Comparison

Bookbear vs Papyrus

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

Head to head
About

Bookbear

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
Read full description

FEATURES [[ Seamless Book Tracking ]] We tried using the other top book tracker apps. Honestly? We couldn’t. Buttons were confusing, and some apps even crashed on us. So we made bookbear—designed to be the easiest and most beautiful book tracker you'll ever use. Seriously, no more guessing or frustration. Download now and see how effortless tracking can be! [[ Build and Admire Your Collection ]] Who doesn’t love gazing at a gorgeous bookshelf? We’ve recreated that feeling in bookbear—your personal library on your phone! Add the books you want to read, are reading, or have read, and watch your virtual collection grow. You’ll be admiring it in no time! [[ Scan and Discover Instantly ]] POV: You're at a book store and you found a book that caught your eye. Skip the typing! Just use bookbear to scan the barcode, and boom—get all the details you need in seconds. Two taps, and you’re in the know. [[ Discover the Hottest Books ]] Stay in the loop with the latest trending books. The New York Times Best Sellers? Just one tap away. Never miss out on the book everyone’s talking about! [[ Share What You’re Reading ]] Want to show off your current read? With bookbear, you can easily share what’s on your reading list with friends. It’s quick, it’s fun, and hey, who doesn’t love a good book recommendation? [[ Check Your Progress at a Glance ]] Reading multiple books at once? We get it. With bookbear, you can track your progress on all your books at a glance. Stay on top of every chapter, effortlessly.

About

Papyrus

Features
Read full description

Papyrus turns everything you've read into a warm, real bookshelf — right on your iPhone home screen. A cozy private library you actually want to look at. BRING YOUR LIBRARY HOME Every book you've read, standing on a beautiful shelf you can glance at without opening anything. As you finish books, the newest ones slide to the front — so your home screen quietly tells the story of what you've been reading, all year long. Still fully customizable, move the books around how you want, make changes to the shelf and background. THE WIDGET One of our premium paid features is to add the Papyrus widget in small, medium, or large. Your shelf lives on your home screen, gorgeous and glanceable. If you aren't interested in seeing the books then you can see your reading statistics - how many books and pages you've read this year. IMPORT IN SECONDS Bring your reading history over from Goodreads, StoryGraph, or any CSV in a single tap. Your past library fills your shelf instantly. No problem if you don't have any accounts - you can add books individually from our massive library. THREE WAYS TO SEE YOUR SHELF - Spine view with procedurally illustrated, cover-matched spines - Cover view to show off your front covers - A 3/4 perspective "crate" mode that feels like a real shelf Press and scrub to browse, and drag to reorder your books exactly how you like them. STATS THAT FEEL LIKE A FOLIO, NOT A DASHBOARD See how you rate, your fiction vs. nonfiction split, the decades you read across, and your favorite authors and genres — all rendered in big serif numerals with room to breathe. Look back on your year with Reading Wrapped. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS Export your whole library any time — as a spreadsheet (CSV/XLSX) or a self-contained offline webpage. Free or Pro, your library is always yours to take with you. FREE TO START Try everything with up to 10 books in your collection — a real, full-fidelity trial, not a locked demo. Your wishlist is always unlimited and free. Upgrade to Pro to remove the collection cap and unlock your full library. Upgrade to Pro to unlock the full experience: - Unlimited collection — shelve every book you've ever read, no cap - Your complete library on every widget size and display mode - Full reading stats and Reading Wrapped across your entire history - Export your whole library any time — CSV, XLSX, or a self-contained offline webpage - No ads, no tracking, and your data is never sold — free or Pro Built by one person who wanted their bookshelf on their home screen. No ads. Your data is not sold. Just a beautiful place to keep the books you love. Bring your library home. Terms of Use (EULA): https://papyrus-b03fd.web.app/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://papyrus-b03fd.web.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

Bookbear4 screens
Papyrus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bookbear at none against Papyrus's 3. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Papyrus sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Bookbear asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Bookbear versus Papyrus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookbearPapyrus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (21 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews94.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings21 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB20 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperWOO MIN PARKTyler Nam

Bugs and requests

Bookbear

Reported bugs

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

Requested features

20 requests
  • 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
Show 15 more
  • Add dark mode
  • Option to customize calendar view (show ongoing books, book cover size)
  • Add a reading timer
  • Ability to record quotes or important sentences
  • Allow multiple user profiles for family accounts
  • Option to sort bookshelf by completion date
  • Ability to hide star ratings
  • Option to display only book titles in bookshelf
  • Add a feature to mark 'favorite' or 'life books'
  • Allow capturing the entire bookshelf as an image
  • Add ability to record re-reads
  • Improve book search speed
  • Add option to select book start/read dates in calendar
  • Allow adding photos to book entries
  • Add option to export reading data

Papyrus

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Bookbear

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Papyrus

Subscriptions2
  • Papyrus_monthly$1.991 Month
  • papyrus yearly$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • papyrus lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Bookbear free?
Bookbear is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Papyrus free?
Papyrus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Bookbear or Papyrus have ads?
Neither Bookbear nor Papyrus shows ads.

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