Comparison

My Book List vs Reading List

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

Head to head
About

My Book List

Effortlessly catalog your personal book collection with this library organizer. Easily add books by scanning barcodes or searching online, and view your library with customizable sorting and filters. Keep track of reading status, ratings, and notes for each title.

Highlights
  • ISBN barcode scanning
  • Online book search
  • Customizable library views
  • Read status and ratings
  • Multi-device syncing
  • Import/export library data
Features
Read full description

Catalog your entire home library in an afternoon. Snap a photo of any shelf and the AI adds every title. No typing, no spreadsheets, no scattered notes. Trusted by 600+ readers and rated 4.1 stars on the App Store since 2011. • Catalog a 200-book shelf in five minutes. Point your camera. AI reads the spines and adds the books. • Add a single book in seconds by scanning the barcode on the back cover. • Bring your Kindle library across in one tap. No CSV juggling. • Find anything in plain English. "That biography about the architect" works. • AI sorts your shelves by genre, mood, and theme so you stop tagging by hand. • Read on iPhone, edit on iPad, look something up offline at the bookstore. Sync handles the rest. How it works: 1. Point your camera at a shelf and let AI populate your library. 2. Sort, tag, and mark books as Read, Reading, or To Read. 3. Pick up on any device. Share with friends, join a club, ask for a recommendation when you want one. Coming from another app or a spreadsheet? Import CSV, TSV, JSON, XLSX, BibTeX, or RIS files. Field mapping is built in. Real review: "I had a bunch of books I needed to inventory and the barcode scanner made it incredibly easy. Great app." BuckeyeCityCates, App Store review, 2024 Free to start with twenty books and three barcode scans. Open the app and add your first shelf. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions in your Account Settings on the App Store after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when purchasing a subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://BigBalli.com/privacy

About

Reading List

Organize your reading journey by tracking books you've read, are currently reading, or want to read. Log progress, add custom lists, and record notes and ratings. Sync data across devices and export your library.

Highlights
  • Scan barcodes to add books
  • Search online for books
  • Manual book entry
  • Track reading progress (start/finish dates)
  • Create custom book lists
  • Add ratings and notes
  • View reading statistics
  • iCloud data sync
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Easily track books you’ve read, books you’re reading, and books you want to read. Record your progress by adding the start and finish date of your books. ADD NEW BOOKS • Scan the barcode of a book to quickly add it to your list • Search online to find and add books • Alternatively, add a book manually by typing in its details • Sync your data between all devices via iCloud TRACK YOUR READING • Quickly log the dates you start and finish each book with a tap or swipe • Order the books, to help plan what to read next • Create your own custom lists, like "Wishlist", "Favourites", etc • Record the current page of books you're reading • Add your own rating and notes to each book • View your reading statistics PRIVATE & PERSONAL • No online account or signup needed • All data is private, stored on-device or in your iCloud account • Export and import all your data Some premium features require Reading List Pro, which can be purchased in the app. The app remains fully-featured when used without Reading List Pro. Terms of Use: https://readinglist.app/termsofservice Privacy Policy: https://readinglist.app/privacypolicy

Screenshots

My Book List4 screens
Reading List4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Reading List at 93% against My Book List's 49%. Reading List also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (30K vs 639). My Book List's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. My Book List sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Reading List sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Reading List holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Reading List has 30K ratings behind it against 639, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of My Book List's written reviews are positive against 93% of Reading List's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

My Book List ships an update every 4 days, Reading List fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
My Book List versus Reading List: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMy Book ListReading List
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (639 ratings)4.8 (30K ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.5% of reviews93.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings63930K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#200 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBigBalli Consulting llcAndrew Bennet Ltd

Customer experience

My Book List

All ratings639 ratings
Positive78.1%
Neutral6.9%
Negative15.0%
Written reviews338 reviews
Positive48.5%
Neutral10.9%
Negative40.5%

Reading List

All ratings29,868 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral2.4%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews606 reviews
Positive93.1%
Neutral3.1%
Negative3.8%

User reviews

My Book List

From 639 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 📚 Helpful for tracking books
  • 💻 Convenient virtual bookshelf
  • 🔍 Useful barcode scanning feature

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent glitches and bugs
  • 💰 Excessive in-app purchases required
  • 🔍 Barcode scanner not always reliable
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns with mandatory Facebook login
  • 🤔 Confusing pricing and feature structure

Reading List

From 30K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Very user-friendly
  • 🚀 Easy to add and organize books
  • 🔒 Private and non-social
  • 💡 Barcode scanning feature
  • 👍 Clean and simple interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Issues with syncing across devices
  • 💡 Lack of ability to track re-reads or put books 'on hold'
  • 💡 Limited sorting/organizing options for large book collections
  • 💡 No ability to add audiobooks or track reading time

Bugs and requests

My Book List

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Books disappearing from user libraries
  • Scanning and importing issues
  • Crashes and freezes when using certain features
  • Inconsistent behavior across iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to sort books by series or genre
  • Option to manually add book details
  • Offline access to book lists
  • Improved search and filtering capabilities
  • Sync across multiple devices

Reading List

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Issues with date/time tracking when adding books
  • Occasional crashes or data loss when using the app

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to track re-reads and 'on hold' books
  • Improve sorting/organizing options for large collections
  • Add support for audiobooks and reading time tracking
  • Implement cloud sync and account features to preserve data
  • Add more customization options for lists and book display

In-app purchases

14 purchases

My Book List

Subscriptions3
  • Full unlock$4.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly Offer$14.991 Year
  • Full unlock$24.991 Year
One-time11
  • extra details for all books$0.99
  • Barcode scanner$0.99
  • remote database & device sync$1.99
Show 8 more
  • CSV Import$3.99
  • Amazon Kindle eBook import$3.99
  • BibTeX and Zotero export$4.99
  • 500 Tokens$4.99
  • 1000 Tokens$9.99
  • 10000 Tokens$49.99
  • Lifetime Full Unlock$49.99
  • 20000 Tokens$79.99
10 purchases

Reading List

Subscriptions4
  • Reading List Pro (Monthly)$2.001 Month
  • Reading List Pro (Monthly)$3.991 Month
  • Reading List Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$14.001 Year
Show 1 more
  • Reading List Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time6
  • Small Tip$1.00
  • Medium Tip$2.00
  • Large Tip$3.00
Show 3 more
  • Very Large Tip$5.00
  • Giant Tip$10.00
  • Reading List Pro (Lifetime)$38.00

Questions

Is My Book List free?
My Book List is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Reading List free?
Reading List is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, My Book List or Reading List?
Reading List is rated higher. My Book List averages 4.1 out of 5 from 639 ratings, while Reading List averages 4.8 from 30K ratings.
Do My Book List or Reading List have ads?
Neither My Book List nor Reading List shows ads.
Which is updated more often, My Book List or Reading List?
My Book List ships an update every 4 days, and Reading List fortnightly. Most recently, My Book List was updated on September 24, 2026 and Reading List on September 24, 2026.

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