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 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

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 (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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Reading Journal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookCircle ships an update weekly, Reading Journal every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
BookCircle versus Reading Journal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookCircleReading Journal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (2 ratings)4.8 (35 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings235 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB7 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 ratings35 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral2.9%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

BookCircle

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Reading Journal

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 35 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 every 3 weeks. Most recently, BookCircle was updated on November 4, 2026 and Reading Journal on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons