Comparison

iBOOKLIGHT vs BookBuddy Pro

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

Head to head
About

iBOOKLIGHT

Transform your iPhone or iPad into a convenient book light for nighttime reading. This app offers a simple, clean interface to illuminate your pages without disturbing others. Position it upright or on a pillow for a fuss-free reading experience.

Highlights
  • Turns device into a book light
  • Simple and clean interface
  • Adjustable positioning
  • Stays on indefinitely
  • No fussy controls
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPHONE or iPAD into a book light. iBOOKLIGHT is now simple & clean. It will illuminate your reading while the rest of the world sleeps. Stand it upright or rest it on the pillow, on yourself or behind your shoulder. Goodbye fussy book lights that awake your partner. Stays on indefinitely We appreciate simple, clean design. This is the answer, you can read your book without fussing with too many controls. GET IT NOW FOR FREE! Support development with in app purchase. BY: www.nomadcandy.com GREAT Reading Light for your favorite fiction and non fiction: Freakonomics, An Innocent Client, Where the Crawdads Sing, Pachinko, Before We Were Yours, Circe, Defending Jacob, We Were The Lucky Ones, Everything I Never Told you, Becoming, Educated, The Matriarch, The Right Side of History, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Commander in Cheat, Ladies Who Punch, Doing Justice and Bad Blood. Anything you read to fall asleep this is for you.

About

BookBuddy Pro

Manage your personal book collection with an intuitive library manager. Easily add books via scanning or ISBN, organize them into custom lists, and track borrowed or lent items. Gain insights into your reading habits and sync your library across devices.

Highlights
  • Barcode scanning for book entry
  • Organize books into custom lists
  • Track borrowed and lent books
  • Sync library across multiple devices
  • Reading habit statistics
  • Export library to CSV, PDF, HTML
  • Classroom library management
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

BookBuddy is a powerful book management app that gives you access to your entire book catalog, anywhere. Using BookBuddy is fun and easy, allowing you to quickly find any book in your library, share your favorite books, and keep track of borrowed and lent books. KEY FEATURES • Adding Your Books Add your books using the following options: - Scan barcode (via iPhone camera or Bluetooth handheld scanner) - Enter ISBN - Search online by keyword - Add manually - Import from CSV file • Organizing Your Books Place your books where they belong: - My Books — books you own - Wish List — books you wish to own - Borrowed — books you borrowed from others - Previously Owned — books you no longer own • Syncing Your Library Sync your library across multiple devices using iCloud or Dropbox sync. • Sharing Your Library Share your library online via the BookBuddy Companion website and invite anyone to view it (requires a monthly subscription). • Unlocking Your Reading Insights Deep dive into your reading habits by exploring the following statistics: - Books Finished — Track the number of books you’ve completed - Pages Read — See your page count over time - Top Authors — Discover your most-read authors - Favorite Genres — Identify your preferred genres MORE TO LOVE • Universal app — pay once and use BookBuddy on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Silicon Mac. • Personalize — use categories and tags, mark favorites, add personal notes, and much more. • Appearance — choose either list or grid view to best match your needs. • Custom Filters — filter your library by multiple criteria. • Advanced Sorting — apply multi-level data sorting. • Loans — instantly track books that are currently loaned out. • Multiple selection — apply batch operations using multiple selection. • Reading Status — filter your books by their reading status. • Quick find — instantly find books by entering search keywords or scanning their barcodes. • Export — quickly export your library into CSV, PDF, or HTML formats. • Print — easily print selected books to AirPrint-enabled printers. • Backup — create backups to any cloud service. • Activity History — view the full history of your reading and loaning activities. • Duplicates — quickly detect duplicates and easily remove them. • Markdown Formatting — style your notes with headings, lists, bold, italics, links, and more. • Privacy — your library is saved locally and privately on your device. • And so much more! CLASSROOM LIBRARY MANAGER (for teachers) • Manage — use BookBuddy to manage your classroom library and track student checkouts. • Checkout History — easily track checkout history and view statistics. • Contacts — save your student names in BookBuddy Contacts rather than in your personal Contacts app. • Reading Level Fields — use various fields to track the reading level of your books. • Online Sharing — allow students to self-checkout books via the BookBuddy Companion website (requires a monthly subscription). FEEDBACK We love staying in touch with our users and we look forward to hearing from you! If you have any feedback, questions, or concerns, please email us at: support@kimicoapps.com or visit: http://www.kimicoapps.com/support.html Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KimicoLtd * Privacy policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/12652322 * Terms and Conditions: https://www.iubenda.com/terms-and-conditions/12652322

