Comparison

BookNote vs Readwise Books

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

Head to head
About

BookNote

This app helps you organize your reading, track your progress, and capture your thoughts on books. Set reading goals, log sessions, and save insights to build a reading habit and visualize your literary journey.

Highlights
  • Organize books by status and category
  • Track reading sessions with timer and page counts
  • Capture and tag notes with highlights
  • Build reading habits with streaks and goals
  • Visualize reading progress and statistics
  • Import from Goodreads and StoryGraph (Pro)
Features
Read full description

Transform every finished book into a timeless collection of personal insights. Track your reading sessions and write down the ideas you want to apply in your life or save for the future. BookNote is the ultimate reading companion. ORGANIZE YOUR BOOKS - Add books by searching for a title, scanning ISBN or picking from our themed collections - Categorize books as currently read, finished, paused, or on wishlist (TBR) - Sort your books by newest, oldest, or last read TRACK YOUR READING - Set a daily goal for how much you would like to read, and a yearly goal for how many books you plan to finish. - Use the built-in timer to track every reading session with page counts and duration - View all your past sessions with detailed history of what you've read and when CAPTURE YOUR THOUGHTS - Easily scan favorites highlights from book pages - Write notes while reading or after finishing a session - Organize your notes using tags - Link notes to specific books and sessions - Easily search across all your notes BUILD A HABIT - Maintain daily reading streaks and watch your consistency grow - Earn ranks from Bronze to Diamond as you hit reading milestones - Revise a few of your notes every daily to solidify the learning - Get inspired with daily motivational quotes about reading VISUALIZE YOUR PROGRESS - See detailed statistics of your reading patterns - Track total books finished, pages read, and time spent - Monitor your progress toward yearly book goals BookNote is free to download and use. Upgrade to BookNote Pro to unlock the full experience: - Unlimited book storage (Free version limited to 10 books) - Advanced note formatting with bold, italic, underline and headings - Import your full collection from Goodreads and StoryGraph - Attach photos and drawings to your notes Important: BookNote is a book TRACKING and NOTE-TAKING app. You cannot read or download actual books inside this app. Terms of Use: https://booknote.app/#terms Privacy Policy: https://booknote.app/#privacy

About

Readwise Books

This app allows you to buy, read, and track all your books in one place. It automatically logs your reading sessions and provides detailed metrics to help you improve. Share your reading progress with friends in a low-pressure social feed.

Highlights
  • Unified book library
  • Automatic reading session logging
  • Detailed reading metrics
  • Print book tracking
  • Highlighting and note-taking
  • Optional social feed
  • EPUB audiobook playback
Currently charting
Read full description

Readwise Books is invite-only for now. You'll need an invite code from a friend to create an account. (If you're an existing Readwise subscriber, you already have early access.) A reading app unlike any other. Buy, read, and track all your books in one beautiful place. ONE PLACE FOR EVERY BOOK Read the ebooks you buy or upload. Track the rest, whether print, audio, or ebooks from elsewhere. Import your shelves from Goodreads and your Kindle library to start. THE STRAVA OF READING Every page flip is logged automatically, the way a pedometer counts steps. Pages roll up into reading sessions. Sessions roll up into weeks, months, and years. METRICS THAT MATTER Visualize rich reading data like words read, time read, pace, depth, immersion, and more. That which is measured is improved. EVERY BOOK COUNTS Reading on paper? Capture your starting and ending page, then save your session. Highlight print books with your camera. READING, ELEVATED Beautiful typography, light and dark modes, pagination or scroll, and best-in-class highlighting, notes, and tags. READING ALONE IS BETTER, TOGETHER Your sessions post to a light feed where friends can see that you're reading. No likes to chase, nothing to perform. More coffee shop than social network. And only if you want to. LISTEN, TOO Upload any DRM-free EPUB and listen with lifelike voices while the text follows along. READWISE ECOSYSTEM One account across Readwise Books, Reader, and Highlights. Every highlight syncs instantly.

Screenshots

BookNote4 screens
Readwise Books4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Readwise Books at none against BookNote's 3. Readwise Books also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks) and chart position (#93 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. BookNote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Readwise Books asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Readwise Books holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Readwise Books has 170 ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of BookNote's written reviews are positive against 98% of Readwise Books's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookNote ships an update every 2 weeks, Readwise Books every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
BookNote versus Readwise Books: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookNoteReadwise Books
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (23 ratings)5.0 (170 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better97.8% of reviews
Number of ratings23170 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
Best chart rank—#93 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB133 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperMaciej DaszkiewiczReadwise, Inc

Customer experience

BookNote

All ratings23 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Readwise Books

All ratings170 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews46 reviews
Positive97.8%
Neutral2.2%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

BookNote

Subscriptions2
  • BookNote Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • BookNote Pro Yearly$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • BookNote Pro – Lifetime Access$99.99
None

Readwise Books

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BookNote free?
BookNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Readwise Books free?
Readwise Books is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BookNote or Readwise Books?
Readwise Books is rated higher. BookNote averages 4.8 out of 5 from 23 ratings, while Readwise Books averages 5.0 from 170 ratings.
Do BookNote or Readwise Books have ads?
Neither BookNote nor Readwise Books shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BookNote or Readwise Books?
BookNote ships an update every 2 weeks, and Readwise Books every 4 days. Most recently, BookNote was updated on October 30, 2026 and Readwise Books on November 8, 2026.

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