Comparison

Hardcover.app vs Readwise Books

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

Head to head
About

Hardcover.app

This app helps you organize and discover books. Track what you've read, create custom lists, and see what friends are reading. Set reading goals and share your thoughts on books.

Highlights
  • Track read and to-read books
  • Organize with lists and tags
  • See friends' reading activity
  • Discover trending books
  • Rate and review books
  • Set reading goals
  • Track reading statistics
Features
Read full description

Hardcover is a book tracking app with a social side, built for readers, not algorithms. Add books you’ve read or want to read. Keep your library tidy with lists and tags. See what your friends are reading, explore trending picks, and discover hidden gems through curated lists. Rate, review, and share your thoughts. Make your profile public, private, or friends-only—your reading, your rules. Set goals, track your stats, and find your reading rhythm. We use Apple's standard Terms of Service (EULA). https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Readwise Books

This reading app allows you to buy, read, and track all your books in one place. It automatically logs your reading sessions and provides detailed metrics to help you improve. Share your reading progress with friends in a low-pressure feed.

Highlights
  • Centralized book library
  • Automatic reading session logging
  • Detailed reading metrics
  • Print book tracking
  • Highlighting and note-taking
  • Optional social feed
  • EPUB audio playback
Currently charting
Read full description

Readwise Books is invite-only for now. You'll need an invite code from a friend to create an account. (If you're an existing Readwise subscriber, you already have early access.) A reading app unlike any other. Buy, read, and track all your books in one beautiful place. ONE PLACE FOR EVERY BOOK Read the ebooks you buy or upload. Track the rest, whether print, audio, or ebooks from elsewhere. Import your shelves from Goodreads and your Kindle library to start. THE STRAVA OF READING Every page flip is logged automatically, the way a pedometer counts steps. Pages roll up into reading sessions. Sessions roll up into weeks, months, and years. METRICS THAT MATTER Visualize rich reading data like words read, time read, pace, depth, immersion, and more. That which is measured is improved. EVERY BOOK COUNTS Reading on paper? Capture your starting and ending page, then save your session. Highlight print books with your camera. READING, ELEVATED Beautiful typography, light and dark modes, pagination or scroll, and best-in-class highlighting, notes, and tags. READING ALONE IS BETTER, TOGETHER Your sessions post to a light feed where friends can see that you're reading. No likes to chase, nothing to perform. More coffee shop than social network. And only if you want to. LISTEN, TOO Upload any DRM-free EPUB and listen with lifelike voices while the text follows along. READWISE ECOSYSTEM One account across Readwise Books, Reader, and Highlights. Every highlight syncs instantly.

Screenshots

Hardcover.app4 screens
Readwise Books4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Readwise Books at 100% against Hardcover.app's 52%. Readwise Books also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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. Hardcover.app sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Readwise Books asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Readwise Books holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 66 and 64 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Hardcover.app's written reviews are positive against 100% of Readwise Books's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hardcover.app ships an update every 6 months, Readwise Books every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Hardcover.app versus Readwise Books: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHardcover.appReadwise Books
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (66 ratings)5.0 (64 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings66 — better64
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#82 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB134 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperHardcover LLCReadwise, Inc

Customer experience

Hardcover.app

All ratings66 ratings
Positive72.7%
Neutral15.2%
Negative12.1%
Written reviews46 reviews
Positive52.2%
Neutral21.7%
Negative26.1%

Readwise Books

All ratings64 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hardcover.app

Subscriptions2
  • Supporter - Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Supporter - Yearly$49.991 Year
None

Readwise Books

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hardcover.app free?
Hardcover.app is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Readwise Books free?
Readwise Books is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hardcover.app or Readwise Books?
Readwise Books is rated higher. Hardcover.app averages 4.2 out of 5 from 66 ratings, while Readwise Books averages 5.0 from 64 ratings.
Do Hardcover.app or Readwise Books have ads?
Neither Hardcover.app nor Readwise Books shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hardcover.app or Readwise Books?
Hardcover.app ships an update every 6 months, and Readwise Books every 3 days. Most recently, Hardcover.app was updated on November 3, 2026 and Readwise Books on October 30, 2026.

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