Screenshots

iBOOKLIGHT2 screens
BookBuddy Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: iBOOKLIGHT at Free against BookBuddy Pro's $9.99. iBOOKLIGHT also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 26.0). BookBuddy Pro's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 3.5) and review sentiment (87% vs 46%). On ads, in-app purchases 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

iBOOKLIGHT is free to download; BookBuddy Pro costs $9.99 up front. iBOOKLIGHT sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and BookBuddy Pro sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BookBuddy Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BookBuddy Pro has 6K ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of iBOOKLIGHT's written reviews are positive against 87% of BookBuddy Pro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iBOOKLIGHT ships an update every 12 months, BookBuddy Pro every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
iBOOKLIGHT versus BookBuddy Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriBOOKLIGHTBookBuddy Pro
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating3.5 (41 ratings)4.8 (6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.0% of reviews87.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings416K — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#9 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerjami beckerKimico, Ltd.

Customer experience

iBOOKLIGHT

All ratings41 ratings
Positive53.7%
Neutral17.1%
Negative29.3%
Written reviews124 reviews
Positive46.0%
Neutral5.6%
Negative48.4%

BookBuddy Pro

All ratings6,014 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews492 reviews
Positive87.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative6.3%

User reviews

iBOOKLIGHT

From 41 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Simple and straightforward design
  • 📖 Perfect for bedtime reading without disturbing others
  • 🔆 Adjustable brightness for comfortable reading
  • ⏱️ Stays on indefinitely when configured properly
  • 🆓 Free app with no mandatory payments

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Screen turns off after 30 seconds to a few minutes without proper settings
  • 📱 Just adjusts phone brightness - limited functionality
  • 💰 In-app purchases for hue changes that don't work properly
  • 📢 Intrusive ads that pop up frequently
  • 🔊 Ads with sound can wake sleeping partners

BookBuddy Pro

From 6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Efficient scanning and cataloging
  • 🚀 Customizable organization
  • 🚀 Helpful customer support
  • 🚀 Affordable one-time purchase

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional syncing issues
  • 🐛 Limited search functionality
  • 🐛 Difficulty adding ebooks and audiobooks
  • 🐛 Inability to batch edit or assign multiple categories

Bugs and requests

iBOOKLIGHT

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Screen goes dark after 30 seconds despite claims of indefinite operation
  • In-app hue purchase feature non-functional
  • Page number saves don't persist after closing app
  • Settings button does nothing or is non-functional
  • Brightness changes affect phone's system brightness permanently
Show 5 more
  • App causes excessive battery drain in some cases
  • Ads block portions of the light display
  • Incompatibility issues with iPhone 6 and newer models
  • Auto-lock setting gets overridden by app
  • Porn ads appearing in some versions

Requested features

8 requests
  • Built-in brightness adjustment within app without phone settings
  • Auto-lock settings integrated into app
  • Multiple color/hue options that actually work
  • Clear in-app instructions for first-time users
  • Dark mode or warmer light options for eye comfort
Show 3 more
  • Swipe-based brightness adjustment
  • Different light bulb shapes or designs
  • Remove or customize ad placement and type

BookBuddy Pro

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes after recent updates
  • Incorrect book information pulled from database
  • Scanning issues with older or international books

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to add multiple authors per book
  • Option to sort by publication date or series order
  • Integration with ebook/audiobook platforms
  • Batch editing and multi-select capabilities
  • Online/cloud-based access to library
Show 1 more
  • Recommendations based on reading history

In-app purchases

2 purchases

iBOOKLIGHT

One-time2
  • Remove Logo on Light Screen$0.99
  • Change light screen color hue$0.99
4 purchases

BookBuddy Pro

Subscriptions4
  • Online Sharing Std (Monthly)14 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Online Sharing Pro (Monthly)14 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Online Sharing Std (Yearly)14 Days trial$19.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Online Sharing Pro (Yearly)14 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is iBOOKLIGHT free?
iBOOKLIGHT is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BookBuddy Pro free?
BookBuddy Pro costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, iBOOKLIGHT or BookBuddy Pro?
BookBuddy Pro is rated higher. iBOOKLIGHT averages 3.5 out of 5 from 41 ratings, while BookBuddy Pro averages 4.8 from 6K ratings.
Do iBOOKLIGHT or BookBuddy Pro have ads?
Neither iBOOKLIGHT nor BookBuddy Pro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iBOOKLIGHT or BookBuddy Pro?
iBOOKLIGHT ships an update every 12 months, and BookBuddy Pro every 3 days. Most recently, iBOOKLIGHT was updated on October 31, 2026 and BookBuddy Pro on November 1, 2026.

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