Comparison

BookBub vs YLN Catalog

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

Head to head
About

BookBub

Discover daily deals on bestselling and free ebooks across all genres. Track your wishlist and receive price alerts for your favorite titles, ensuring you never miss a sale on books you want to read.

Highlights
  • Daily ebook deals
  • Hundreds of free ebooks
  • Personalized recommendations
  • Wishlist tracking
  • Price alerts
  • Genre and price filtering
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Discover amazing deals on bestselling ebooks, plus hundreds of free ebooks. Track your wishlist and get alerts when your most wanted titles go on sale. BookBub helps millions of readers save money on ebooks they'll love. Our expert editors hand pick incredible ebook deals every day across all major genres — romance, mystery, thrillers, women's fiction, fantasy, contemporary fiction, nonfiction, and many more — from bestselling authors to hidden gems. WHY READERS LOVE BOOKBUB: THE BIGGEST EBOOKS, UP TO 95% OFF We feature limited-time ebook deals from all major retailers. Get huge savings on the biggest books and authors, including #1 New York Times bestsellers. HUNDREDS OF FREE EBOOKS Unlock a vast selection of free ebooks across 40+ genres, with new titles added each day YOUR PERSONAL BOOK TRACKER Build your reading wishlist and never miss a sale. Add any book you want to read, and we'll notify you when it's discounted. Track your TBR (to-be-read) list, sort by release date or author, and mark it as read when you're done. PERSONALIZED TO YOUR READING TASTE Our editorial team hand picks from thousands of ebooks to bring you only the best — from BookTok favorites to award-winning fiction. FEATURES: - Browse daily ebook deals personalized to your reading preferences - Track unlimited books on your wishlist - Get price alerts for specific titles or favorite authors - Discover popular titles to add to your list - Filter deals by genre and price - Buy from your favorite ebook store "When we say 'deal,' we mean it — many of BookBub's titles are free entirely, $0.99, or just a couple of bucks." — Lifehacker "Bargain-basement deals on ebooks." — The New York Times Join millions of happy readers saving money on ebooks every day. Questions? Visit bookbub.com/apphelp

About

YLN Catalog

Explore your library's collection from anywhere to discover new and familiar books, movies, and games. Search the full catalog, including digital content, and manage your account by placing holds, checking due dates, and renewing items.

Highlights
  • Search library catalog
  • Discover books, movies, games
  • Access eContent
  • Place holds
  • Check due dates
  • Renew titles
Read full description

The YLN Catalog allows you to explore your library on the go to find new books, movies, games, or your old favorites! Quickly search the entire catalog, including eContent, and place holds, check due dates and renew eligible titles.

Screenshots

BookBub4 screens
YLN Catalog4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: BookBub at 54% against YLN Catalog's 0%. BookBub also leads on rating (4.7 vs 1.7) and ratings volume (962 vs 31). YLN Catalog's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BookBub holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BookBub has 962 ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of BookBub's written reviews are positive against 0% of YLN Catalog's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookBub ships an update every 3 weeks, YLN Catalog every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
BookBub versus YLN Catalog: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookBubYLN Catalog
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (962 ratings) — better1.7 (31 ratings)
Positive reviews54.4% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings962 — better31
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#57 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB56 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPubmark Inc.Yavapai County Library District Office

Customer experience

BookBub

All ratings960 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews180 reviews
Positive54.4%
Neutral8.9%
Negative36.7%

YLN Catalog

All ratings30 ratings
Positive6.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative90.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

BookBub

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes during use
  • Sign-up and login issues
  • Incompatibility with certain devices or operating systems

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for Kindle and other ebook platforms
  • Implement search and filtering options
  • Allow users to manage their reading lists and leave reviews
  • Improve email subscription management

YLN Catalog

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

BookBub

No in-app purchases

None

YLN Catalog

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BookBub free?
BookBub is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is YLN Catalog free?
YLN Catalog is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BookBub or YLN Catalog?
BookBub is rated higher. BookBub averages 4.7 out of 5 from 962 ratings, while YLN Catalog averages 1.7 from 31 ratings.
Do BookBub or YLN Catalog have ads?
Neither BookBub nor YLN Catalog shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BookBub or YLN Catalog?
BookBub ships an update every 3 weeks, and YLN Catalog every 5 weeks. Most recently, BookBub was updated on November 6, 2026 and YLN Catalog on November 3, 2026.

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