Comparison

Granta vs Bookshop.org

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Granta

Access a curated collection of acclaimed literary journalism, fiction, poetry, memoir, and photography. Enjoy exclusive weekly content and a vast archive of past issues spanning thirty years. Stay updated with quarterly releases from established and emerging authors.

Highlights
  • Quarterly literary magazine
  • Mix of fiction, poetry, memoir, journalism
  • Exclusive weekly content
  • Archive of 30+ years
  • Work by established and emerging authors
  • Photography included
Features
Read full description

Granta is one of the world's most respected literary magazines, acclaimed for the quality of its writing and for its mix of established and emerging authors. Published quarterly in book form Granta is respected around the world for its eclectic combination of journalism, fiction, poetry, memoir and photography. Alongside exclusive free weekly content, readers can access each new issue of Granta on the day of publication, as well as over one thousand pieces of writing and photography from previous Granta magazines over the last thirty years by purchasing an annual subscription. Annual subscriptions can be purchased and these subscriptions will auto-renew until you choose to cancel. N.B. - The price of the annual subscription is £23.99 - Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - You can manage your subscription and switch off the auto-renewal by accessing your Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period Please see here for our privacy policy and terms: http://granta.com/privacy-statement/ http://granta.com/terms/ Our archive contains work by writers like Margaret Atwood, Ann Beattie, Roberto Bolaño, Anne Carson, Raymond Carver, Lydia Davis, Don DeLillo, Bret Easton Ellis, Nadine Gordimer, Kazuo Ishiguro, Alice Munro, Haruki Murakami, Salman Rushdie, Paul Theroux, Binyavanga Wainaina, Jeanette Winterson and many more. ‘In its blend of memoirs and photojournalism, and in its championing of contemporary realist fiction, Granta has its face pressed firmly against the window, determined to witness the world.’ – The Observer

About

Bookshop.org

Read your ebooks and discover new titles while supporting independent bookstores. All ebook purchases made through this platform directly benefit local bookshops, ensuring their continued success in the digital age.

Highlights
  • Read ebooks from your library
  • Browse millions of ebooks
  • Add titles to wishlist
  • Support local bookstores with purchases
  • Connect seamlessly with Bookshop
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Bookshop.org’s mission is simple: We help local, independent bookstores thrive by giving more than 80% of our profits back to our network of 3,000+ stores. In our app, you can read millions of ebooks - and every purchase supports an independent bookstore near you! In the Bookshop app you can: - Read your ebooks in our customizable ebook reader. - Browse millions of titles and discover your next favorite read in romance, thrillers, mystery, fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and more. - Organize your TBR into custom shelves. - Highlight in five different colors, and add notes to your highlighted passages. - Sort & filter highlights and notes by date created, book order, and more. - Save titles to your wishlist so you can read them later. - Shop knowing that over 80% of the profit goes directly to local, independent bookstores. We’re a Certified B Corp, and we’ve raised more than $50 million for independent bookstores nationwide since 2020. Download the Bookshop.org app to support bookstores, not billionaires.

Screenshots

Granta4 screens
Bookshop.org4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bookshop.org at 57% against Granta's 8%. Bookshop.org also leads on rating (4.8 vs 1.4) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). Granta's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.4). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Granta sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $31.99 per year. Bookshop.org asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bookshop.org holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookshop.org has 2.1K ratings behind it against 33, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 8% of Granta's written reviews are positive against 57% of Bookshop.org's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Granta ships an update every 6 months, Bookshop.org every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Granta versus Bookshop.org: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrantaBookshop.org
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.4 (33 ratings)4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews7.6% of reviews56.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings332.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
Best chart rank—#166 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB106 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperGrantaBookshop, Inc.

Customer experience

Granta

All ratings33 ratings
Positive6.1%
Neutral6.1%
Negative87.9%
Written reviews79 reviews
Positive7.6%
Neutral8.9%
Negative83.5%

Bookshop.org

All ratings2,128 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral3.3%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews180 reviews
Positive56.7%
Neutral22.8%
Negative20.6%

User reviews

Granta

From 33 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💎 Excellent content quality
  • 📚 Access to back catalogue

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App frequently crashes
  • 😩 Constant login prompts
  • 😵 Unintuitive navigation
  • ⚫ Lacks dark mode
  • 📏 No text size adjustment

Bookshop.org

From 2.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Wonderful app
  • 👍 Great alternative to Amazon
  • 👍 Supports local bookstores
  • 👍 Clean and pleasing interface
  • 👍 Solid app for a new release

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Formatting issues (lack of italics, poor paragraph spacing, etc.)
  • 🐛 Buggy page turning and navigation
  • 🔧 Limited customization options (fonts, themes, brightness, etc.)
  • 🔧 Missing essential features (highlighting, note-taking, search, etc.)

