Comparison

Hardcover.app vs Vellumark

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

Vellumark

Features
Read full description

Vellumark — Scan Book Highlights to Markdown Notes Vellumark turns your physical book highlights and handwritten notes into structured, searchable Markdown. Built for readers who annotate with highlighters, pencils, and margin notes, and want to bring those insights into Obsidian, Notion, or Apple Notes. --- Capture Your Thinking — Not Just the Text • Handwritten Note Recognition Automatically transcribe marginalia, pencil notes, and annotations. • Smart Highlight Linking AI connects handwritten thoughts to highlighted passages using spatial context. • Clean Markdown Export Convert scanned pages into structured, editable Markdown files. --- Fast, Private, Offline-storage • Batch Page Scanning Capture multiple pages quickly. Processing runs in the background. • On-Device Privacy No account required. All data stays on your device using native storage. • One-Tap Share Export a complete Markdown “book” to Obsidian, Notion, Apple Notes, or any app via Share Sheet. --- Designed for Serious Readers • Works with highlights, underlines, and margin notes • Preserves reading context and structure • Built for knowledge management workflows • Offline-first AI processing • Clean, portable Markdown output --- Contact qiuyuexp@gmail.com Privacy Policy qiuyuexp.github.io/public/vellumark/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use qiuyuexp.github.io/public/vellumark/terms-of-use.html

Screenshots

Hardcover.app4 screens
Vellumark4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Vellumark at every 3 weeks against Hardcover.app's every 6 months. Hardcover.app's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Hardcover.app sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Vellumark sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hardcover.app ships an update every 6 months, Vellumark every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Hardcover.app versus Vellumark: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHardcover.appVellumark
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (66 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews52.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings66 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB6 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperHardcover LLCYue Qiu

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hardcover.app

Subscriptions2
  • Supporter - Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Supporter - Yearly$49.991 Year
3 purchases

Vellumark

Subscriptions3
  • Vellumark Pro Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Vellumark Pro for 3 months$14.993 Months
  • Vellumark Pro Yearly$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Hardcover.app free?
Hardcover.app is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Vellumark free?
Vellumark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hardcover.app or Vellumark have ads?
Neither Hardcover.app nor Vellumark shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hardcover.app or Vellumark?
Hardcover.app ships an update every 6 months, and Vellumark every 3 weeks. Most recently, Hardcover.app was updated on October 23, 2026 and Vellumark on October 12, 2026.

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