Comparison

ALA Booklist Publications vs Comics Plus

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

Head to head
About

ALA Booklist Publications

This app provides access to thousands of book and media reviews for children, teens, and adults. It's a valuable resource for librarians, teachers, and book lovers seeking recommendations and collection development tools. Features include curated lists, author interviews, and classroom resources.

Highlights
  • Thousands of annual book and media reviews
  • Collection development tools
  • Readers' advisory resources
  • Top 10 and core collection lists
  • Author interviews
  • Classroom resources and activities
Features
Read full description

Since 1905, Booklist, the book review magazine of the American Library Association, has been the go-to source for librarians, teachers, and bibliophiles. With more than 8,000 annual reviews of children, teen, and adult books and media, Booklist is a key resource for collection development and readers’ advisory. Top 10 lists, core collection and read-alike lists, author interviews, classroom resources and activities, trend alerts, and more make Booklist indispensable to library professionals and teachers. Book Links, is a quarterly supplement, providing literature-based resources for K-8 educators. Privacy Policy: http://www.ala.org/privacypolicy Terms and Conditions: http://www.ala.org/user-guidelines

About

Comics Plus

Access thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books from numerous publishers. Enjoy unlimited reading without wait lists or late fees, and manage your progress across devices. Stream titles online or download them for offline enjoyment.

Highlights
  • Unlimited digital comic access
  • No wait lists or borrowing limits
  • Cross-device reading progress
  • Online streaming and offline downloads
  • Diverse publisher selection
Features
Read full description

Comics Plus from LibraryPass gives you unlimited access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, manga, and picture books from dozens of publishers — exclusively through your school or library. Don’t see your school or library listed? Ask your librarian about #ReadAllTheComics! No wait lists; no borrowing limits; no late fees Manage your shelf and reading progress across devices Maintain your reading progress across devices Stream titles online without using storage space Download titles for offline reading Explore a diverse selection from publishers like ABDO, Andrews McMeel, BOOM! Studios, Capstone, Cherry Lake, Dark Horse, Europe Comics, Fantagraphics, Humanoids, Image Comics, Kodansha, Lerner, Manga Classics, Oni Press, Papercutz, Tokyopop, TOON Books, UDON Entertainment, Yen Press, and dozens more. Comics Plus is created by Joyful Reading Co, where we're dedicated to nurturing a lifelong love of reading through engagement, access, and data-driven insights. Learn more at https://comicsplusapp.com/

Screenshots

ALA Booklist Publications4 screens
Comics Plus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Comics Plus at 2.5 against ALA Booklist Publications's 1.0. Comics Plus also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 29 months) and ratings volume (103 vs 1). ALA Booklist Publications's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Comics Plus holds the better App Store score, 2.5 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Comics Plus has 103 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of ALA Booklist Publications's written reviews are positive against 20% of Comics Plus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ALA Booklist Publications ships an update every 29 months, Comics Plus every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
ALA Booklist Publications versus Comics Plus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterALA Booklist PublicationsComics Plus
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)2.5 (103 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews20.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1103 — better
Update frequencyEvery 29 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size127 MB40 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperAmerican Library AssociationLibrary Pass, Inc.

Customer experience

ALA Booklist Publications

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Comics Plus

All ratings102 ratings
Positive23.5%
Neutral19.6%
Negative56.9%
Written reviews108 reviews
Positive20.4%
Neutral17.6%
Negative62.0%

Bugs and requests

ALA Booklist Publications

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Comics Plus

Reported bugs

25 issues
  • Login screen stuck on library selection
  • Search returns blank page with no loading indicator
  • Shelf fails to load
  • Pages crop off at bottom
  • Black screen when opening downloaded books
Show 20 more
  • App crashes when opening new comics
  • Pages display out of sync in horizontal mode
  • Duplicate pages appearing consecutively
  • Pages loop back to beginning after certain number
  • Thumbnail not showing for resume position
  • Dialog boxes cut off or positioned incorrectly
  • App forgets reading position when resuming
  • Vertical view does not work
  • iCloud backup size inflates dramatically
  • Screen goes black periodically during reading
  • Network error despite active connection
  • Download progress bar hangs
  • Orientation change causes reading position reset
  • App switches to different manga unexpectedly
  • Popular page items don't load or unavailable
  • Shelf deletion when launching from cloud library
  • Zoom functionality unresponsive
  • Page turning causes visual flash and blur
  • Inconsistent page display in 2-page mode
  • Home bar overlay obscures content on iPad

Requested features

18 requests
  • Favorites/bookmarking system with notifications
  • Auto-download while using other apps
  • Auto-mark books as finished
  • Better search with pagination and page jumping
  • Dark mode option
Show 13 more
  • Right-to-left reading for manga
  • Folder organization for shelf
  • Reading history tracking
  • Series completion indicators
  • Next book in series recommendations
  • Auto zoom feature for reading
  • Smooth page transition animations
  • Ability to manually move books to completion status
  • App status/server status page
  • Better content filtering and sorting options
  • Rating system for comics
  • Chapter bookmarks
  • Customizable reading settings

In-app purchases

None

ALA Booklist Publications

No in-app purchases

None

Comics Plus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ALA Booklist Publications free?
ALA Booklist Publications is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Comics Plus free?
Comics Plus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ALA Booklist Publications or Comics Plus?
Comics Plus is rated higher. ALA Booklist Publications averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Comics Plus averages 2.5 from 103 ratings.
Do ALA Booklist Publications or Comics Plus have ads?
Neither ALA Booklist Publications nor Comics Plus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ALA Booklist Publications or Comics Plus?
ALA Booklist Publications ships an update every 29 months, and Comics Plus every 2 months. Most recently, ALA Booklist Publications was updated on October 18, 2026 and Comics Plus on October 23, 2026.

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