Fish vs Hardcover.app
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Fish
Explore the nuanced difference between internet 'liking' and genuine 'loving' through an interactive tap essay. This unique format uses typography, color, and surprises to present a heartfelt manifesto.
- Interactive tap essay format
- Explores internet liking vs. loving
- Uses typography and color
- Includes surprises
- Short reading time
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This is a short but heartfelt manifesto about the difference between liking something on the internet and loving something on the internet. It's also an experiment in a new format: a "tap essay," presenting its argument tap by tap, using typography, color, and a few surprises to make its case. The essay takes about ten minutes to read, maybe less if you're fast. It's perfect for a coffee break or a train ride.
Hardcover.app
This app helps you organize and discover books. Track what you've read, create custom lists, and see what friends are reading. Set reading goals and share your thoughts on books.
- Track read and to-read books
- Organize with lists and tags
- See friends' reading activity
- Discover trending books
- Rate and review books
- Set reading goals
- Track reading statistics
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Hardcover is a book tracking app with a social side, built for readers, not algorithms. Add books you’ve read or want to read. Keep your library tidy with lists and tags. See what your friends are reading, explore trending picks, and discover hidden gems through curated lists. Rate, review, and share your thoughts. Make your profile public, private, or friends-only—your reading, your rules. Set goals, track your stats, and find your reading rhythm. We use Apple's standard Terms of Service (EULA). https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Fish at 99% against Hardcover.app's 52%. Fish also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Hardcover.app sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Fish asks for nothing beyond the download.
Fish holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 38 and 66 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 99% of Fish's written reviews are positive against 52% of Hardcover.app's.
Fish ships an update every 4 months, Hardcover.app every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Fish | Hardcover.app |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (38 ratings) — better | 4.2 (66 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 98.7% of reviews — better | 52.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 38 | 66 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 75 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Robin Sloan | Hardcover LLC |
Customer experience
Fish
Hardcover.app
Bugs and requests
Fish
Requested features
1 request- Option to include the original version
Hardcover.app
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Fish
No in-app purchases
Hardcover.app
- Supporter - Monthly$4.991 Month
- Supporter - Yearly$49.991 Year
