Comparison

Bookly vs Bookjournal.app

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

Head to head
About

Bookly

This app helps you track your reading habits in real-time, manage your library, and set reading goals. It offers detailed statistics, custom ratings, and ambient sounds to enhance your reading experience and build a consistent reading habit.

Highlights
  • Real-time reading timer
  • Detailed reading statistics
  • Custom book ratings
  • Book library management
  • Reading goals and reminders
  • Character tracking
  • Readathon tracking
Features
Read full description

Bookly helps you track your reading in real-time, manage your books, make a habit out of reading and see your progress over time. Add books, e-books or audiobooks to your collections, use the timer to track your reading and get access to awesome stats that will help you improve and read even more. Set goals and reminders to stay motivated, get weekly and monthly or yearly reports on your progress. You can better rate your books by going beyond the classic five star ratings by adding custom ones like: inspiration, heartfelt, love, spice, humor, and many more. Bookly also allows half-star ratings. TRACK YOUR READING IN REAL-TIME - Start the timer every time you read with a simple tap - Record your current page number of the books you're reading - See how long it will take you to finish the book at your current pace - Set a Book Goal to finish your book by a given time - Add your own rating, thoughts, and quotes for each book - Play ambient sounds while you read - Generate awesome Infographics style reports for every book - Unlock achievements to stay motivated and read even more GET READING STATS & RESULTS - Get tons of insightful Stats: total read time, pages read, reading speed, estimated book finish time, daily reading time, days you read in a row, reading streak and more - Generate Reading Reports with graphs and stats per book/month/year - Set Monthly or Yearly Goals in number of hours, pages or books - Set daily reminders to keep you motivated to achieve your reading goals - Use the powerful Bookly Assistant to read more, get personalized reading suggestions, reminders, reports and a lot more - Share your progress directly from the app KEEP TRACK OF YOUR BOOKS - Track and manage your entire library of books, e-books and audiobooks - Setup your own custom book Collections, like "Wishlist", "Favourites" - Get book details by scanning the ISBN barcode or searching online directly in the app - Store and sync your books among devices using iCloud - Never lose a book again, mark a book as lent or borrowed KEEP TRACK OF YOUR BOOK CHARACTERS - Track and manage all characters that you meet in your reading journey - Track how they evolve over time, what challenges they face, the relationships between them and much more. KEEP TRACK OF READATHONS - Track your readathon progress in real time - Track books read, reading time and pages for any period of time - Track readathon prompts - Get notifications and stay on track - - - Bookly is free to download and use. No online account or signup needed. The Pro version is free with a 7 day trial, after which we offer three subscription packages: $4.99/month (1 Month Subscription), $19.99/6 months (6 Month Subscription), and $29.99/year (1 Year Subscription). All other features remain free to use indefinitely. These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. Subscription service conditions: - 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 auto-renewal by accessing your Account Settings after purchase - Refunds will not be provided for any unused portion of the term - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable - All personal data is handled under the terms and conditions of Bookly’s privacy policy. More details can be found here: http://getbookly.com/privacy-policy/ http://getbookly.com/terms-of-use/ *Important: This app is for book TRACKING and MANAGEMENT. Book content and the actual reading is not done in the app.*

About

Bookjournal.app

Easily log books you've read, record ratings, thoughts, and notes. Enhance your entries with stickers and share your favorite reads with others. This app offers a convenient digital alternative to traditional reading journals.

Highlights
  • Track read books
  • Record ratings and notes
  • Add stickers to entries
  • Share favorite books
  • Digital reading journal
Features
Read full description

Keep track of all the books you've read, capture your ratings, thoughts and notes, add stickers and more. Share your favorite books with family, friends and colleagues. As avid readers, we craved a seamless way to journal, track, and share our literary experiences. Traditional journaling, though enjoyable, can be tedious and time-consuming. We wanted our journals accessible anytime, anywhere - from waiting rooms to school pick-ups. That's why we built BookJournal.app. Join us for an effortless and enjoyable reading journey! Link to our End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Bookly4 screens
Bookjournal.app4 screens

