Comparison

Reading List vs Minimalistic Reading List

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

Head to head
About

Reading List

Organize your reading journey by tracking books you've read, are currently reading, or want to read. Log progress, add custom lists, and record notes and ratings. Sync data across devices and export your library.

Highlights
  • Scan barcodes to add books
  • Search online for books
  • Manual book entry
  • Track reading progress (start/finish dates)
  • Create custom book lists
  • Add ratings and notes
  • View reading statistics
  • iCloud data sync
Features
Read full description

Easily track books you’ve read, books you’re reading, and books you want to read. Record your progress by adding the start and finish date of your books. ADD NEW BOOKS • Scan the barcode of a book to quickly add it to your list • Search online to find and add books • Alternatively, add a book manually by typing in its details • Sync your data between all devices via iCloud TRACK YOUR READING • Quickly log the dates you start and finish each book with a tap or swipe • Order the books, to help plan what to read next • Create your own custom lists, like "Wishlist", "Favourites", etc • Record the current page of books you're reading • Add your own rating and notes to each book • View your reading statistics PRIVATE & PERSONAL • No online account or signup needed • All data is private, stored on-device or in your iCloud account • Export and import all your data Some premium features require Reading List Pro, which can be purchased in the app. The app remains fully-featured when used without Reading List Pro. Terms of Use: https://readinglist.app/termsofservice Privacy Policy: https://readinglist.app/privacypolicy

About

Minimalistic Reading List

Organize your reading with this minimalist app. Scan barcodes, search by author or genre, and categorize books into 'Reading,' 'To Read,' and 'Finished.' Discover popular titles and get reading tips.

Highlights
  • Scan book barcodes
  • Search by title, author, genre
  • Categorize into Reading, To Read, Finished
  • Create personalized genre groups
  • Explore popular books and reading tips
  • Purchase books via integrated links
Features
Read full description

Explore, save and organize all of your favorite books with Minimalistic Reading List. With the world's most comprehensive book repository you’ll always find the book you are looking for. The app is designed from a minimalistic perspective which makes the app extremely simple to use and gives you incredible user experience. To add books to your reading list you simply: - Scan the barcode of the physical book to get directly to the book page and then you simply add it. - You can search for a specific book, author, genre and even author and then browse until you find the book you are looking for. - By adding books manually your Minimalistic Reading List can contain every book in the world. Your reading list will be divided into three categories - Reading, To Read & Finished If you are like me and love different genres, you can create personalized groups based on genres or in any other way you want. It’s extremely simple to create groups you simply: - Set the name you wish the group has. - Add all the books you want and then save the group, that’s it. In the explore section of the app you’ll get an understanding of what the other users are reading, reading tips through the book of the week, you can browse by category. The Popular section shows the top books that the community is reading right at this moment. I created Minimalistic Reading List because I still believe that it’s important to read and I wanted to make it easier and more fun by bringing like-minded people together. For us who read a lot, it will eventually become a bit expensive to purchase every book so I have included some links to the magnificent invention - The Kindle. Through the partnership with The Book Depository you can purchase books from your reading list at a very competitive price. They also offer all of us free and fast worldwide shipping! To purchase a book you simply press the “Purchase Book” button and you’ll be redirected to the correct book page on bookdepository.com. I’ll keep updating the app to make it even better and here are some features that will be available soon: - Filtering book searches by language - Progressbar on for the books you’re reading Terms & Conditions - https://bit.ly/2N5Aat6 Privicy Policy - https://bit.ly/2oVXLo7

Screenshots

Reading List4 screens
Minimalistic Reading List4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Reading List at 93% against Minimalistic Reading List's 0%. Reading List also leads on rating (4.8 vs 1.5) and ratings volume (30K vs 2). Minimalistic Reading List's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 List sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.00 per month and Minimalistic Reading List sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Reading List holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Reading List has 30K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of Reading List's written reviews are positive against 0% of Minimalistic Reading List's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reading List ships an update fortnightly, Minimalistic Reading List every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Reading List versus Minimalistic Reading List: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReading ListMinimalistic Reading List
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (30K ratings) — better1.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews92.8% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings30K — better2
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrew Bennet LtdCarl Henningsson

Customer experience

Reading List

All ratings30,064 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral2.3%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews624 reviews
Positive92.8%
Neutral3.0%
Negative4.2%

Minimalistic Reading List

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Reading List

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Issues with date/time tracking when adding books
  • Occasional crashes or data loss when using the app

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to track re-reads and 'on hold' books
  • Improve sorting/organizing options for large collections
  • Add support for audiobooks and reading time tracking
  • Implement cloud sync and account features to preserve data
  • Add more customization options for lists and book display

Minimalistic Reading List

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Reading List

Subscriptions4
  • Reading List Pro (Monthly)$2.001 Month
  • Reading List Pro (Monthly)$3.991 Month
  • Reading List Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$14.001 Year
Show 1 more
  • Reading List Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time6
  • Small Tip$1.00
  • Medium Tip$2.00
  • Large Tip$3.00
Show 3 more
  • Very Large Tip$5.00
  • Giant Tip$10.00
  • Reading List Pro (Lifetime)$38.00
2 purchases

Minimalistic Reading List

Subscriptions1
  • Full Access Subscription7 Days trial$0.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$12.99

Questions

Is Reading List free?
Reading List is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Minimalistic Reading List free?
Minimalistic Reading List is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Reading List or Minimalistic Reading List?
Reading List is rated higher. Reading List averages 4.8 out of 5 from 30K ratings, while Minimalistic Reading List averages 1.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Reading List or Minimalistic Reading List have ads?
Neither Reading List nor Minimalistic Reading List shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Reading List or Minimalistic Reading List?
Reading List ships an update fortnightly, and Minimalistic Reading List every 10 days. Most recently, Reading List was updated on October 29, 2026 and Minimalistic Reading List on October 19, 2026.

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