Foyles vs Spines
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Foyles
Discover new and notable books, track your reading wishlists, and earn rewards with a loyalty program. Browse international and inspirational literature, check stock, and reserve items for collection.
- Browse new and notable books
- Discover international literature
- Manage reading wishlists
- Earn rewards with Foyalty program
- Check stock and Click & Collect
Read full descriptionHide full description
Welcome book lover, you are among friends. The Foyles app brings over 120 years of distinctive bookselling to you, wherever you are. ~ Browse for the best books: everything new, notable, and impossible to ignore. ~ Discover the best international, inspirational, and insightful literature. ~ Track everything you want to read in one place: build, manage and share wish lists. ~ Earn free stuff with Foyalty! Spend ยฃ10 and receive a stamp, collect ten stamps to earn ยฃ10. ~ Check our stock and then Click & Collect to reserve it in your local shop.
Spines
Effortlessly scan entire bookshelves to identify valuable books based on your personal preferences. This tool helps you discover hidden gems in second-hand shops and track books you want, love, or have acquired. It integrates with Goodreads and StoryGraph for tailored recommendations.
- Scan entire bookshelves at once
- Discover hidden gems in second-hand shops
- Spot books matching your reading taste
- Track books you want, love, or have grabbed
- Import from Goodreads or StoryGraph
- Personalized recommendations
Read full descriptionHide full description
Your next great read is hiding on a $2 shelf somewhere. Spines helps you find it. Point your camera at a shelf in a thrift store, used bookstore, garage sale, or library sale. Spines identifies the books in seconds and highlights the ones worth grabbing โ including award winners, bestsellers, highly rated books, and titles matched to your personal taste. No more standing in the aisle Googling every title. No more leaving a Pulitzer winner behind because you didn't recognize the author. Spines turns a chaotic bookshelf into a personalized shortlist. HOW IT WORKS 1. Scan โ Point your camera at a bookshelf and snap a photo 2. Identify โ AI reads the spines and identifies the books automatically 3. Discover โ See awards, ratings, and personalized recommendations WHAT SPINES SPOTS โข Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists โข National Book Award winners โข Booker Prize winners and finalists โข Women's Prize for Fiction winners โข New York Times Bestsellers โข Highly rated reader favorites โข Books matched to the genres, authors, and publishers you love BUILT FOR BOOK HUNTING โข AI Bookshelf Scanner โ Identify dozens of books from a single shelf photo โข For You โ Personalized picks based on your reading taste โข Goodreads & StoryGraph Import โ Bring your reading history into Spines โข Hunt List โ Save books you want to find, love, or have already grabbed โข Scan History โ Revisit shelves you've scanned โข Spot Books Nearby โ See where interesting books have been spotted โข Book Details โ Ratings, descriptions, awards, and more PERFECT FOR โข Thrift stores and garage sales โข Used and antiquarian bookstores โข Library book sales โข Little Free Libraries and community book exchanges โข Browsing a friend's bookshelf โข Building your reading list from books you find in the real world FREE TO USE Scan up to 3 shelves per month for free. Upgrade to Premium for unlimited scans, full scan history, award and bestseller signals, Hunt List, Goodreads import, and smarter personalized recommendations โ with a 14-day free trial. Your next favorite book is already on a shelf somewhere. Spines helps you find it first. --- Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://spinesapp.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Foyles at 100% against Spines's 43%. Foyles also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). Spines's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Spines sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Foyles asks for nothing beyond the download.
Foyles ships an update every 3 weeks, Spines weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Foyles | Spines |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews โ better | 42.9% of reviews |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Weekly โ better |
| Ads | No โ better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No โ better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free โ better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 76 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Waterstones Booksellers Ltd | True Story Limited |
Customer experience
Foyles
Spines
In-app purchases
Foyles
No in-app purchases
Spines
- Spines Premium$6.991 Month
- Spines Premium7 Days trial$49.991 Year









