Comparison

Clay Read vs xLibrary

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β€” 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 textβ€”like illustrations, charts, or mapsβ€”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 booksβ€”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

xLibrary

Features
Read full description

xLibrary is your personal home library manager, built for readers who want everything about their collection in one place. Whether you have 50 books or 5,000, xLibrary helps you catalogue, track, and rediscover your physical collection, and now comes with a private ebook library built right in. SCAN AND SEARCH Scan any book barcode to add it instantly, or search by title and author. Rich metadata loads automatically: cover, synopsis, publisher, genres, page count and more. TRACK YOUR READING Tag books as Currently Reading, Next to Read, Must Re-Read, Read, or Wishlist. Log your current page and watch your progress bar fill up. Rate every book out of 5 stars and write personal notes. YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY Browse in list view or switch to a 2 or 3-column grid. Filter by reading status, genre, or star rating. Search instantly across your entire collection. READING STATS See your library at a glance: total books, pages read, favourite genres, top authors, and a chart of your books by publication year. WISHLIST AND STORE AVAILABILITY Connect your favourite bookstore, and your wishlist checks live availability as you browse, so you always know which books you can pick up today. SHARE YOUR WISHLIST Tap one button to generate a shareable link to your wishlist. Anyone can open it in any browser, no app required. Perfect for sending to friends or family before your birthday. NYT BEST SELLERS Browse the New York Times Best Sellers lists and add books directly to your library or wishlist with a single tap. EBOOK MODE Tap and hold the xLibrary logo to switch into your own private, on-device ebook library, kept completely separate from your physical collection. Import your own EPUBs and PDFs, browse and download thousands of free classics from Project Gutenberg, or connect your Calibre-Web server to bring in your existing ebook collection. Read with a built-in EPUB and PDF viewer, adjust fonts, themes and layout to your liking, highlight passages and jot down notes, and track your ebook reading stats separately from your physical library. Switch back any time, the same way you got in. CLOUD BACKUP Sign in with your email, no password needed, just a 6-digit code. Your entire library is securely backed up and syncs across devices automatically. Works fully offline too. CUSTOM COVERS Not happy with the automatic cover? Take a photo of your physical book and use the built-in perspective crop editor to get a perfect shot. xLibrary works offline from the moment you open it.

Screenshots

Clay Read4 screens
xLibrary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: xLibrary at none against Clay Read's 2. xLibrary also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). Clay Read's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). On price, ads 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. Clay Read sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. xLibrary asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Clay Read ships an update every 2 weeks, xLibrary every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
Clay Read versus xLibrary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClay ReadxLibrary
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 β€” better17.6
Further details β€” not scored
Size158 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer熙杰 ε°ΉK2 Labs

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Clay Read

Subscriptions2
  • Pro monthly$9.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$99.991 Year
None

xLibrary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Clay Read free?
Clay Read is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is xLibrary free?
xLibrary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Clay Read or xLibrary have ads?
Neither Clay Read nor xLibrary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Clay Read or xLibrary?
Clay Read ships an update every 2 weeks, and xLibrary every 2 days. Most recently, Clay Read was updated on November 5, 2026 and xLibrary on November 11, 2026.

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