# Swift Paperless vs BookStax

Swift Paperless and BookStax both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 97% of Swift Paperless's written reviews are positive against 50% of BookStax's. Swift Paperless also leads on ratings volume (76 vs 1). BookStax's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Swift Paperless sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and BookStax sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Swift Paperless against 5.0 for BookStax. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Swift Paperless has 76 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 97% of Swift Paperless's written reviews are positive against 50% of BookStax's.

Swift Paperless ships an update monthly, BookStax every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Swift Paperless | BookStax |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (76 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/swift-paperless/id6448698521/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookstax/id6761068485/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **76** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | **97.0% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 30 MB | 16 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Paul Gessinger](https://appshunter.io/developer/867006427) | [Sven Uwe Hanold](https://appshunter.io/developer/1887623795) |

## 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


### BookStax

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookstax/id6761068485)

Access and manage your self-hosted BookStack knowledge base natively on iPhone. Edit pages with a Markdown editor, search your content, and access it offline. Prioritizes privacy with secure API token storage.

**Highlights:** BookStack hierarchy navigation, Full-text search with filters, Markdown editor with live preview, Offline read access, Secure API token connection, Light/Dark/System mode, Multi-language support

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Page | $2.99 | one-time |
| Themes & more Servers | $5.99 | one-time |
| Book | $5.99 | one-time |
| Encyclopaedia | $12.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Swift Paperless free?

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

### Is BookStax free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Swift Paperless or BookStax?

BookStax is rated higher. Swift Paperless averages 4.9 out of 5 from 76 ratings, while BookStax averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Swift Paperless or BookStax have ads?

Neither Swift Paperless nor BookStax shows ads.

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

Swift Paperless ships an update monthly, and BookStax every 9 days. Most recently, Swift Paperless was updated on October 30, 2026 and BookStax on October 31, 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.*