# SideBooks vs Booklover

The clearest difference is price: SideBooks at Free against Booklover's $3.99. SideBooks also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 18.6). Booklover's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (87% vs 72%). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

SideBooks is free to download; Booklover costs $3.99 up front. SideBooks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Booklover asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for SideBooks against 4.6 for Booklover. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 97 and 57 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of SideBooks's written reviews are positive against 87% of Booklover's.

SideBooks ships an update every 9 days, Booklover fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SideBooks | Booklover |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $3.99 |
| Rating | [4.6 (97 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sidebooks/id409777225/reviews) | [4.6 (57 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/booklover-ebook-reader/id949207089/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **97** | 57 |
| Positive reviews | 72.4% of reviews | **87.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#32** |
| Size | 32 MB | 22 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Tatsumi-system Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/409777230) | [Plastic Software, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/949207088) |

## 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


### Booklover

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/booklover-ebook-reader/id949207089)

**Currently charting:** #32 Top Paid · Book (US App Store)

Organize and read a vast collection of eBooks, including PDFs, manga, and scanned books. Seamlessly sync with iCloud Drive and customize your reading experience with advanced reader settings and library management tools.

**Highlights:** Manage and view eBooks (PDF, ZIP/CBZ, RAR/CBR), iCloud Drive syncing, Organize books by genre and bibliographic details, Powerful search and Library Navigator, Customizable reader settings, Bookmarks and PDF annotations, Support for archived image files

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SideBooks free?

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

### Is Booklover free?

Booklover costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

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

SideBooks and Booklover are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 97 and 57 ratings respectively.

### Do SideBooks or Booklover have ads?

Neither SideBooks nor Booklover shows ads.

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

SideBooks ships an update every 9 days, and Booklover fortnightly. Most recently, SideBooks was updated on September 23, 2026 and Booklover on September 21, 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.*