iBOOKLIGHT vs Bookjournal.app
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Turns device into a book light
- Simple and clean interface
- Adjustable positioning
- Stays on indefinitely
- No fussy controls
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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.
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 rating: Bookjournal.app at 4.4 against iBOOKLIGHT's 3.5. Bookjournal.app also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 12 months) and ratings volume (249 vs 41). iBOOKLIGHT's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 16.4). On price, review sentiment, 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
Both are free to download. iBOOKLIGHT sells 2 one-off in-app purchases 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.
Bookjournal.app holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookjournal.app has 249 ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 46% of iBOOKLIGHT's written reviews are positive against 45% of Bookjournal.app's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
iBOOKLIGHT ships an update every 12 months, Bookjournal.app weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | iBOOKLIGHT | Bookjournal.app |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (41 ratings) | 4.4 (249 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 46.0% of reviews — better | 44.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 41 | 249 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | jami becker | Rowan Trollope |
Customer experience
iBOOKLIGHT
Bookjournal.app
User reviews
iBOOKLIGHT
From 41 App Store ratingsWhat 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
Bookjournal.app
From 249 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
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
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- 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
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- Swipe-based brightness adjustment
- Different light bulb shapes or designs
- Remove or customize ad placement and type
Bookjournal.app
Reported bugs
18 issues- Deleted books reappear
- Goodreads import does not work
- Incorrect book titles/covers after import
- Duplicate books
- App crashes
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- 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
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- 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
iBOOKLIGHT
- Remove Logo on Light Screen$0.99
- Change light screen color hue$0.99
Bookjournal.app
- Monthly$4.991 Month
- Yearly$49.991 Year
