Comparison

Bookwise vs REF

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

Head to head
About

Bookwise

Quickly get the gist of fiction and nonfiction books with concise summaries. Decide if a book is worth reading, discover new titles, and explore curated shelves. Access public domain books and save your favorites.

Highlights
  • Concise book summaries
  • Fiction and nonfiction picks
  • Discover trending and new books
  • Browse by genre
  • Search by title or author
  • Save favorite books
  • Access public domain books
Features
Read full description

Bookwise gives you book summaries in a few minutes, for fiction and nonfiction, so you can get the gist of a book, see whether it is worth reading and find the next one. No account and no subscription. Each book has a brief built from the plot and idea sections of its Wikipedia article, shown as written with the sources listed. Which section counts as a summary and which books are similar are worked out automatically, so they can occasionally be off. • Today: a nonfiction pick and a fiction pick of the day, plus what is trending and new • Browse shelves such as self-help, psychology, fantasy and classics • Search by title or author • Book pages with a summary, covers, ratings and similar books • Free copies of older public domain books where available • Save favourites and see what you viewed recently • Optional daily reminder, light and dark themes, backup and restore Use it to decide what to read next, to refresh a book you read long ago, or to check a plot before you commit to a novel. Summaries are not a replacement for reading the book. Covers and ratings come from Open Library, free copies from Project Gutenberg.

About

REF

Access a vast and growing library of curated Christian audiobooks. Enjoy unlimited listening across all genres with a monthly membership, including offline playback and new titles added regularly. Get your first month free and cancel anytime.

Highlights
  • Curated Christian audiobooks
  • New titles added monthly
  • Unlimited listening access
  • Offline playback
  • All titles available to all members
  • Family plan option
Features
Read full description

Your ultimate library of thoughtful Christian audiobooks awaits! REF-UL is the only app that gives you access to a large, continually growing, and thoughtfully curated list of Christian audiobooks. - Enjoy selections from every genre - See new titles added every month - Listen to any book you can find, any time you want - Curators that will guide you in your search for theologically sound, thoughtful, and inspirational Christian audiobooks With your membership, you will gain unlimited access to our entire catalog of Christian audiobooks. Unlike many membership services, ALL of our titles will be available to all members for listening. - Get access to dozens of new titles each month - Stream books from our user-friendly mobile apps - Queue up an unlimited number of titles for listening - No time limit to finish each title - Listen anywhere, including offline (airports, planes, remote locations) A typical audiobook can cost from $15 to $25. For $9.99 per month ($19.99 per month for a Family Plan), you can stream multiple audiobooks each month. - Get your first month free - Cancel at any time - All titles available for listening all the time (no premium or exclusive tiers) - 6+ books per month* for less than the price of 1 (*based on an average of 5 hours per audiobook)

Screenshots

Bookwise4 screens
REF4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Bookwise at free against REF's subscription. REF's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Bookwise versus REF: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookwiseREF
PriceFreeFree
Rating—1.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDhiraj SharmaRefuel Media LLC

Customer experience

Bookwise

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

REF

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

Bookwise

No in-app purchases

None

REF

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bookwise free?
Bookwise is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is REF free?
REF is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Bookwise or REF have ads?
Neither Bookwise nor REF shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bookwise or REF?
Bookwise ships an update every 2 months, and REF every 2 months. Most recently, Bookwise was updated on October 30, 2026 and REF on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons