Comparison

BorrowBox vs Minimalistic Reading List

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

Head to head
About

BorrowBox

Access a vast digital library of eAudiobooks, eBooks, eMagazines, and eNewspapers from your local library. Browse, borrow, and enjoy content on any device with seamless syncing and personalized features.

Highlights
  • Borrow eAudiobooks, eBooks, eMagazines, eNewspapers
  • All library formats in one app
  • Read and listen directly in the app
  • Curated collections and themes
  • Multi-language browsing
  • Automatic new issue downloads
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Adjustable playback speed and sleep timer
Features
Read full description

Discover the Ultimate Library Experience – Borrow eAudiobooks, eBooks, eMagazines, and eNewspapers – All in One Place. With BorrowBox, browsing, borrowing, reading, or listening has never been simpler. Take your library with you, wherever you go, whenever you want. If your local library offers BorrowBox, simply sign in with your membership details to unlock a world of digital reading and listening. ALL YOUR LIBRARY FAVOURITES, ONE APP Explore eAudiobooks, eBooks, eMagazines, and eNewspapers – all the formats your library offers, all in one place. EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE Read or listen to your borrowed titles directly in the app. No extra downloads, no extra steps. MADE FOR YOU Enjoy curated collections and themes that make discovering your next read and listen a breeze. BROWSE IN ANY LANGUAGE Our Language Browsing feature makes it simple to find content in multiple languages, tailored for different audiences. NEVER MISS A RELEASE Subscribe to your favourite eMagazines or eNewspapers, and they’ll be borrowed and downloaded automatically as new issues arrive. STAY IN SYNC Your reading and listening progress seamlessly follows you across all your devices. TAILORED TO YOU Set a sleep timer for your eAudiobooks, add your favourites to your reading lists, and adjust playback speed to suit your listening style.

About

Minimalistic Reading List

Organize your reading with this minimalist app. Scan barcodes, search by author or genre, and categorize books into 'Reading,' 'To Read,' and 'Finished.' Discover popular titles and get reading tips.

Highlights
  • Scan book barcodes
  • Search by title, author, genre
  • Categorize into Reading, To Read, Finished
  • Create personalized genre groups
  • Explore popular books and reading tips
  • Purchase books via integrated links
Features
Read full description

Explore, save and organize all of your favorite books with Minimalistic Reading List. With the world's most comprehensive book repository you’ll always find the book you are looking for. The app is designed from a minimalistic perspective which makes the app extremely simple to use and gives you incredible user experience. To add books to your reading list you simply: - Scan the barcode of the physical book to get directly to the book page and then you simply add it. - You can search for a specific book, author, genre and even author and then browse until you find the book you are looking for. - By adding books manually your Minimalistic Reading List can contain every book in the world. Your reading list will be divided into three categories - Reading, To Read & Finished If you are like me and love different genres, you can create personalized groups based on genres or in any other way you want. It’s extremely simple to create groups you simply: - Set the name you wish the group has. - Add all the books you want and then save the group, that’s it. In the explore section of the app you’ll get an understanding of what the other users are reading, reading tips through the book of the week, you can browse by category. The Popular section shows the top books that the community is reading right at this moment. I created Minimalistic Reading List because I still believe that it’s important to read and I wanted to make it easier and more fun by bringing like-minded people together. For us who read a lot, it will eventually become a bit expensive to purchase every book so I have included some links to the magnificent invention - The Kindle. Through the partnership with The Book Depository you can purchase books from your reading list at a very competitive price. They also offer all of us free and fast worldwide shipping! To purchase a book you simply press the “Purchase Book” button and you’ll be redirected to the correct book page on bookdepository.com. I’ll keep updating the app to make it even better and here are some features that will be available soon: - Filtering book searches by language - Progressbar on for the books you’re reading Terms & Conditions - https://bit.ly/2N5Aat6 Privicy Policy - https://bit.ly/2oVXLo7

Screenshots

BorrowBox4 screens
Minimalistic Reading List4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BorrowBox at 4.7 against Minimalistic Reading List's 1.5. BorrowBox also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (865 vs 2). Minimalistic Reading List's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Minimalistic Reading List sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. BorrowBox asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BorrowBox holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BorrowBox has 865 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BorrowBox ships an update every 6 days, Minimalistic Reading List every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
BorrowBox versus Minimalistic Reading List: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBorrowBoxMinimalistic Reading List
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (865 ratings) — better1.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings865 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank#91 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size165 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBolinda digitalCarl Henningsson

Customer experience

BorrowBox

All ratings865 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral3.1%
Negative4.6%

Minimalistic Reading List

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

BorrowBox

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes after recent update
  • Loses reading progress when switching devices
  • Night mode issues with invisible text
  • Audiobook controls not working with Bluetooth
  • Inconsistent behavior when using sleep timer

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add a wishlist or reading list feature
  • Improve search and filtering capabilities
  • Implement bookmark/progress tracking for audiobooks
  • Integrate with Apple CarPlay for safer driving
  • Add user reviews and ratings for books

Minimalistic Reading List

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

BorrowBox

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Minimalistic Reading List

Subscriptions1
  • Full Access Subscription7 Days trial$0.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$12.99

Questions

Is BorrowBox free?
BorrowBox is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Minimalistic Reading List free?
Minimalistic Reading List is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, BorrowBox or Minimalistic Reading List?
BorrowBox is rated higher. BorrowBox averages 4.7 out of 5 from 865 ratings, while Minimalistic Reading List averages 1.5 from 2 ratings.
Do BorrowBox or Minimalistic Reading List have ads?
Neither BorrowBox nor Minimalistic Reading List shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BorrowBox or Minimalistic Reading List?
BorrowBox ships an update every 6 days, and Minimalistic Reading List every 10 days. Most recently, BorrowBox was updated on October 20, 2026 and Minimalistic Reading List on October 12, 2026.

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