# SideBooks vs BooksWhale

The clearest difference is ratings volume: SideBooks at 97 against BooksWhale's 1. BooksWhale's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. SideBooks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and BooksWhale sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

BooksWhale holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SideBooks has 97 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

SideBooks ships an update every 9 days, BooksWhale every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SideBooks | BooksWhale |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (97 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sidebooks/id409777225/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookswhale/id6795008908/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **97** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 73.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 33 MB | 17 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Tatsumi-system Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/409777230) | [BooksWhale LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/6795008910) |

## What reviewers say

### SideBooks

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sidebooks/id409777225)

This app offers a high-performance PDF and comic viewer with realistic paper-turning animations. It supports various viewing directions, enhanced bookshelf management, and secure password protection for your documents. Easily import files from multiple sources and enjoy a customizable reading experience.

**Highlights:** Realistic paper curl animation, Multiple viewing directions, Enhanced bookshelf management, Password protection, Dropbox and iTunes file import, Supports PDF, ZIP, CBZ, RAR, CBR

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Thema extension Add-On | $0.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth page turning
- 📚 Great for reading comics and manga
- 🗂️ Excellent folder organization
- 🔍 Useful search and table of contents features
- 💻 Seamless Dropbox integration

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes when loading large files
- 🚫 Limited file format support (no CBZ/CBR)
- 🔍 Difficult to find and delete books
- 🔒 Requires Dropbox access, no local file support
- 🔍 Small thumbnail size makes it hard to browse

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when opening certain PDF files
- Corrupted files cause repeated crashes
- Dropbox integration issues on some devices

**Requested features**

- Add support for ePub and other popular formats
- Implement iCloud/Google Drive integration
- Allow manual rearrangement of bookshelf
- Add dark mode and customizable background options
- Improve bookmark and annotation features


### BooksWhale

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookswhale/id6795008908)

Access a curated collection of public-domain classic books in multiple languages. Organize your favorite titles in a personal library and enjoy a distraction-free reading experience. Progress and bookmarks sync across devices.

**Highlights:** Browse classics by title, author, category, language, Distraction-free reading experience, Sync reading progress and bookmarks, Personal library for saved books, Copy text for notes and study, Access EPUB and PDF files, Multi-language interface

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BooksWhale Annual Membership | $9.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SideBooks free?

SideBooks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is BooksWhale free?

BooksWhale is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, SideBooks or BooksWhale?

BooksWhale is rated higher. SideBooks averages 4.6 out of 5 from 97 ratings, while BooksWhale averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do SideBooks or BooksWhale have ads?

Neither SideBooks nor BooksWhale shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SideBooks or BooksWhale?

SideBooks ships an update every 9 days, and BooksWhale every 2 weeks. Most recently, SideBooks was updated on October 29, 2026 and BooksWhale on October 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*