Comparison

Bookcase! vs Reading Diary

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

Head to head
About

Bookcase!

Organize your physical book collection by tracking ownership, location, and personal ratings. Quickly add books using an ISBN scanner to automatically retrieve title, author, and cover art.

Highlights
  • Track physical book ownership
  • Record book locations
  • Assign star ratings
  • ISBN scanner for automatic data entry
  • Download book cover art
  • Add personal notes
Features
Read full description

Use Bookcase to keep track of your physical books — what books do you own? Where are they? What rating would you give them? Quickly add all of your books with the in-built ISBN scanner — automatically download your book's author, title, even your book's cover art! • Add title, author and cover art for your books manually or use the in-built ISBN scanner to automatically download. • Bookcase will automatically detect the principal colors in your book's cover art and style appropriately. • Add notes and star ratings for a book to help keep track of your personal library.

About

Reading Diary

Organize your personal book collection by tracking, categorizing, and filtering your library. Add books by scanning barcodes or manually entering details. Share your reading progress and book information with friends.

Highlights
  • Track and categorize books
  • Scan barcodes for easy entry
  • Manual book detail entry
  • Filter and sort library
  • Share book information
  • Cross-device synchronization
  • Day/night theme
Features
Read full description

Reading Diary is a simple book tracker and reading log for your personal library. Scan an ISBN or barcode to add books, track what you're reading, organize your shelves and build your TBR list, and see your reading stats. Pay once. No subscription. No ads. The free version lets you: - Add a book by scanning its barcode* - Search for books by ISBN, author, or title* - Add a book and enter its details manually - Enter book details: author, title, ISBN, category, book format (paperback, hardcover, e-book, audiobook, or other), reading status, date added, date you started reading, date you finished or abandoned it, book color, rating, and note - View the book cover* - Share book information with friends (author, title, note, and, when available, a link to more information or a cover image) - Filter books in the navigation drawer by reading status (not read yet, currently reading, finished, or abandoned), author, category, and format - Search for books by author, title, category, or note - Create an account and sync your data across all your devices** - Back up your data to a JSON file and restore it from that file - Use light or dark mode according to your device settings A one-time Premium purchase also unlocks: - Add your own cover photo if no cover is available online (sign-in required) - Set a book's ownership (whether you own it, borrowed it, or want it) and assign it to a shelf - Create custom tags and assign as many tags as you like to books - Enter the number of pages and the audiobook length in hours and minutes - Filter books in the navigation drawer by ownership, shelf, and tags - View detailed reading statistics - Share a reading summary for a selected period and your wishlist with friends * We use the Google Books and Goodreads services to search for books and retrieve information about them. If a book cannot be found, it is probably not in their databases. A book cover may not be available. ** You can register using an email address and password or a Google or Apple account.

Screenshots

Bookcase!3 screens
Reading Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Reading Diary at 5.0 against Bookcase!'s 3.5. Reading Diary also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 48%) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 24 months). Bookcase!'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (35 vs 1). On price, ads 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. Reading Diary sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Bookcase! asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Reading Diary holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookcase! has 35 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of Bookcase!'s written reviews are positive against 80% of Reading Diary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookcase! ships an update every 24 months, Reading Diary every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Bookcase! versus Reading Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookcase!Reading Diary
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (35 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.1% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings35 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 24 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.515.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCraig GrummittZdenek Skrobak

Customer experience

Bookcase!

All ratings35 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral5.7%
Negative34.3%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive48.1%
Neutral3.7%
Negative48.1%

Reading Diary

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Bookcase!

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Reading Diary

One-time1
  • Premium$8.19

Questions

Is Bookcase! free?
Bookcase! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Reading Diary free?
Reading Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bookcase! or Reading Diary?
Reading Diary is rated higher. Bookcase! averages 3.5 out of 5 from 35 ratings, while Reading Diary averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Bookcase! or Reading Diary have ads?
Neither Bookcase! nor Reading Diary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bookcase! or Reading Diary?
Bookcase! ships an update every 24 months, and Reading Diary every 3 months. Most recently, Bookcase! was updated on October 15, 2026 and Reading Diary on October 13, 2026.

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