# Bookbear vs BookCircle

Bookbear and BookCircle both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 95% of Bookbear's written reviews are positive against 50% of BookCircle's. Bookbear also leads on ratings volume (21 vs 2). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Bookbear against 4.5 for BookCircle. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookbear has 21 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Bookbear's written reviews are positive against 50% of BookCircle's.

Bookbear ships an update every 9 days, BookCircle weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bookbear | BookCircle |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (21 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookbear-book-tracker/id6708232404/reviews) | [4.5 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookcircle-reading-notes/id6741431798/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **21** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | **94.8% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 35 MB | 22 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.6** |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [WOO MIN PARK](https://appshunter.io/developer/1021439964) | [Genau Factory](https://appshunter.io/developer/1512838460) |

## What reviewers say

### Bookbear

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookbear-book-tracker/id6708232404)

Easily track your reading progress, build a virtual library of your collection, and discover trending books. Scan barcodes to add books instantly and share your reading list with friends.

**Highlights:** Seamless book tracking, Build and admire your collection, Scan and discover instantly, Discover trending books, Share reading lists, Track progress at a glance

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Clean and simple UI
- 👍 Intuitive design
- 👍 Minimalistic interface
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Essential features only

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Missing book database
- 🐛 Inaccurate book information
- 🐛 No option to update release dates
- 🐛 Limited statistics
- 🐛 Calendar view shows only completed books

**Reported bugs**

- Book search not working (Lazykit.XOR error)
- Unable to delete incorrectly added books
- Calendar date selection jumps unexpectedly

**Requested features**

- Add ability to manually add books
- Implement account/login for data backup
- Add a memo/note-taking feature for books
- Include statistics (annual/monthly reading count, genre/author rankings)
- Allow editing of release dates


### BookCircle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookcircle-reading-notes/id6741431798)

This app helps you track reading progress, organize book details, and capture thoughts. It encourages building an active reading habit by monitoring finished books and summarizing insights.

**Highlights:** Track reading progress, Log books and pages read, Auto-fill book details, Write short reviews, Monitor reading habits, Organize book library

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bookbear free?

Bookbear is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is BookCircle free?

BookCircle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Bookbear or BookCircle?

Bookbear and BookCircle are both rated 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 21 and 2 ratings respectively.

### Do Bookbear or BookCircle have ads?

Neither Bookbear nor BookCircle shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bookbear or BookCircle?

Bookbear ships an update every 9 days, and BookCircle weekly. Most recently, Bookbear was updated on October 14, 2026 and BookCircle on October 1, 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.*