Verdict

The call

Bookly and Bookjournal.app both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 84% of Bookly's written reviews are positive against 45% of Bookjournal.app's. Bookly also leads on ratings volume (63K vs 250) and chart position (#21 vs unranked). Bookjournal.app's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, rating, 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. Bookly sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Bookjournal.app sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bookly holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookly has 63K ratings behind it against 250, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Bookly's written reviews are positive against 45% of Bookjournal.app's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookly ships an update monthly, Bookjournal.app weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Bookly versus Bookjournal.app: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBooklyBookjournal.app
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (63K ratings) — better4.5 (250 ratings)
Positive reviews83.7% of reviews — better44.7% of reviews
Number of ratings63K — better250
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#21 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size475 MB36 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperTwoDoor GamesRowan Trollope

Customer experience

Bookly

All ratings62,090 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral4.3%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews2,719 reviews
Positive83.7%
Neutral7.1%
Negative9.2%

Bookjournal.app

All ratings249 ratings
Positive83.9%
Neutral8.8%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews38 reviews
Positive44.7%
Neutral23.7%
Negative31.6%

User reviews

Bookly

From 63K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for tracking reading progress
  • 🚀 Motivates users to read more
  • 📊 Provides detailed reading statistics
  • 💡 Allows adding quotes, thoughts, and new words
  • 👍 User-friendly interface and design

Room to improve

  • 💰 Paywall for many features
  • 🔒 Limited functionality in free version
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding/adding some books
  • 🔢 Limit on number of books that can be added

Bookjournal.app

From 250 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 💡 Half-star rating option
  • 📚 Good for tracking reading progress
  • ✨ Customizable features
  • 📖 Great for organizing books

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Deleted books reappear
  • 🐛 Goodreads import issues
  • 🐛 Incorrect book info
  • 🐛 App crashes frequently
  • 🐛 App won't open/stay open

Bugs and requests

Bookly

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Reading sessions not always accurately recorded
  • Inconsistencies in page count/progress tracking
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to delete/edit books
  • Option to track audiobook progress
  • Sync reading progress across devices
  • More customization options
  • Integration with other reading apps

Bookjournal.app

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • Deleted books reappear
  • Goodreads import does not work
  • Incorrect book titles/covers after import
  • Duplicate books
  • App crashes
Show 13 more
  • App won't open or stay open
  • Error message when trying to cancel
  • Messages marked as undeliverable on Discord
  • Journal entries not saving or updating
  • App refuses to open since update
  • Books disappear after adding
  • App not working after transfer
  • Cannot add and save books read
  • Reading goal reverts to 50
  • No connection on home screen
  • No results for searches
  • App crashes immediately on opening
  • Unable to access rating and date options

Requested features

13 requests
  • Connect with friends
  • Add timer for reading tracking
  • More information like a timer
  • Audiobooks as a selection
  • Add friends
Show 8 more
  • Integrate Goodreads list without re-adding
  • Fix journal saving/updating
  • Fix series organization
  • One-time payment option for premium
  • More premium features for the price
  • Dark mode option
  • Improve search functionality
  • Fix connection issues

In-app purchases

16 purchases

Bookly

Subscriptions10
  • Monthly Pro7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Monthly Pro Family Plan$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Yearly Pro 50% OFF$14.991 Year
  • Six Months of Pro$19.996 Months
  • Yearly Pro 30% OFF$19.991 Year
  • Yearly Pro$29.991 Year
  • Yearly Pro (50% OFF 1st year trial)1 Year trial$29.991 Year
  • Yearly Pro 20% OFF3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Yearly Pro Family Plan$49.991 Year
One-time6
  • 10 extra reading days$0.99
  • A handful of Diamonds$0.99
  • A big bag of Diamonds$2.99
Show 3 more
  • A chest of Diamonds$5.99
  • Bookly Pro$79.99
  • Bookly Pro Lifetime$149.99
2 purchases

Bookjournal.app

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Bookly free?
Bookly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bookjournal.app free?
Bookjournal.app is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bookly or Bookjournal.app?
Bookly is rated higher. Bookly averages 4.6 out of 5 from 63K ratings, while Bookjournal.app averages 4.5 from 250 ratings.
Do Bookly or Bookjournal.app have ads?
Bookly shows ads; Bookjournal.app does not.
Which is updated more often, Bookly or Bookjournal.app?
Bookly ships an update monthly, and Bookjournal.app weekly. Most recently, Bookly was updated on October 25, 2026 and Bookjournal.app on October 24, 2026.

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