out of reach.

When it comes to large purchases from Logos, Payment Plans can help to solve this problem. Instead of paying the full price up front, you can pay a fraction of the cost every month for up to a year. The plan applies to all purchases over $29.90 (tax and shipping included).

This is a great opportunity to purchase one of those collections you have had your eye on, or even invest in a new Logos 4 Base Package!

In the long run, purchasing a larger package—like the best-selling Platinum—is a huge savings when compared to buying books individually or even buying a smaller package with a plan to upgrade later.

Am I charged interest?

The Payment Plan is interest-free, with only a $5 monthly administrative fee (collected to cover the costs of processing reoccurring payments). We don't expect to make any profit on it and offer it purely as a service to our customers.

Don't just take our word for it. Consider these words from Alen, a Logos Payment Plan user:

I have used the Payment Plan to purchase my initial Scholar Library package, and once again with the upgrade to the Gold edition. I think $5 a month is not even worth worrying about considering when you get something like the Scholar Gold package at $1400 and you paid that over 12 months with $60 worth of administration fees it works out to being less than 5% of the total cost of the product. . . .Thanks guys for this option. It has helped me greatly and perhaps more so in the future.

To take advantage of the payment plan, simply select the payment plan option during the final step of checkout, enter your phone number, and select the number of payments you'd like to make. It is that simple.

To make it even easier on your wallet, we are still offering 20% off of all base packages for a limited time so order today!

http://blog.logos.com/

Edwin Bowden

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198013#Comment_198013

This question gets asked frequently, so here's a flowchart to help you decide:

This is an oversimplification, but hopefully it helps you know where to start looking.

I started with the Bible Study Library 3 yrs ago.

Upgraded to Scholars Gold 2 1/2 yrs ago after realizing the power of Logos (and Camp Logos).

Upgraded to Platinum after it became available.

It was all about having the wealth of resources in the packages.

I am not a pastor. I have taught Sunday School for over 40 years.

I had a little exposure to Greek over 4 decades ago, but it is too rusty to rely on.

The nice thing about the base packages is that because of the value of the products that you WILL USE, you don't have to worry about the more specialized titles that YOU WILL NOT USE.

I wish there was an intermediate step above Platinum.

Mark Barnes

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198037#Comment_198037

'Bible Word Search'

Yes, as Mark said I mean the Word Find Puzzle.

'New Testament Semantic Domain Coding'

I presume this is the Louw-Nida numbers in the Reverse Interlinear.

I was under the impression BWS was an optimized search assuming a Bibical text (which my OL has in L3 and L4) but maybe there's something else?

I think you're thinking of the Exegetical Guide. Bible Word Study is a study on a particular Greek/Hebrew/English word.

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198101#Comment_198101

'New Testament Semantic Domain Coding'

I presume this is the Louw-Nida numbers in the Reverse Interlinear.

The LN numbers are associated with the resource whereas "New Testament Semantic Domain Coding" appears under Features together with "Genre coding"; which appear in the Guides under Literary Typing. But I don't know where Semantic Domain Coding is used.

Ronald Quick

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/198067#Comment_198067

Did scholars silver + upgrade to gold cost much more than if you'd just bought gold initially?

When I upgraded to gold there was a discount being offered so I think I paid only about $30 more than if I had bought the Gold initially. If you think you will probably upgrade in the future you would save by getting the gold package now.

The software isn't cheap, but I believe it is the best out there and I have not regretted the money I have spent.