Bugs and requests

Granta

Reported bugs

132 issues
  • Subscription restore issues
  • Weekly feature not refreshing
  • App requires login almost every time
  • Internet connection required message despite connection
  • Blank screen when tapping articles
Show 127 more
  • Weekly section not working
  • Issue cover disappears
  • Share link goes to homepage
  • Login details not remembered
  • No landscape support
  • Menu navigation unclear
  • Moving images for show
  • Annoying navigation
  • Weird division between 'the weekly' and 'the library'
  • Keeps signing out
  • Cannot adjust font size
  • Needs night mode
  • Scrolling off-center sends to another article
  • Doesn't remember reading position
  • Cannot bookmark within an article
  • App has been problematic for years
  • Login function hidden
  • Sign-in info not remembered for long
  • Last lines of articles cut off
  • App doesn't work on iPad
  • Screen rotation hit-or-miss
  • Overall experience stinks
  • App needs a refresh
  • Text size is too small
  • Roulette wheel of chance when reading
  • Sign in EVERY time
  • App crashes all the time
  • Looks hideous and uncomfortable to use
  • Cannot access account after forgetting password
  • Email for recovery not recognized
  • App only works in portrait mode
  • Images are pixelated
  • Photo features lump photographs together
  • Cannot bookmark one's location
  • App has not been updated in ages
  • App doesn't remember login details
  • Cannot swipe to next article
  • App just doesn’t work on an IPad
  • Screen rotation is hit-or-miss
  • Navigation is really unintuitive
  • App is in desperate need of a refresh
  • Type size too small
  • Scrolling up the page is wrong
  • Cannot bookmark a single page
  • No night time mode
  • App crashes constantly
  • Asks to login almost every time
  • App makes reading a hassle
  • Cannot alter text size
  • Sign in Each time I open the app
  • Won’t take me past title pages
  • Deleting and redownloading doesn't solve problem
  • App freezes when accessing the Weekly
  • Magazine pages do not display
  • Only table of contents displayed
  • App updates seem to fix issues
  • Cannot download anything beyond the title
  • No app support found
  • No bug fixes or developments in over a year
  • App doesn’t work
  • Magazine doesn’t reply to emails
  • White screen when trying to read downloaded issue
  • Obscure app
  • Online only subscription a mistake
  • Cannot access any editions (blank pages)
  • Struggling to read issues
  • Cannot read any of the articles
  • Blank screen where text should be
  • App is usually not functional
  • App does not work. Period.
  • Horrible app
  • App totally unusable
  • Refuses to provide support
  • Emails to support not answered
  • App does not work with recent iOS 11
  • Weekly pieces section not opening
  • App is basically becoming useless
  • Free section doesn't work
  • Just a 'G' in the middle of the screen
  • App doesn't support landscape mode
  • Logins on app and website don't recognize user
  • Publisher doesn't respond to requests
  • No functionality for reading offline
  • No search functionality
  • Navigation and menus not labelled or intuitive
  • App is too much like hard work to read
  • User experience is terrible
  • Developers didn't ask users for feedback
  • Developers didn't look at other apps
  • Forces portrait format
  • No method of storing read content
  • Bookmarking does nothing
  • Doesn't remember book or page place
  • Interface is barren and not user friendly
  • Content can't be accessed offline
  • No access to content after subscribing
  • App won't let me sign in
  • Authentication info incorrect
  • Customer service hasn't answered email
  • Password reset email not received
  • Logs out every time
  • Tedious to login every time
  • Download doesn't mean offline viewing
  • Need for internet connection is a waste
  • Interface is clunky and confusing
  • Takes me to the last issue I was reading
  • Have to delete and reinstall to look at another issue
  • Nothing shows up
  • Not optimized for newer iPhones
  • App goes nowhere near doing justice to content
  • Can't sign in because App Store didn't give subscription number
  • Surly customer service agent
  • Not in the system
  • Text is not adjustable
  • Impossible to read on iPad pro
  • Scrolling often switches to a different one
  • Lose place when scrolling
  • No way to delete downloaded editions
  • Menu bar flashing distractingly
  • Hard to navigate
  • Lacks good overview of contents
  • Frequently lose what I'm reading
  • No way to connect print subscription
  • Nothing helpful on the website
  • App signs me out automatically
  • Doesn't keep your spot in a piece
  • App needs to be re-designed

Requested features

13 requests
  • Ability to adjust text size
  • Dark mode
  • Pagination options
  • Share link to article
  • Landscape mode support
Show 8 more
  • Offline reading
  • Search functionality
  • Bookmark specific pages
  • Mark articles as read
  • Hide read articles
  • Delete downloaded editions
  • Sync print subscription
  • Kindle download access

Bookshop.org

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to remember last page read
  • Scrolling issues and unexpected page skipping
  • Formatting problems (stripped italics, weird paragraph spacing)
  • Settings not persisting between app sessions

Requested features

7 requests
  • More font and theme options
  • Ability to adjust line spacing, margins, and other formatting
  • Implement highlighting, annotation, and note-taking features
  • Add search functionality
  • Improve page turning and navigation
Show 2 more
  • Provide better dark mode/night reading experience
  • Sync reading progress across devices

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Granta

Subscriptions1
  • Granta Digital Subscription$31.991 Year
None

Bookshop.org

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Granta free?
Granta is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bookshop.org free?
Bookshop.org is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Granta or Bookshop.org?
Bookshop.org is rated higher. Granta averages 1.4 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while Bookshop.org averages 4.8 from 2.1K ratings.
Do Granta or Bookshop.org have ads?
Neither Granta nor Bookshop.org shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Granta or Bookshop.org?
Granta ships an update every 6 months, and Bookshop.org every 5 days. Most recently, Granta was updated on October 18, 2026 and Bookshop.org on October 20, 2026.

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