# Planbook Mobile vs ReadOtter

The clearest difference is monetization model: ReadOtter at freemium against Planbook Mobile's subscription. ReadOtter also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 51%). Planbook Mobile's advantage is ratings volume (7.2K vs 41) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.2). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Planbook Mobile sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and ReadOtter sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Planbook Mobile against 4.7 for ReadOtter. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Planbook Mobile has 7.2K ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 51% of Planbook Mobile's written reviews are positive against 60% of ReadOtter's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Planbook Mobile | ReadOtter |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (7.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/planbook-mobile/id1502332358/reviews)** | [4.7 (41 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readotter-classroom-library/id6745129261/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **7.2K** | 41 |
| Positive reviews | 50.6% of reviews | **60.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Freemium** |
| Size | 83 MB | 35 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 17.2 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Planbook Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/671763637) | [Human Theoria LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1810896717) |

## What reviewers say

### Planbook Mobile

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/planbook-mobile/id1502332358)

This is a comprehensive online lesson planning tool designed for educators. It offers a wide array of features, meticulous student learning standards, and excellent support. A free trial is available to experience its capabilities.

**Highlights:** Comprehensive lesson planning, Meticulous student learning standards, Extensive features for educators, Outstanding support and tutorials, Continuous improvement based on feedback

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-Year Planbook Subscription | $20.00 | one-time |
| 2-Year Planbook Subscription | $36.00 | one-time |
| 3-Year Planbook Subscription | $48.00 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Time-saving program
- 👍 Helpful for both homeschool and school teachers
- 👍 Allows for easy sharing and organization of lessons
- 👍 Useful for adapting to changes like snow days

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Events/features not working in app
- 🐛 Google sign-in not working on app
- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable, crashes frequently
- 🐛 Copy/paste feature not working as expected
- 🐛 Inability to access Google Drive files in app

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to add school year dates
- Login page issues (keyboard blocking screen)
- Inability to use Gmail account for sign-up
- Lesson plans deleted without explanation

**Requested features**

- Add copy and paste feature
- Improve mobile app experience (e.g., biometric login, portrait mode)
- Enhance integration with other platforms (e.g., Canvas)


### ReadOtter

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readotter-classroom-library/id6745129261)

This app helps teachers manage their classroom libraries by cataloging books, tracking student checkouts, and generating reading logs. It offers a free tier with core features and a premium subscription for advanced functionalities like cloud sync and student self-checkout.

**Highlights:** Library cataloging, Student checkout tracking, Digital reading logs, Book categorization, iCloud sync and backup, Student self-checkout kiosk

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ReadOtter Premium | $2.99 | per month |
| ReadOtter Premium | $19.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Planbook Mobile free?

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

### Is ReadOtter free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Planbook Mobile or ReadOtter?

Planbook Mobile is rated higher. Planbook Mobile averages 4.8 out of 5 from 7.2K ratings, while ReadOtter averages 4.7 from 41 ratings.

### Do Planbook Mobile or ReadOtter have ads?

Neither Planbook Mobile nor ReadOtter shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Planbook Mobile or ReadOtter?

Planbook Mobile ships an update every 2 months, and ReadOtter every 2 months. Most recently, Planbook Mobile was updated on October 19, 2026 and ReadOtter on October 14, 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.*