Comparison

Reading Memory vs Bookstacks

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

Head to head
About

Reading Memory

This app helps you build a consistent reading habit and retain information from the books you read. It allows you to track reading days, manage your to-read pile, and take private notes on your books. Advanced features like AI-powered key point extraction are available through an optional subscription.

Highlights
  • Build daily reading habits
  • Track reading streaks and finished books
  • Organize to-read and finished book piles
  • Take private notes and sticky notes
  • Search and add books via barcode or title
  • Generate reading cards and badges
  • AI-powered key point extraction (subscription)
Features
Read full description

Make reading a daily habit, and remember the books you've read. Reading Memory keeps every book you read and every line you write, one book at a time, on your own bookshelf. You want to read more, but it never sticks. You finish a book, then can't recall what was in it. The books you bought sit on a pile, unread. Reading Memory is made for that. MAKE READING A DAILY HABIT On days you read, tap "Read today" once. Even a day with one page counts. Your reading days fill a calendar, and your streak and the number of books you finished this year go up. You can also tap from Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU READ Notes you write while reading show up on your bookshelf a few days later, with how long ago you wrote them ("written 72 days ago"). Read them again and add a line right there. When you reread a book, the notes from your last read are on that book's page. FINISH YOUR TO-READ PILE, ONE BOOK AT A TIME Books you own but haven't started sit in a pile at the bottom of your bookshelf. Tap the pile to start the top book. When you finish one, the app picks the next book from your pile. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No social feed, no followers, no public reviews. Only you can read what you write. — WHAT YOU CAN DO ◆ Bookshelf Finished books stand on a shelf for each year. Books you're reading lie face up, and books you haven't started are stacked. You can also add the books you've already read, one after another. ◆ Add books Search by title or scan the barcode. Book data comes from Google Books, Open Library, openBD, and Rakuten Books. There is no limit on how many books you can add. ◆ Sticky notes for novels Write about characters, lines you loved, and how you felt on sticky notes, and stick them at the page you're on. Move the bookmark to record your page and "Read today". ◆ A notebook for nonfiction Write the book's words and your own thoughts with page numbers. Snap a page to read its text and add the lines you pick as the book's words. Vertical Japanese text works too. Export your notebook as text. ◆ A reading card when you finish Give stars, write one line, and stamp the card. It goes into that year's card box. Save or send the card as an image. ◆ Reading log and badges See your reading days on a calendar, your streak, and how many books you finished. Earn badges at milestones. ◆ Want-to-read list Note who recommended a book or where you saw it. ◆ iPad Works on iPad, in portrait, landscape, and Split View. — MEMORY PLUS (auto-renewable subscription) Adding books, sticky notes, notebooks, reading text from pages, reading cards and stamps, the calendar, and widgets are free for good. Memory Plus adds: ◆ Turn the lines you picked from a page into key points (uses AI) ◆ Look up a word from your notebook across all your books (free shows the number of books and the first line) ◆ Your year in books: everything you read and wrote in a year, in one place ◆ Detailed statistics: books finished per month, genres, ratings, and how books made you feel ◆ Summaries of the notes you wrote (uses AI) Pricing in the US: $39.99 per year / $3.99 per month. Prices vary by region. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically at the same price and period unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in Settings › Apple Account › Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://taniguchi-kyoichi.com/en/products/reading-memory/terms Privacy Policy: https://taniguchi-kyoichi.com/en/products/reading-memory/privacy — Sign in with Apple or Google. No ads. Feedback and bug reports: tap "Contact us" in the app's Settings.

About

Bookstacks

Features
Read full description

Bookstacks helps you build and manage your personal library — scan ISBN barcodes or type them in to instantly register books with titles, authors, and cover images. 【Features】 · Scan ISBN barcodes to auto-fill book details from OpenBD · Type in an ISBN to add books you don't have on hand · Enjoy a visual bookshelf with a grid of cover images · Organize books with preset labels: Read, Reading, To-Read, Want to Buy, and more · Create custom labels with your own names and colors · Filter by label or category; sort by date added or title 【Perfect for】 · Anyone who has ever bought the same book twice · Readers who want to tackle their to-read pile · People who like keeping their book lists tidy All data is stored locally on your device. No account required.

Screenshots

Reading Memory4 screens
Bookstacks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bookstacks at none against Reading Memory's 2. Bookstacks also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). Reading Memory's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price 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 Memory sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Bookstacks asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reading Memory ships an update every 2 months, Bookstacks daily. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 4 level
Reading Memory versus Bookstacks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReading MemoryBookstacks
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKyoichi TaniguchiKenta Takeuchi

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Reading Memory

Subscriptions2
  • メモリープラス月額プラン$3.991 Month
  • メモリープラス年額プラン$39.991 Year
None

Bookstacks

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Reading Memory free?
Reading Memory is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bookstacks free?
Bookstacks is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Reading Memory or Bookstacks have ads?
Bookstacks shows ads; Reading Memory does not.
Which is updated more often, Reading Memory or Bookstacks?
Reading Memory ships an update every 2 months, and Bookstacks daily. Most recently, Reading Memory was updated on November 5, 2026 and Bookstacks on October 25, 2026.

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