Comparison

BookBuddy vs Leanpub

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

Head to head
About

BookBuddy

Manage your personal book collection with ease. Scan barcodes, track borrowed and lent books, and gain insights into your reading habits. Sync across devices and personalize your library organization.

Highlights
  • Barcode scanning
  • ISBN entry
  • Online book search
  • Track borrowed/lent books
  • Sync across devices
  • Reading statistics
  • Export library data
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. FREE VERSION - BookBuddy has all the features of BookBuddy Pro with a 50 book limit. - BookBuddy can be upgraded via In-App Purchase for unlimited book storage. 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

About

Leanpub

Access your entire ebook library on your mobile device. Discover new titles, take notes, and switch between reading modes. Authors can also write and publish their own books directly through the platform.

Highlights
  • Read Leanpub ebooks
  • Discover new ebooks
  • Sync notes across devices
  • Dark and Light Mode reading
  • Write and publish books
  • Read ebook samples
Features
Read full description

Leanpub is the world's best platform for reading and writing ebooks. Download the app to read and listen to all the ebooks in your Leanpub library on your iPhone and iPad. Discover new authors and ebooks in the Leanpub store. Take Leanpub courses right in the app, with lessons, videos, and quizzes. Write and publish your own books using powerful features for authors — now including real-time collaborative writing. With the Leanpub app you can: Read all your Leanpub ebooks, including PDF books, with full offline support Listen to your books with Read Aloud: background playback with follow-along highlighting Take courses with video lessons and quizzes with instant feedback Discover new Leanpub ebooks, courses, and bundles Take notes and highlights within books and sync them across devices Share favorite passages as beautiful quote cards Keep reading from your Home Screen with widgets like Continue Reading, The Shelf, and Passage of the Day Join the conversation in your books' community forums Write on the go: draft chapters, edit visually, and preview and publish new versions Write together with your co-authors in real time Manage co-authors, browse your royalties, and organize collections in the Author studio Choose between Dark Mode and Light Mode for comfortable reading Read samples of ebooks, where available Use credits to add new books to your library Write and publish reviews of books right from your library By using this app, you agree to the Leanpub Terms of Service (https://leanpub.com/terms), Privacy Policy (https://leanpub.com/privacy), Copyright Policy (https://leanpub.com/takedown) and Refund Policy (https://leanpub.com/refunds).

Screenshots

BookBuddy4 screens
Leanpub4 screens

Verdict

The call

BookBuddy and Leanpub both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 82% of BookBuddy's written reviews are positive against 12% of Leanpub's. BookBuddy also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (16K vs 29). Leanpub's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and iOS requirement (18.5 vs 26.0). On price, rating, 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. BookBuddy sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Leanpub asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for BookBuddy against 4.8 for Leanpub. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BookBuddy has 16K ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 82% of BookBuddy's written reviews are positive against 12% of Leanpub's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookBuddy ships an update every 3 days, Leanpub every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
BookBuddy versus Leanpub: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookBuddyLeanpub
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (16K ratings) — better4.8 (29 ratings)
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews — better12.0% of reviews
Number of ratings16K — better29
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#166 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB34 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKimico, Ltd.Leanpub

Customer experience

BookBuddy

All ratings15,484 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.1%
Written reviews972 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral7.1%
Negative11.1%

Leanpub

All ratings24 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive12.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative88.0%

Bugs and requests

BookBuddy

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Books disappearing from library
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • Barcode scanning not always reliable

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow sorting by author last name
  • Add ability to track reading progress
  • Integrate with other book services (e.g. Goodreads)
  • Improve duplicate book detection
  • Expand export/sharing options

Leanpub

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

BookBuddy

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
One-time1
  • BookBuddy Pro (Lifetime)$9.99
None

Leanpub

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BookBuddy free?
BookBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Leanpub free?
Leanpub is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BookBuddy or Leanpub?
BookBuddy is rated higher. BookBuddy averages 4.8 out of 5 from 16K ratings, while Leanpub averages 4.8 from 29 ratings.
Do BookBuddy or Leanpub have ads?
Neither BookBuddy nor Leanpub shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BookBuddy or Leanpub?
BookBuddy ships an update every 3 days, and Leanpub every 6 weeks. Most recently, BookBuddy was updated on November 7, 2026 and Leanpub on November 6, 2026.

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