Comparison

Tertulia vs Bookshop.org

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

Head to head
About

Tertulia

Discover your next favorite book with curated recommendations from across the web. Organize your reading lists and purchase books seamlessly. Enjoy the best bookstore membership for passionate readers.

Highlights
  • Book recommendations from social media, podcasts, and web
  • Reading list tracking
  • Seamless book purchasing (US only)
  • Bookstore membership benefits
  • Discover trending books
Features
Read full description

Welcome booklovers! Tertulia is a one-stop shop for finding your next great read, keeping track of your reading lists and purchasing books with the best bookstore membership for avid readers. Tertulia serves up book recommendations from across social media, podcasts, and the web — all in one app which incorporates seamless book purchasing (US only). If a book has moved someone enough to get them talking, you can find it, buy it, and share it on Tertulia.

About

Bookshop.org

Read your ebooks and discover new titles while supporting independent bookstores. All ebook purchases made through this platform directly benefit local bookshops, ensuring their continued success in the digital age.

Highlights
  • Read ebooks from your library
  • Browse millions of ebooks
  • Add titles to wishlist
  • Support local bookstores with purchases
  • Connect seamlessly with Bookshop
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Bookshop.org’s mission is simple: We help local, independent bookstores thrive by giving more than 80% of our profits back to our network of 3,000+ stores. In our app, you can read millions of ebooks - and every purchase supports an independent bookstore near you! In the Bookshop app you can: - Read your ebooks in our customizable ebook reader. - Browse millions of titles and discover your next favorite read in romance, thrillers, mystery, fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and more. - Organize your TBR into custom shelves. - Highlight in five different colors, and add notes to your highlighted passages. - Sort & filter highlights and notes by date created, book order, and more. - Save titles to your wishlist so you can read them later. - Shop knowing that over 80% of the profit goes directly to local, independent bookstores. We’re a Certified B Corp, and we’ve raised more than $50 million for independent bookstores nationwide since 2020. Download the Bookshop.org app to support bookstores, not billionaires.

Screenshots

Tertulia4 screens
Bookshop.org4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Bookshop.org at free against Tertulia's ad-supported. Bookshop.org also leads on chart position (#153 vs unranked) and ratings volume (2.2K vs 509). Tertulia's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 57%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, rating, update cadence 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Tertulia against 4.8 for Bookshop.org. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 509 and 2.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Tertulia's written reviews are positive against 57% of Bookshop.org's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tertulia ships an update weekly, Bookshop.org every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 23, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Tertulia versus Bookshop.org: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTertuliaBookshop.org
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (509 ratings)4.8 (2.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews67.2% of reviews — better56.7% of reviews
Number of ratings5092.2K — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
Best chart rank—#153 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB106 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperTertulia, Inc.Bookshop, Inc.

Customer experience

Tertulia

All ratings507 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral1.6%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive67.2%
Neutral8.2%
Negative24.6%

Bookshop.org

All ratings2,175 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral3.2%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews180 reviews
Positive56.7%
Neutral22.8%
Negative20.6%

User reviews

Tertulia

From 509 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient app
  • 👍 Visually appealing and user-friendly design
  • 💡 Excellent book discovery and recommendations
  • 👍 Convenient book tracking and management
  • 🚀 Quick delivery of purchased books

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy and slow performance issues
  • 🔍 Lack of detailed book descriptions
  • 💸 Overly commercial focus on selling books
  • 🔍 Inconsistent or missing order tracking/history

Bookshop.org

From 2.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Wonderful app
  • 👍 Great alternative to Amazon
  • 👍 Supports local bookstores
  • 👍 Clean and pleasing interface
  • 👍 Solid app for a new release

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Formatting issues (lack of italics, poor paragraph spacing, etc.)
  • 🐛 Buggy page turning and navigation
  • 🔧 Limited customization options (fonts, themes, brightness, etc.)
  • 🔧 Missing essential features (highlighting, note-taking, search, etc.)

Bugs and requests

Tertulia

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Login and account issues
  • Disappearing user book lists
  • Inconsistent pricing and shipping information

Requested features

4 requests
  • iPad app version
  • Ability to rate and review books read
  • Improved personalized recommendations
  • Smoother scrolling and list management

Bookshop.org

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to remember last page read
  • Scrolling issues and unexpected page skipping
  • Formatting problems (stripped italics, weird paragraph spacing)
  • Settings not persisting between app sessions

Requested features

7 requests
  • More font and theme options
  • Ability to adjust line spacing, margins, and other formatting
  • Implement highlighting, annotation, and note-taking features
  • Add search functionality
  • Improve page turning and navigation
Show 2 more
  • Provide better dark mode/night reading experience
  • Sync reading progress across devices

In-app purchases

None

Tertulia

No in-app purchases

None

Bookshop.org

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tertulia free?
Tertulia is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bookshop.org free?
Bookshop.org is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tertulia or Bookshop.org?
Bookshop.org is rated higher. Tertulia averages 4.7 out of 5 from 509 ratings, while Bookshop.org averages 4.8 from 2.2K ratings.
Do Tertulia or Bookshop.org have ads?
Neither Tertulia nor Bookshop.org shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tertulia or Bookshop.org?
Tertulia ships an update weekly, and Bookshop.org every 5 days. Most recently, Tertulia was updated on October 23, 2026 and Bookshop.org on October 23, 2026.

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