BKLYN Library vs Hearth.fish
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BKLYN Library
Access and manage your library account from your mobile device. Browse physical and digital collections, manage checkouts and holds, and utilize mobile checkout features. The app also supports managing multiple library cards.
- Browse physical and digital collections
- Manage checkouts and holds
- Mobile checkout
- Manage multiple library cards
- Create booklists
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-Browse the library's physical and digital collection -Manage your checkouts, holds, and booklists. -Mobile checkout -Manage multiple library cards
Hearth.fish
Discover books and connect with readers in your area. Browse virtual shelves, share your library, and find your next favorite read through real people. It also functions as a robust book tracker with ratings, reviews, and reading statistics.
- Explore nearby readers on a map
- Browse friends' book shelves
- Message friends and compare libraries
- Track reading with ratings and reviews
- Import library from Goodreads
- Find books through people
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Hearth puts readers on a map. See who's reading what near you, explore their shelves, and find your next book through people — not algorithms. It's also a seriously good book tracker. A clean, fast library with ratings, reviews, and reading stats. - Explore nearby readers on a map and browse their shelves - Message friends and compare libraries - Beautiful library with ratings, reviews, and stats - Import your existing library from Goodreads - Find your next read through real people
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Hearth.fish at 5.0 against BKLYN Library's 4.2. Hearth.fish also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 61%) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months). BKLYN Library's advantage is ratings volume (104 vs 4) and chart position (#207 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
Hearth.fish holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BKLYN Library has 104 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of BKLYN Library's written reviews are positive against 100% of Hearth.fish's.
BKLYN Library ships an update every 5 months, Hearth.fish fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BKLYN Library | Hearth.fish |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (104 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 104 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #207 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Brooklyn Public Library | Samuel Ellis |
Customer experience
BKLYN Library
Hearth.fish
Bugs and requests
BKLYN Library
Reported bugs
13 issues- App broken, page blank, books overdue
- App stops working after a while, needs re-download
- Mobile checkout involves buffering
- Constantly signing out, need to re-enter details
- Added accounts disappear after re-login
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- App doesn't load, says not connected to internet
- App stuck on blank screen, no sign-in option
- Books disappear under Checkouts and Holds
- App is super slow and glitchy
- App doesn't load, gets stuck, can't change accounts
- App stops working after a few days, kicks user off
- Cannot get app to work on library WiFi
- Age restricted to 17+
Requested features
4 requests- Bring back location finder with hours
- Keep users logged in
- Improve branch hours/closures display
- Allow offline access to library card
Hearth.fish
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
BKLYN Library
No in-app purchases
Hearth.fish
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is BKLYN Library free?
Is Hearth.fish free?
Which has better reviews, BKLYN Library or Hearth.fish?
Do BKLYN Library or Hearth.fish have ads?
Which is updated more often, BKLYN Library or Hearth.fish?
Other comparisons
