Comparison

Resume Designer 3 vs Bookends

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

Head to head
About

Resume Designer 3

Create professional PDF resumes and cover letters quickly. Input your information and let the app format a polished document. Features include templates, customization, and AI-powered review.

Highlights
  • PDF resume and cover letter creation
  • Personalized handwritten signature
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Template-based or custom section building
  • AI Review powered by Apple Intelligence
  • Export as PDF, print, or share
Features
Read full description

Build your best resume with Resume Designer. Create a polished, professional PDF resume and cover letter in minutes—then print, email, or share it however you need. Your resume is your first impression. Make it count. Rather than wrestling with formatting, Resume Designer takes a simple approach: you enter the information, and the app builds a sharp, professional document for you. Features: Built-in cover letter support with a personalized handwritten signature iCloud sync to access your resume across all your devices Start from a sample functional or chronological template, or build from scratch Add, arrange, and customize sections to suit any job Choose from a variety of header styles and fonts, including downloadable options Fine-tune spacing and margins for a perfectly balanced layout Preview your work anytime, with automatic page breaks for multi-page resumes Export as PDF (the recruiter-preferred format), print, or send to apps like Dropbox or Files Create tailored variations for different roles Automatic sorting of employment and education history AI Review powered by Apple Intelligence—private, on-device analysis with no subscription required Updated for iOS 26 with support for Liquid Glass Try every feature free. When you're ready, one purchase unlocks the app forever—no ads, no subscriptions, no recurring fees. Smart job hunters have called Resume Designer "really easy to use" and "simple, effective—gets the job done."

About

Bookends

Manage your research references and PDFs on your mobile device. Search online databases, import metadata, annotate PDFs, and organize your library. Offers basic functionality for free with optional one-time purchase and yearly subscription for advanced features like cloud sync and unlimited imports.

Highlights
  • Search online reference databases
  • Import metadata and PDFs
  • PDF annotation and markup
  • Barcode scanning for references
  • Cloud sync across devices
  • Share online libraries
  • Create multiple libraries
Features
Read full description

Bookends is the reference management app you've been looking for. The basic version offers: • Search online sites directly (arXiv, Google Books, Google Scholar, JSTOR, the Library of Congress, PubMed, PubMed Central, and Semantic Scholar) or use the built-in browser (EZProxy-compliant) to download reference metadata and PDFs (access privileges required). Searches can return a maximum of 20 references, and only 50 references can be stored in your personal database. • Use unique identifiers such as DOI, PMID, ISBN, or arXiv id to autofill references. • View the text of PDF annotations in a note stream, and create your own with our powerful PDF markup engine. • Barcode scanning, one per day. • And many more features designed to help you discover, organize, and use reference information. Standard, one-time purchase ($14.99): • No limit on searches or importing. Premium, yearly subscription ($14.99). Requires a Standard purchase. • Cloud sync with all your iOS devices and Bookends for Mac (separate purchase). • Share online libraries with colleagues. • Scan documents with Mellel Mobile*. • Create multiple libraries. • Unlimited barcode scanning. • Extract PDF annotations with deep links to annotations and text. • Convenient UI to add PDF notes to the library. • Automate your actions with Shortcuts. * iPad-only. Requires a Mellel Mobile Premium subscription. Subscription is for one year and has an auto-renew option. The subscription can be managed in iOS -> Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions. A subscription will renew if it isn't canceled at least 24 hours before the renewal date. If the subscription is not renewed, Premium will be disabled but Standard will continue to work. Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Resume Designer 34 screens
Bookends4 screens

Verdict

The call

Resume Designer 3 and Bookends both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 90% of Resume Designer 3's written reviews are positive against 76% of Bookends's. Bookends's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs paid). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Resume Designer 3 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Bookends sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Resume Designer 3 against 4.7 for Bookends. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 753 and 399 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of Resume Designer 3's written reviews are positive against 76% of Bookends's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Resume Designer 3 ships an update monthly, Bookends every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Resume Designer 3 versus Bookends: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterResume Designer 3Bookends
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (753 ratings) — better4.7 (399 ratings)
Positive reviews89.7% of reviews — better76.4% of reviews
Number of ratings753 — better399
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.5 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB114 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFall Day Software Inc.Sonny Software, LLC

Customer experience

Resume Designer 3

All ratings753 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral2.3%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews165 reviews
Positive89.7%
Neutral4.2%
Negative6.1%

Bookends

All ratings398 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews127 reviews
Positive76.4%
Neutral8.7%
Negative15.0%

User reviews

Resume Designer 3

From 753 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Simple and efficient
  • 💡 Helps create professional-looking resumes
  • 👍 Customizable templates
  • 👍 Saves time

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Watermark issue with free version
  • 🔒 Paywall to remove watermark
  • 🔒 Unable to upload resume directly to job sites
  • 🔒 Limited customization options

Bookends

From 399 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Seamless sync across devices
  • 👍 Excellent PDF annotation tools
  • 🔒 Reliable and stable
  • 💡 Powerful reference management features
  • 👍 Responsive and helpful developer support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync issues with iCloud and PDF files
  • 🔒 Subscription model for essential features
  • 👎 Outdated and clunky user interface
  • 🔒 Limited functionality on iOS without subscription

Bugs and requests

Resume Designer 3

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when trying to email resume
  • Photo upload button not working
  • Unable to save or access resumes after update

Requested features

5 requests
  • More templates and layout options
  • Ability to change font size and spacing
  • Direct upload to job sites
  • Cover letter integration
  • Ability to save and reuse resume sections

Bookends

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incompatibility with iCloud Optimized Storage
  • Unreliable sync between desktop and mobile versions
  • Occasional data loss or corruption

Requested features

4 requests
  • Nested folders and tags for better organization
  • Automatic PDF metadata extraction
  • Improved search and filtering capabilities
  • Seamless integration with third-party services

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Resume Designer 3

One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$14.99
2 purchases

Bookends

Subscriptions1
  • Premium3 Months trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Standard$14.99

Questions

Is Resume Designer 3 free?
Resume Designer 3 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bookends free?
Bookends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Resume Designer 3 or Bookends?
Resume Designer 3 is rated higher. Resume Designer 3 averages 4.8 out of 5 from 753 ratings, while Bookends averages 4.7 from 399 ratings.
Do Resume Designer 3 or Bookends have ads?
Neither Resume Designer 3 nor Bookends shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Resume Designer 3 or Bookends?
Resume Designer 3 ships an update monthly, and Bookends every 2 months. Most recently, Resume Designer 3 was updated on November 1, 2026 and Bookends on November 1, 2026.

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