TBR vs Bookjournal.app
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TBR
Easily track books you want to read, are currently reading, or have finished. Rate and review books, log favorite moments, and discover new reads. Set yearly reading goals and celebrate milestones with fun animations.
- Track books (to-read, reading, finished)
- Rate and review books
- Log favorite moments and quotes
- Browse public ratings and genre-specific insights
- Set custom yearly reading goals
- Earn achievement stickers
- Pro features: tropes, playlists, adaptations
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Got a growing TBR list? See great book recommendations, but forget them later? Meet TBR Bookshelf! Easily track books you want to read, are currently reading, or have finished with no limits. Rate and review books once you’ve read them and log your favorite moments using our quick and intuitive rating system. Browse public ratings to see a book’s POV, tropes, reread rate, and up to four genre-specific ratings. For example, Romance tracks Spice, Fluff, Humor, and Tear. All ratings are anonymous, so you can be honest with your reviews. Within our rating system, you can log: * Reading format * 5 Star Rating including half stars * Up to four genre ratings * If you would reread a book * DNF (Did Not Finish) * Favorite characters and quotes * Series and standalone books * Pro quotes and annotations (Paid Subscription Required) * Any additional thoughts about the book Celebrate your reading milestones with special book confetti and earn stickers for completing books and certain book tropes. Exclusive Pro features include: * Book tropes * Book playlists to track songs (cannot be played within the app) * POV format and amount * TV show and movie adaptation ratings * Four seasonal ratings All users can create custom yearly reading goals. When you finish a book, it is automatically added to your yearly reading goal bookshelf. Pro users can also fully customize their bookshelves with color themes, bookshelf items, and layouts. TBR Bookshelf makes managing your TBR list fun, easy, and satisfying. Track books, set reading goals, log quotes, and discover new reads all in one place. With customizable shelves, anonymous ratings, and a supportive community, staying on top of your reading has never been more enjoyable. Join TBR Bookshelf, a woman-owned and operated company, BookTok’s favorite, and trusted by millions of readers. TBR Bookshelf is free to download and use. No account or sign-up is required. TBR Bookshelf Pro includes a 7-day free trial and then options for a monthly plan ($4.99), a 6-month plan ($19.99), or a yearly plan ($29.99). All other features remain free indefinitely. A subscription will be applied to your iTunes account at the end of your free trial. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel anytime in your iTunes account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial will be forfeited if you purchase a subscription. These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary. Note: This app is for tracking your reading journey. Reading is not available within the app. Privacy Policy: http://jordanpetersonstudio.com/tbr-bookshelf-privacy-policy/ Terms of Service: http://jordanpetersonstudio.com/tbr-bookshelf-terms-of-service/
Bookjournal.app
Easily log books you've read, record ratings, thoughts, and notes. Enhance your entries with stickers and share your favorite reads with others. This app offers a convenient digital alternative to traditional reading journals.
- Track read books
- Record ratings and notes
- Add stickers to entries
- Share favorite books
- Digital reading journal
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Keep track of all the books you've read, capture your ratings, thoughts and notes, add stickers and more. Share your favorite books with family, friends and colleagues. As avid readers, we craved a seamless way to journal, track, and share our literary experiences. Traditional journaling, though enjoyable, can be tedious and time-consuming. We wanted our journals accessible anytime, anywhere - from waiting rooms to school pick-ups. That's why we built BookJournal.app. Join us for an effortless and enjoyable reading journey! Link to our End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Bookjournal.app at none against TBR's shown. Bookjournal.app also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.6). TBR's advantage is review sentiment (72% vs 44%) and ratings volume (4.4K vs 251). On price, rating, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. TBR sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Bookjournal.app sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 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 — 4.5 for TBR against 4.5 for Bookjournal.app. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TBR has 4.4K ratings behind it against 251, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of TBR's written reviews are positive against 44% of Bookjournal.app's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TBR | Bookjournal.app |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (4.4K ratings) — better | 4.5 (251 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 71.6% of reviews — better | 43.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.4K — better | 251 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #28 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 98 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TBR - Bookshelf, LLC | Rowan Trollope |
Customer experience
TBR
Bookjournal.app
User reviews
TBR
From 4.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Cute and visually appealing
- 📚 Helpful for tracking reading progress
- 🌟 Unique rating system
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔒 No account/sync option to prevent data loss
- 💰 Too many features locked behind paywall
- 🔍 Limited book database, hard to find some titles
Bookjournal.app
From 251 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 💡 Half-star rating option
- 📚 Good for tracking reading progress
- ✨ Customizable features
- 📖 Great for organizing books
Room to improve
- 🐛 Deleted books reappear
- 🐛 Goodreads import issues
- 🐛 Incorrect book info
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 App won't open/stay open
Bugs and requests
TBR
Reported bugs
4 issues- Books disappearing from shelves
- Inability to edit read dates
- Search function not working properly
- Crashing when trying to access certain features
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to organize books by series
- Option to view other users' reviews and ratings
- Customizable bookshelves and themes
- Sync across multiple devices
- More genre/category options for ratings
Bookjournal.app
Reported bugs
18 issues- Deleted books reappear
- Goodreads import does not work
- Incorrect book titles/covers after import
- Duplicate books
- App crashes
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- App won't open or stay open
- Error message when trying to cancel
- Messages marked as undeliverable on Discord
- Journal entries not saving or updating
- App refuses to open since update
- Books disappear after adding
- App not working after transfer
- Cannot add and save books read
- Reading goal reverts to 50
- No connection on home screen
- No results for searches
- App crashes immediately on opening
- Unable to access rating and date options
Requested features
13 requests- Connect with friends
- Add timer for reading tracking
- More information like a timer
- Audiobooks as a selection
- Add friends
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Integrate Goodreads list without re-adding
- Fix journal saving/updating
- Fix series organization
- One-time payment option for premium
- More premium features for the price
- Dark mode option
- Improve search functionality
- Fix connection issues
In-app purchases
TBR
- Pro Access7 Days trial$5.991 Month
- Pro Access7 Days trial$29.996 Months
- Pro Access$39.991 Year
- 1500 Gems$2.99
- 4500 Gems$5.99
- 20,000 Gems$9.99
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Gift 6 Months$19.99
- Gift 1 Year of Pro$29.99
- Gift Lifetime Pro$119.99
- Lifetime Purchase$179.99
Bookjournal.app
- Monthly$4.991 Month
- Yearly$49.991 Year








