Comparison

Clay Read vs Parch

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

Head to head
About

Clay Read

Features
Read full description

For many, a reading library is split between physical bookshelves and digital devices. This keeps your books, notes, and progress fragmented and hard to manage. Clay Read bridges this gap. It's a single, organized app for your entire library, designed to help you track what you read and remember what you learn, no matter the format. Key Features: Unify Your Entire Library Quickly add your physical books by scanning their covers. For your ebooks, simply import them to see your full collection in one organized place. Capture Highlights, No Typing Required Use your camera to scan a page from a physical book. Clay Read's reliable OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology accurately converts your highlights and notes into editable text. You can also connect your accounts to sync highlights from your ebooks automatically. Track Your Reading Progress Manage your library with custom shelves like 'Currently Reading,' 'To-Read,' and 'Finished.' Track your progress by page number for physical books or by percentage for ebooks, so you always know where you left off. Create and Share Quote Cards Turn your favorite saved passages into clean, elegant cards. Customize the design and share your reading insights with friends, colleagues, or on social media. Save Snapshots of Pages For content that isn't just text—like illustrations, charts, or maps—you can save a high-quality photo of the page directly within the app, linked to the correct book. Syncs Reliably Across Your Devices Who It's For: Avid Readers: Who want a single place to catalog their entire collection and easily revisit favorite passages. Students & Researchers: Who need to efficiently consolidate notes and citations from both physical textbooks and digital files. Book Club Members: Who want an easy way to share and discuss specific quotes from what they're reading. Clay Read doesn't try to replace your books—it works with them. It's the organized, digital companion your library deserves. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://clayread.com/privacy

About

Parch

This app helps you track your reading habits, set personal goals, and journal your thoughts on books and audiobooks. It offers a calm, ad-free space to log sessions, save favorite quotes, and visualize your reading history on a calendar. You can also import your Goodreads library and share beautiful reading cards.

Highlights
  • Track books and audiobooks
  • Log reading sessions and streaks
  • Set personalized reading goals
  • Save quotes and highlights
  • View reading history on a calendar
  • Import Goodreads library
  • Share reading cards
Features
Read full description

Parch is a calm reading log and book journal for books and audiobooks. Track what you read, set reading goals, keep your streak, and save the lines you love. Free, with no ads and no feed. Your reading sanctuary, without the noise. TRACK EVERY BOOK YOU READ Add books and audiobooks to your library, mark what you're reading, finished or didn't finish, and build a reading history you'll love looking back on. Unlimited books, always. LOG EVERY SESSION Log pages or minutes in a few taps and add a note while it's fresh. Every session builds your streak and moves your goals forward. SET READING GOALS THAT FIT YOUR LIFE Build a reading challenge around how you actually read: • Books: "Read 24 books this year" • Time: "Read 30 minutes a day" • Audiobooks: "Finish 12 audiobooks this year" • Streaks: keep your reading or listening streak alive Goals can be daily, weekly or yearly. Track your progress privately, without a public leaderboard. SAVE THE LINES YOU LOVE Keep quotes, highlights and notes with the book and page they came from. Snap a photo of a page to capture a quote, or record a quick voice note while you read. YOUR READING ON A CALENDAR See every book and session on a calendar. Spot your busy months, your quiet seasons and the time of day you read best. BRING YOUR GOODREADS LIBRARY Switching trackers shouldn't mean starting over. Import your Goodreads library and keep your shelves, ratings and reading history in a calmer home. CELEBRATE EVERY MILESTONE Finished a book? Hit a goal? Kept a 30-day streak? Parch marks the moment, so your progress feels earned. SHARE BEAUTIFUL READING CARDS Turn your reading into cards worth posting: • Quotes and highlights • Reading stats, progress and streaks • Reviews and recommendations • Monthly recaps and your year in books Share to Instagram, stories or group chats, or keep them for yourself. FREE AND PREMIUM Free: tracking, your library, goals, streaks, stats, the calendar, Goodreads import and sharing. Parch Premium adds Reading Guide (plan a finish date, adjust your pace and get reading reminders), unlimited page scans and unlimited voice notes. Free includes 10 scans a month. BUILT FOR READERS, NOT ALGORITHMS No ads, no endless feed, no pressure to perform. Just a private space to read more, track honestly and share in a way that feels like you. Add your first book and watch your reading life take shape. Privacy Policy: https://www.readparch.com/privacy Terms of Service: https://www.readparch.com/terms

Screenshots

Clay Read4 screens
Parch4 screens

Verdict

The call

Clay Read and Parch are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Clay Read sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Parch sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Clay Read ships an update every 2 weeks, Parch every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Clay Read versus Parch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClay ReadParch
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.2
Further details — not scored
Size158 MB113 MB
Age rating4+12+
Developer熙杰 尹Justin Miano

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Clay Read

Subscriptions2
  • Pro monthly$9.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$99.991 Year
2 purchases

Parch

Subscriptions2
  • Parch Premium — Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Parch Premium — Annual$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Clay Read free?
Clay Read is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Parch free?
Parch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Clay Read or Parch have ads?
Neither Clay Read nor Parch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Clay Read or Parch?
Clay Read ships an update every 2 weeks, and Parch every 6 days. Most recently, Clay Read was updated on October 24, 2026 and Parch on October 31, 2026.

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