# Swift Paperless vs GardenLib

The clearest difference is update cadence: GardenLib at every 8 days against Swift Paperless's monthly. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Swift Paperless sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and GardenLib sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Swift Paperless ships an update monthly, GardenLib every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Swift Paperless | GardenLib |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (75 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swift-paperless/id6448698521/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **75** | — |
| Positive reviews | 97.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 30 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Paul Gessinger](https://appshunter.io/developer/867006427) | [Carlos Flynn](https://appshunter.io/developer/1802468224) |

## What reviewers say

### Swift Paperless

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swift-paperless/id6448698521)

This app allows users to manage documents directly from their iOS device. It seamlessly integrates with a self-hosted document management system, ensuring data privacy and control. Easily find, categorize, and add new documents on the go.

**Highlights:** Native iOS integration, Paperless-ngx compatibility, Document finding, Document categorization, Add documents from phone

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Coffee money | $3.99 | one-time |
| Proper thank-you | $8.99 | one-time |
| Above and beyond | $17.99 | one-time |
| Legendary generosity | $44.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast and efficient performance
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- ✨ Modern and clean design
- ✅ Seamless integration with Paperless-ngx
- 📱 Excellent mobile scanning feature

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Metadata box not resizable on iPhone 13 Mini
- 🐛 Document upload screen sometimes exits unexpectedly
- 🐛 Extra step to access iOS share sheet
- 🐛 Can't scroll multi-page PDFs on iPad
- 🐛 Document scan function buried in menus

**Reported bugs**

- Metadata box not resizable on iPhone 13 Mini
- Document upload screen sometimes exits unexpectedly
- Extra step to access iOS share sheet
- Cannot scroll multi-page PDFs on iPad
- Server removal from list upon logout

**Requested features**

- Ability to quickly open next document in current view (like 'save & next')
- Option to hide preview side bar for full-screen document view
- Smarter server management in multi-instance setup
- Ability to search within a document
- Support for Title view only without thumbnails


### GardenLib

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gardenlib/id6758450958)

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GardenLib Pro | $3.99 | per month |
| GardenLib Pro | $34.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Swift Paperless free?

Swift Paperless is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is GardenLib free?

GardenLib is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Swift Paperless or GardenLib have ads?

Neither Swift Paperless nor GardenLib shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Swift Paperless or GardenLib?

Swift Paperless ships an update monthly, and GardenLib every 8 days. Most recently, Swift Paperless was updated on October 25, 2026 and GardenLib on October 11, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*