Comparison

My Book List vs BookTalk

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

BookTalk

Connect with fellow book enthusiasts on a platform designed for sharing and discovering literature. Create a digital library, write reviews, and follow friends to see their latest reads and recommendations.

Highlights
  • Create user profiles
  • Follow other readers
  • Like and comment on reviews
  • Discover new books
  • Create reading shelves
  • Build a digital library
  • Write book reviews
Features
Read full description

Booktalk is a social media app that combines elements of Instagram and Goodreads all in one, creating a unique platform for book lovers to connect and share their favorite reads. BookTalk allows users to create profiles and follow each other, like and comment on book reviews, and discover new books based on the recommendations of others. But BookTalk goes beyond just creating profiles and connecting with the reading community. The app also includes features such as the ability to create reading shelves, creat a digital library, add favourites, list your did not finish, and write reviews. Overall, Booktalk offers a unique blend of social media and book-related features, making it a must-have app for book lovers who want to connect with other readers and discover new reads.

Screenshots

My Book List4 screens
BookTalk4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: BookTalk at 100% against My Book List's 49%. BookTalk also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 14) and rating (4.5 vs 4.1). My Book List's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 5 weeks). On price 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. My Book List sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. BookTalk asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BookTalk holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: My Book List has 639 ratings behind it against 2, 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 100% of BookTalk's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

My Book List ships an update every 4 days, BookTalk every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and July 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
My Book List versus BookTalk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMy Book ListBookTalk
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (639 ratings)4.5 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings639 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBigBalli Consulting llcAoranos Hewaz

Customer experience

My Book List

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

BookTalk

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

BookTalk

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
None

BookTalk

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is My Book List free?
My Book List is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BookTalk free?
BookTalk is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, My Book List or BookTalk?
BookTalk is rated higher. My Book List averages 4.1 out of 5 from 639 ratings, while BookTalk averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do My Book List or BookTalk have ads?
BookTalk shows ads; My Book List does not.
Which is updated more often, My Book List or BookTalk?
My Book List ships an update every 4 days, and BookTalk every 5 weeks. Most recently, My Book List was updated on September 26, 2026 and BookTalk on July 8, 2026.

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