Comparison

BookCircle vs Reading Journal

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Track reading progress
  • Log books and pages read
  • Auto-fill book details
  • Write short reviews
  • Monitor reading habits
  • Organize book library
Features
Read 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!

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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)
Features
Read full description

Reading Journal is a clean, focused reading tracker for people who want to remember more of what they read. Track your library, update reading status, rate finished books, save favorite quotes, and keep personal notes tied to each book. Set yearly or monthly reading goals, join reading challenges, and keep your progress organized without clutter. Use Reading Journal to: - Track books you want to read, are reading, or finished - Save quotes, reviews, summaries, and favorite moments - Set reading goals and follow your progress - Join reading challenges for extra motivation - Keep your library synced with iCloud - Export or import your data with JSON or CSV backups Reading Journal is built for readers who want a simple, elegant place for their books, thoughts, and progress. Subscribe to unlock all features. Manage anytime in Settings. Terms of Use - https://sifterapps.com/terms.html Privacy Policy - https://sifterapps.com/policy.html

Screenshots

BookCircle4 screens
Reading Journal4 screens

Verdict

The call

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 (33 vs 2). BookCircle's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Reading Journal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. BookCircle asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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 33 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookCircle ships an update weekly, Reading Journal fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
BookCircle versus Reading Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookCircleReading Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (2 ratings)4.8 (33 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings233 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGenau FactorySergii Nesterenko

Customer experience

BookCircle

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative16.7%

Reading Journal

All ratings33 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral3.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

BookCircle

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Reading Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Access$3.991 Month
  • Yearly Access$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$12.99

Questions

Is BookCircle free?
BookCircle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Reading Journal free?
Reading Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, BookCircle or Reading Journal?
Reading Journal is rated higher. BookCircle averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Reading Journal averages 4.8 from 33 ratings.
Do BookCircle or Reading Journal have ads?
Neither BookCircle nor Reading Journal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BookCircle or Reading Journal?
BookCircle ships an update weekly, and Reading Journal fortnightly. Most recently, BookCircle was updated on October 10, 2026 and Reading Journal on October 17, 2026.

Other comparisons