My Book List vs Next Chapters
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- ISBN barcode scanning
- Online book search
- Customizable library views
- Read status and ratings
- Multi-device syncing
- Import/export library data
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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
Next Chapters
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Next Chapter is your personal reading companion — organize your entire book life in one beautiful app. BUILD YOUR BOOKSHELF Keep every book in the right place with four smart reading lists: • Currently Reading — stay focused on what you're reading now • To Be Read — your ever-growing stack of future reads • Wishlist — books you want to buy or borrow • Finished — your reading history, always close at hand SEARCH & DISCOVER Search millions of books from the Open Library catalog. Scan any book's barcode with your camera for an instant lookup. Add books manually or enter an ISBN directly. TRACK YOUR GOALS Set a yearly reading goal and watch your progress in real time. Stay motivated with stats showing everything you've read this year and all time. BROWSE FOR YOU Discover books across your favorite genres — Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Mystery, Horror, Thriller, and Sci-Fi — curated just for you on your personal For You page. SYNC WITH OPEN LIBRARY Connect your Open Library account to access and manage your reading lists from anywhere. PRIVACY FIRST Sign in securely with Apple — or explore as a guest with no account required. Your library is stored on your device. Club Plus is an optional auto-renewing subscription, billed monthly or yearly, that unlocks more book clubs, member invites, unlimited club shelves and club challenges. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://lumaraysoftware.com/next-chapter/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Next Chapters at none against My Book List's 14. My Book List's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. My Book List sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Next Chapters asks for nothing beyond the download.
My Book List ships an update every 4 days, Next Chapters every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | My Book List | Next Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (639 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 48.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 639 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 41 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +12 |
| Developer | BigBalli Consulting llc | LumaRay |
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
Next Chapters
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
My Book List
- Full unlock$4.991 Month
- Premium Yearly Offer$14.991 Year
- Full unlock$24.991 Year
- extra details for all books$0.99
- Barcode scanner$0.99
- remote database & device sync$1.99
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- 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
Next Chapters
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is My Book List free?
Is Next Chapters free?
Do My Book List or Next Chapters have ads?
Which is updated more often, My Book List or Next Chapters?
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