# BookFusion vs ShortBook²

The clearest difference is monetization model: BookFusion at free with in-app purchases against ShortBook²'s subscription. BookFusion also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 40%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. BookFusion sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and ShortBook² sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for BookFusion against 4.6 for ShortBook². That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BookFusion has 523 ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of BookFusion's written reviews are positive against 40% of ShortBook²'s.

BookFusion ships an update every 10 days, ShortBook² every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | BookFusion | ShortBook² |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (523 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookfusion/id1141834096/reviews)** | [4.6 (13 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shortbook/id1499866684/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **523** | 13 |
| Positive reviews | **76.4% of reviews** | 39.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Subscription |
| Size | 158 MB | 67 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | **14.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [BookFusion](https://appshunter.io/developer/1141834095) | [Jury Shortki](https://appshunter.io/developer/295094305) |

## What reviewers say

### BookFusion

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookfusion/id1141834096)

Manage, read, and organize your entire eBook collection across all devices with cloud synchronization. Customize your reading experience with extensive settings, highlights, and annotations. Supports various formats and offers text-to-speech functionality.

**Highlights:** Cross-platform eBook reader, Cloud synchronization, Organize with virtual bookshelves, Highlights and annotations, Text-to-Speech (TTS), Send to Kindle, Calibre integration

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Casual Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Advanced Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Power Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Casual Yearly | $18.99 | per year |
| Advanced Yearly | $47.99 | per year |
| Power Yearly | $95.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent cross-platform sync
- 👍 Highly customizable reading experience
- 🚀 Seamless Calibre integration
- 👍 Responsive and helpful developers
- 🚀 Smooth reading experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 💰 Subscription model may be costly for some
- 🔒 Requires account creation to use
- 🐛 Inconsistent page turn behavior
- 🐛 Issues with PDF and fixed-layout EPUB support

**Reported bugs**

- Highlights and notes not always saving properly
- Reading position sometimes resets unexpectedly
- Widget not functioning as expected
- Occasional crashes and freezes
- Issues with importing certain ebook formats

**Requested features**

- Add page numbers instead of just percentages
- Implement a true dark mode
- Improve PDF viewing and annotation capabilities
- Add support for DJVU format
- Provide an option to purchase a lifetime license


### ShortBook²

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shortbook/id1499866684)

This reader app offers a unique approach to text display on smaller screens, optimizing comfort and reducing eye strain. It allows extensive customization of text layout and includes decorative elements to enhance the reading experience. Supports FB2 format and provides reading statistics.

**Highlights:** Optimized text layout for small screens, Customizable text placement options, Decorative elements for atmosphere, FB2 format support (contents, footnotes, figures), Rich settings with dozens of parameters, Reading statistics and monitoring, Quick restart after breaks

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Annual | $9.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is BookFusion free?

BookFusion is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is ShortBook² free?

ShortBook² is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, BookFusion or ShortBook²?

BookFusion is rated higher. BookFusion averages 4.7 out of 5 from 523 ratings, while ShortBook² averages 4.6 from 13 ratings.

### Do BookFusion or ShortBook² have ads?

Neither BookFusion nor ShortBook² shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, BookFusion or ShortBook²?

BookFusion ships an update every 10 days, and ShortBook² every 2 months. Most recently, BookFusion was updated on November 2, 2026 and ShortBook² on October 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*