Comparison

Reading Diary vs OpenBookshelf

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

Head to head
About

Reading Diary

Easily track your personal library, log your reading progress, and organize your books. Scan ISBNs or barcodes to add titles, manage reading status, and view detailed statistics. Offers a free version with core features and an optional one-time premium upgrade for advanced organization and customization.

Highlights
  • Scan ISBN or barcode to add books
  • Track reading status and dates
  • Organize books by shelves and custom tags
  • View detailed reading statistics
  • Sync data across devices
  • Manual book detail entry
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.

About

OpenBookshelf

Organize your reading list with a clean, focused book tracker. Easily search millions of titles, import your history from other platforms, and sync across devices without ads or subscriptions. Focus solely on your books.

Highlights
  • Track reading progress
  • Search millions of books
  • Import from Goodreads
  • Sync across devices
  • No ads or subscriptions
  • Organize reading lists
Features
Read full description

Your books. Without the noise. OpenBookshelf is a clean, focused book tracker for readers who want to organize what they read — not be sold a subscription, shown ads, or pushed into a social network. Track your reading in three taps. Search for a book, add it to your shelf, mark it as read. No onboarding wizard, no account creation, no tutorial. Just your books. SEARCH MILLIONS OF BOOKS Find books instantly by title, author, or ISBN — powered by Open Library, the world's largest open book database. No proprietary database, no lock-in. IMPORT FROM GOODREADS Bring your entire reading history with you. Export your Goodreads data and import it into OpenBookshelf in seconds. Keep your shelves, ratings, and reading dates without starting over. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES Your library stays up to date on every device automatically with iCloud. Add a book on your iPhone, see it on your iPad. No account required. WHAT YOU WON'T FIND HERE No algorithmic recommendations. No social feed. No reading challenges designed to make you feel guilty. No ads. No behavioral tracking. No subscription. OpenBookshelf does one thing well: it helps you keep track of what you've read, what you're reading, and what you want to read next. Nothing more. Nothing less. Completely free. No account. No tracking. No catch.

Screenshots

Reading Diary4 screens
OpenBookshelf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: OpenBookshelf at free against Reading Diary's freemium. OpenBookshelf also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Reading Diary's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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 and OpenBookshelf sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Reading Diary against 5.0 for OpenBookshelf. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reading Diary ships an update every 2 months, OpenBookshelf every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Reading Diary versus OpenBookshelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReading DiaryOpenBookshelf
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZdenek SkrobakJared Floersch

Customer experience

Reading Diary

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

OpenBookshelf

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Reading Diary

One-time1
  • Premium$8.19
1 purchases

OpenBookshelf

One-time1
  • Unlock$2.99

Questions

Is Reading Diary free?
Reading Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OpenBookshelf free?
OpenBookshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Reading Diary or OpenBookshelf?
Reading Diary and OpenBookshelf are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Reading Diary or OpenBookshelf have ads?
Neither Reading Diary nor OpenBookshelf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Reading Diary or OpenBookshelf?
Reading Diary ships an update every 2 months, and OpenBookshelf every 2 weeks. Most recently, Reading Diary was updated on November 3, 2026 and OpenBookshelf on October 31, 2026.

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