Hardcover.app vs Pagebound
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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/
Pagebound
This app allows users to discuss books in real-time forums tied to specific titles. Earn points and badges for tracking your reading progress and engaging with the community. Organize your reading list, rate books, and connect with fellow readers based on shared literary tastes.
- Book-specific discussion forums
- Gamified reading challenges
- Points and badge system
- Organize TBR lists
- Half-star book ratings
- Anonymous reader profiles
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Pagebound combines old-school internet forums with robust book tracking—every book has its own forum. We are indie, anti-AI, and built by 2 women. Discuss books as you read them, view reading stats, and earn points & badges for tracking your reading. EXPERIENCE SOCIAL READING Read with others, without the commitment of a book club. Whatever you’re currently reading, post thoughts, theories, ideas, reactions, and more to that book’s forum. Sort posts by % read to read along with people from all over the world. Anyone with that book in their library will see and can interact with your post, so it’s really easy to start discussions and make new reader friends. VIEW READING STATISTICS & WRAPUPS Everything you log on Pagebound powers robust reading statistics and monthly wrapups. Look back at your reading habits across beautiful charts and graphs. Share your reading progress at the end of each month with summary views. GAMIFY BOOK TRACKING Earn badges that reflect your reading taste by joining Quests. Accumulate points for logging your reading, sharing your thoughts, and contributing to the community. Showcase your badges on your profile and unlock fun rewards. ORGANIZE YOUR LIBRARY Plan your TBR (to-be read) by month or year. Rate books in half-star increments with sub-ratings for enjoyment, quality, characters, and plot. Track your books accurately with Interested, Paused, and DNF (did not finish) reading statuses. Mute books, track tandem reads, and more. MAKE READER FRIENDS Connect with other readers based on what you think, not what you look like. With anonymous profiles, no algorithm and private follower counts, we connect readers based on shared taste in books, not clout. Terms of Use: https://support.pagebound.co/terms_of_use
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Pagebound at 4.8 against Hardcover.app's 4.2. Pagebound also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 52%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Hardcover.app sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Pagebound sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pagebound holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pagebound has 497 ratings behind it against 60, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Hardcover.app's written reviews are positive against 89% of Pagebound's.
Hardcover.app ships an update every 6 months, Pagebound fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hardcover.app | Pagebound |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (60 ratings) | 4.8 (497 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.4% of reviews | 89.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 60 | 497 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Hardcover LLC | Pagebound LLC |
Customer experience
Hardcover.app
Pagebound
Bugs and requests
Hardcover.app
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Pagebound
Reported bugs
1 issue- Occasional spoilers in forums
Requested features
2 requests- Save reading progress across forums
- Dark mode option
In-app purchases
Hardcover.app
- Supporter - Monthly$4.991 Month
- Supporter - Yearly$49.991 Year
Pagebound
- Pagebound Royalty$9.991 Month
