Comparison

Bookly vs Novelium

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

Novelium

A comprehensive writing studio designed for authors to draft, organize, and refine long-form projects. It integrates manuscript management, world-building tools, and publishing preparation in a single workspace.

Highlights
  • Draft chapters and organize files
  • Track characters, settings, and timelines
  • Review story structure and manuscript
  • Manage beta reader workflows
  • Format manuscripts for publishing
  • Focus mode writing editor
Features
Read full description

Novelium is a writing studio for novelists, nonfiction authors, and serious storytellers who need more than a blank page. Draft chapters, organize files, track your world, manage timelines, review story structure, and prepare your book for readers, all from the same workspace. Novelium brings your manuscript, notes, reference material, publishing tools, and revision workflow together so you can keep momentum without bouncing between half a dozen apps. Built for long-form writing Write in a clean editor with project files, chapters, notes, comments, proofread tools, checks, and focus mode. Keep your story consistent Track characters, settings, plotlines, timelines, and world details as your manuscript grows. Novelium helps you inspect your project from multiple angles so continuity problems are easier to catch before readers do. Plan, revise, and finish Use timeline views, story reports, writing stats, manuscript checks, and beta reader workflows to move from rough draft to polished book with less chaos. Publish-ready tools Format manuscripts, prepare exports, manage publishing details, and keep your project organized through the final stretch. Useful for: Novel writing Series planning Nonfiction book projects World building Revision and editing Writing goals and progress tracking Beta reader management Book formatting and publishing prep Novelium is designed for writers who care about craft, continuity, and finishing the book. Privacy Policy and Terms can be found here: - https://app.novelium.com/terms.html - https://app.novelium.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Bookly4 screens
Novelium4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Bookly at 4.6 against Novelium's 3.1. Bookly also leads on review sentiment (84% vs 47%) and ratings volume (63K vs 21). Novelium's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Bookly sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Novelium sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $10.99 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 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookly has 63K ratings behind it against 21, 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 47% of Novelium's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookly ships an update monthly, Novelium every 2 days. Both last shipped on November 9, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Bookly versus Novelium: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBooklyNovelium
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (63K ratings) — better3.1 (21 ratings)
Positive reviews83.9% of reviews — better47.1% of reviews
Number of ratings63K — better21
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#19 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.615.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size475 MB137 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperTwoDoor GamesBRADLEY JAY TENENHOLTZ

Customer experience

Bookly

All ratings62,090 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral4.3%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews2,938 reviews
Positive83.9%
Neutral7.0%
Negative9.2%

Novelium

All ratings21 ratings
Positive47.6%
Neutral9.5%
Negative42.9%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive47.1%
Neutral11.8%
Negative41.2%

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

Novelium

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Bookly

Subscriptions9
  • Monthly Pro7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Monthly Pro Family Plan$9.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 6 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
One-time1
  • Bookly Pro$79.99
10 purchases

Novelium

Subscriptions4
  • Novelium Basic Monthly$10.991 Month
  • Novelium Pro Monthly$29.991 Month
  • Novelium Premier Monthly$59.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Novelium Pro Yearly$289.001 Year
One-time6
  • Noir Theme$3.99
  • Gothic Horror Theme$3.99
  • Dark Academia Theme$3.99
Show 3 more
  • Eye of the Storm Theme$3.99
  • Romantasy Theme$3.99
  • The Abyss Theme$3.99

Questions

Is Bookly free?
Bookly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Novelium free?
Novelium is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bookly or Novelium?
Bookly is rated higher. Bookly averages 4.6 out of 5 from 63K ratings, while Novelium averages 3.1 from 21 ratings.
Do Bookly or Novelium have ads?
Bookly shows ads; Novelium does not.
Which is updated more often, Bookly or Novelium?
Bookly ships an update monthly, and Novelium every 2 days. Most recently, Bookly was updated on November 9, 2026 and Novelium on November 9, 2026.

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