BookCircle vs Reading Journal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BookCircle
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.
- Track reading progress
- Log books and pages read
- Auto-fill book details
- Write short reviews
- Monitor reading habits
- Organize book library
Read full descriptionHide full description
Engage with Your Books Like Never Before! BookCircle is your personal reading companion, designed to help you track your reading progress, organize book details, and capture your thoughts effortlessly. Whether you’re reading for learning or leisure, BookCircle makes sure every book becomes an insightful journey. Key Features: Track Your Progress – Log your books and the pages you read daily. Auto-Fill Book Details – Enter a title, and the table of contents fills in automatically. Write Short Reviews – Summarize your thoughts and build an active reading habit. Monitor Your Reading Habits – See how many books you finish each month. Organize Your Library – Easily manage your reading list in one place. Start your journey towards a more engaged and mindful reading experience today!
Reading Journal
This app helps you remember what you read by tracking your library, reading status, and favorite quotes. Set reading goals, join challenges, and keep your progress organized with personal notes and summaries.
- Track books (want to read, reading, finished)
- Save quotes, reviews, and summaries
- Set reading goals and track progress
- Join reading challenges
- Sync library with iCloud
- Export/import data (JSON/CSV)
Read full descriptionHide full description
Reading Journal is a warm, quiet home for the books you read and everything they leave behind. Just say what page you're on. Reading Journal keeps the rest: pages read today, your week at a glance, how many sessions are left in the book, and a streak worth keeping. YOUR LIBRARY • Shelves for Reading, To Read, Finished and Did Not Finish • Add books by title, author or ISBN, or scan the barcode on the back • Real covers, and handsome cloth covers for books without one • Series kept in reading order A DIARY FOR EVERY BOOK • Every session with its pages and minutes • The lines you loved, with chapter and page • Stars, a one-line review, a summary and your favorite moment • Notebook pages on lined, dotted, grid or blank paper GOALS AND CHALLENGES • A yearly goal that fills a shelf with your covers • Monthly goals, a page target and a mood board • A–Z, Reading Bingo, 52 Books in 52 Weeks, genres, romance tropes and more • Finish a book and it lands in the right challenge slot Your library syncs through iCloud across iPhone and iPad, looks lovely in light and dark, and backs up to a JSON file or exports your books as CSV whenever you like.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Reading Journal at 100% against BookCircle's 50%. Reading Journal also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (35 vs 2). BookCircle's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, monetization model and device support 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. Reading Journal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. BookCircle asks for nothing beyond the download.
Reading Journal holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Reading Journal has 35 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of BookCircle's written reviews are positive against 100% of Reading Journal's.
BookCircle ships an update weekly, Reading Journal every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BookCircle | Reading Journal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) | 4.8 (35 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 35 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Genau Factory | Sergii Nesterenko |
Customer experience
BookCircle
Reading Journal
In-app purchases
BookCircle
No in-app purchases
Reading Journal
- Lifetime Access$12.99









