Comparison

IsDBI Reader vs Pick Up

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

Head to head
About

IsDBI Reader

Access and organize Islamic economics, banking, and finance publications. This reader allows you to sync purchases, collections, bookmarks, and notes across all your devices for a personalized reading experience.

Highlights
  • Access purchased books across devices
  • Organize books into personal collections
  • Sync bookmarks, highlights, and notes
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Access research publications
Features
Read full description

The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) is the knowledge beacon of the IsDB Group responsible for leading innovative knowledge-based solutions for sustainable development. We lead in providing Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance publications. We produce a wide range of publications, including flagship reports, textbooks, journals, conference proceedings, and other research publications. IRTI app features • Access any of the books you purchase from IRTI websites on all your devices. • Organize your books and PDFs into personal collections that will appear on all your devices. • Access bookmarks, highlights, notes and your current page on all your devices. • A customizable reading experience with your choice of font style, size and more

About

Pick Up

This app helps you manage your reading, track progress, and capture thoughts. It offers personalized recommendations, reading session tracking with ambient sounds, and a voice journal for reflections. Enjoy a beautiful design, cloud sync, and insightful reading statistics.

Highlights
  • Smart book management with ISBN scanning
  • Home Screen widgets and Live Activity integration
  • Book Roulette for random selection
  • Personalized book recommendations
  • Reading session tracking with ambient sounds
  • Voice journal for capturing thoughts
  • Monthly recap and reading statistics
Read full description

Pick Up - Your Personal Reading Companion Transform the way you read, reflect, and remember with Pick Up — the reading companion for people who want more from every book. SMART BOOK MANAGEMENT • Search by title or scan ISBN barcodes to instantly add books • Track reading progress across multiple books • Organise by status: Reading, Finished, Up Next, or DNF • Set a starting page for books you've already begun • Beautiful cover images and detailed metadata WIDGETS & LIVE READING • Add beautiful Home Screen widgets for your current book and reading streak • See your current book on the Dynamic Island and Lock Screen while reading • Tap straight back into your active session from the Live Activity BOOK ROULETTE • Can't decide what to read next? Spin the slot machine and let fate choose from your Up Next pile • Start reading your chosen book instantly THE SHELF — BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS • Personalised book recommendations based on your library and reading history • Set your mood, preferred length, and genre to get tailored picks • Discover handpicked books from independent authors in the Indie Picks tab • Save picks directly to your Up Next list READING SESSIONS • Track time spent reading with a built-in stopwatch • Set a countdown timer to challenge yourself or stay focused • Ambient sounds while you read: rain, fireplace, ocean, lo-fi, and more • Pause, resume, or finish early with full control • View complete reading history by book • Build consistent reading habits with session tracking CAPTURED THOUGHTS • Record thoughts while reading with one-tap voice capture • Voice-to-text transcription • Write text reflections • Organise thoughts by book with timestamps • Star important thoughts • Review your complete reading journey MONTHLY RECAP • Shareable card with your reading month at a glance • Book covers, pages read, and reading time • Choose your colour theme and share with friends CLOUD SYNC • Seamless sync across all your devices • Automatic cloud backup • Secure Supabase-powered sync • Access your library anywhere DAILY INSPIRATION • Quote of the Day — a fresh reading quote every day on your home screen • Daily quote notification at your chosen time • Share quotes to social media READING STATISTICS • Track reading streaks • Visual progress indicators • Total books, pages, and thoughts • Personalised reading time estimates REMINDERS & NOTIFICATIONS • Customisable daily reading reminders • Choose your days and times • Gentle nudges to keep your streak alive BEAUTIFUL DESIGN • Clean interface with full dark mode support • Themes: Parchment, Ink, Void, Sepia, Marble, and more • Smooth animations • Designed for readers PRIVACY-FIRST • Local-first architecture — your data stays on your device • Optional cloud sync • No tracking, no ads Perfect for avid readers, book clubs, students, and anyone who wants to remember what they read.

Screenshots

IsDBI Reader4 screens
Pick Up4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: IsDBI Reader at none against Pick Up's 3. IsDBI Reader also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Pick Up's advantage is ratings volume (26 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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. Pick Up sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. IsDBI Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

IsDBI Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pick Up has 26 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

IsDBI Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, Pick Up every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
IsDBI Reader versus Pick Up: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIsDBI ReaderPick Up
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.8 (26 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings126 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.115.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB134 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperEthmar Advertising CompanyFortune Nweke-Maraizu

Customer experience

IsDBI Reader

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

Pick Up

All ratings26 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral3.8%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

IsDBI Reader

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Pick Up

Subscriptions3
  • Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Premium 6 Months$26.996 Months
  • Premium Yearly$49.991 Year

Questions

Is IsDBI Reader free?
IsDBI Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pick Up free?
Pick Up is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, IsDBI Reader or Pick Up?
IsDBI Reader is rated higher. IsDBI Reader averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Pick Up averages 4.8 from 26 ratings.
Do IsDBI Reader or Pick Up have ads?
Neither IsDBI Reader nor Pick Up shows ads.
Which is updated more often, IsDBI Reader or Pick Up?
IsDBI Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, and Pick Up every 10 days. Most recently, IsDBI Reader was updated on October 20, 2026 and Pick Up on October 7, 2026.

Other comparisons