Comparison

Character Memo vs Book Memo

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

Head to head
About

Character Memo

Features
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This app allows you to easily register characters, their notes, and the pages on which they appear when reading a novel. [ Features ] - In addition to characters, you can also categorize and register various terms. - Text recognition allows you to copy and paste text from images in your camera and photo library. - The registered data can be output to a CSV file. [ Privacy ] - The registered data is stored securely on your device and cannot be accessed from outside. - Passcode lock function available. Your passcode information is securely stored in Keychain, provided by Apple. Please use it as a companion while reading. You can also use it for movies, dramas, comics, etc.

About

Book Memo

Features
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Book Memo is a Japanese-language app. Every screen is in Japanese, and automatic cover lookup is designed for books published in Japan. Keep the books you have read on a wooden shelf, cover out, together with what you thought while reading them. - Type a title and the cover, author and publisher are filled in for you - Four views: shelf, spines, list and cards - Three kinds of notes (thoughts, summaries and quotes), each with a page number - Full-text search across every note, title, author and publisher - To-read, reading and finished, with 5-star ratings - When you finish a book, see other books by the same author on Rakuten Books (ad links) - Reading stats: books finished this year and the authors you read most - Export to Markdown (one file per book, handy for Obsidian) or CSV (for Notion), and restore from a backup file - No account and no email address needed. Your notes stay on your device Please note - Covers and book data come from Rakuten Books (Supported by Rakuten Developers). Lookup may be temporarily unavailable when busy, and books published outside Japan are often not found. You can always set a cover from your own photo, and your books and notes are never lost

Screenshots

Character Memo4 screens
Book Memo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Book Memo at none against Character Memo's shown. Book Memo also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.2). Character Memo's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Character Memo ships an update every 4 days, Book Memo every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
Character Memo versus Book Memo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCharacter MemoBook Memo
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 days β€” betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo β€” better
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.216.4 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size10 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTakatoshi SuzukiYuki Tagami

In-app purchases

None

Character Memo

No in-app purchases

None

Book Memo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Character Memo free?
Character Memo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Book Memo free?
Book Memo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Character Memo or Book Memo have ads?
Character Memo shows ads; Book Memo does not.
Which is updated more often, Character Memo or Book Memo?
Character Memo ships an update every 4 days, and Book Memo every 2 weeks. Most recently, Character Memo was updated on October 25, 2026 and Book Memo on October 29, 2026.

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