# Commonplace vs OpenBookshelf

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Commonplace at none against OpenBookshelf's 1. Commonplace also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. OpenBookshelf sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Commonplace asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Commonplace against 5.0 for OpenBookshelf. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

Commonplace ships an update every 3 days, OpenBookshelf every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Commonplace | OpenBookshelf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/commonplace-a-reading-tracker/id6757343001/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/openbookshelf-book-tracker/id6759491266/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **2** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 23 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tim Lockridge](https://appshunter.io/developer/1865544687) | [Jared Floersch](https://appshunter.io/developer/1875435683) |

## What reviewers say

### Commonplace

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/commonplace-a-reading-tracker/id6757343001)

Log books, magazines, and short fiction, track your reading progress, and capture notes. Visualize your reading year with stats and a timeline. Your library is private and syncs via iCloud.

**Highlights:** Log books, magazines, and short fiction, Track reading progress (To Read, Started, Finished), Record start/finish dates and ratings, Capture notes before, during, and after reading, Yearly reading statistics and timeline, Private iCloud sync, no account needed

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### OpenBookshelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/openbookshelf-book-tracker/id6759491266)

Organize your reading list with a clean, focused book tracker. Easily search millions of titles, import your history from other platforms, and sync across devices without ads or subscriptions. Focus solely on your books.

**Highlights:** Track reading progress, Search millions of books, Import from Goodreads, Sync across devices, No ads or subscriptions, Organize reading lists

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock | $2.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Commonplace free?

Commonplace is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is OpenBookshelf free?

OpenBookshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Commonplace or OpenBookshelf?

Commonplace and OpenBookshelf are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do Commonplace or OpenBookshelf have ads?

Neither Commonplace nor OpenBookshelf shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Commonplace or OpenBookshelf?

Commonplace ships an update every 3 days, and OpenBookshelf every 2 weeks. Most recently, Commonplace was updated on November 9, 2026 and OpenBookshelf on October 31, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*