Bookshop.org vs Bindery Books
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bookshop.org
Read your ebooks and discover new titles while supporting independent bookstores. All ebook purchases made through this platform directly benefit local bookshops, ensuring their continued success in the digital age.
- Read ebooks from your library
- Browse millions of ebooks
- Add titles to wishlist
- Support local bookstores with purchases
- Connect seamlessly with Bookshop
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Bookshop.org’s mission is simple: We help local, independent bookstores thrive by giving more than 80% of our profits back to our network of 3,000+ stores. In our app, you can read millions of ebooks - and every purchase supports an independent bookstore near you! In the Bookshop app you can: - Read your ebooks in our customizable ebook reader. - Browse millions of titles and discover your next favorite read in romance, thrillers, mystery, fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and more. - Organize your TBR into custom shelves. - Highlight in five different colors, and add notes to your highlighted passages. - Sort & filter highlights and notes by date created, book order, and more. - Save titles to your wishlist so you can read them later. - Shop knowing that over 80% of the profit goes directly to local, independent bookstores. We’re a Certified B Corp, and we’ve raised more than $50 million for independent bookstores nationwide since 2020. Download the Bookshop.org app to support bookstores, not billionaires.
Bindery Books
Discover new books and connect with fellow readers through curated content and community features. Explore recommendations from trusted tastemakers and participate in the creation of new literary voices.
- Bookish content and commentary
- Personalized reading recommendations
- Thematic book collections
- Join book communities and clubs
- Participate in new author publishing
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Bookish content, reading recommendations, book clubs, and the publishing of entirely new voices from tastemakers you trust. • Access bookish content: Get in depth commentary about books you love and notifications on the latest content from your favorite tastemakers • Discover your next read: Receive recommendations from leading tastemakers or browse their favorites in dynamic bookshelves and thematic collections • Build community: Discover people who share your taste by joining book communities, members-only Discords, and book clubs • A look inside publishing: Participate in the publication of brand new voices through tastemaker-led publishing imprints
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bindery Books at 100% against Bookshop.org's 57%. Bindery Books also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Bookshop.org's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (2.3K vs 34). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Bindery Books holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookshop.org has 2.3K ratings behind it against 34, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Bookshop.org's written reviews are positive against 100% of Bindery Books's.
Bookshop.org ships an update every 5 days, Bindery Books every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bookshop.org | Bindery Books |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.3K ratings) | 5.0 (34 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 56.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.3K — better | 34 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #181 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 111 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Bookshop, Inc. | Bindery Books, Inc. |
Customer experience
Bookshop.org
Bindery Books
Bugs and requests
Bookshop.org
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to remember last page read
- Scrolling issues and unexpected page skipping
- Formatting problems (stripped italics, weird paragraph spacing)
- Settings not persisting between app sessions
Requested features
7 requests- More font and theme options
- Ability to adjust line spacing, margins, and other formatting
- Implement highlighting, annotation, and note-taking features
- Add search functionality
- Improve page turning and navigation
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- Provide better dark mode/night reading experience
- Sync reading progress across devices
Bindery Books
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Bookshop.org
No in-app purchases
Bindery Books
No in-app purchases
