Comparison

Reading Journal vs Papyrus

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

Head to head
About

Reading Journal

Features
Read full description

Read the whole series. In order. Without losing your place. BookBinge is built for one thing: following a book series from the first page of book one to the last page of the finale โ€” even when the next book is a year away. WHY SERIES READERS USE IT You finished book three eighteen months ago. Book four just landed. Who was the sister? What happened at the lighthouse? BookBinge remembers so you don't have to. EVERY SERIES, ALREADY IN ORDER Almost 300 series and more than 2,000 books, in proper reading order with covers. No building lists by hand. Pick your series and your shelf builds itself. KNOW WHAT'S NEXT, AND WHEN Every series shows the next book and its release date. Tap "Remind me" and we'll tell you the day it's out. CATCH UP BEFORE THE NEXT BOOK Ask for the story so far and get exactly that โ€” everything up to the last book you finished, and not one word beyond it. Recaps are written by AI from checked plot summaries, so there are no accidental spoilers for what you haven't read yet. A MAP FOR EVERY SERIES Each series becomes a journey in its own world. Fantasy is an antique atlas sealed in wax. Romantasy is moonlit love letters. Detective is a case file on a desk. Sci-Fi is a transmission log in deep space. Horror is a candlelit evidence board. Watching a long series fill in is the whole point. A STREAK YOU CAN ACTUALLY KEEP Nobody finishes a book a day. So the streak counts days you read โ€” a few pages is enough. One tap logs it. Miss a night after a good week and an earned grace day covers you. HONOURS WORTH EARNING Bronze, Silver and Gold reader tiers, a badge for each world, and yearly goals for books and series. ALSO INSIDE โ€ข Home Screen widget with your streak and current book โ€ข Shareable cards when you finish a series โ€ข Page-by-page progress inside your current book โ€ข Search every series, or request one we're missing BOOKBINGE PRO Free keeps three series active at once, with one recap. Pro removes the limit and unlocks unlimited recaps, release-day alerts for every series you follow, and full reading stats. Subscriptions renew automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel any time in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://bookbinge.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://bookbinge.app/terms

About

Papyrus

Features
Read full description

Papyrus turns everything you've read into a warm, real bookshelf โ€” right on your iPhone home screen. A cozy private library you actually want to look at. BRING YOUR LIBRARY HOME Every book you've read, standing on a beautiful shelf you can glance at without opening anything. As you finish books, the newest ones slide to the front โ€” so your home screen quietly tells the story of what you've been reading, all year long. Still fully customizable, move the books around how you want, make changes to the shelf and background. THE WIDGET One of our premium paid features is to add the Papyrus widget in small, medium, or large. Your shelf lives on your home screen, gorgeous and glanceable. If you aren't interested in seeing the books then you can see your reading statistics - how many books and pages you've read this year. IMPORT IN SECONDS Bring your reading history over from Goodreads, StoryGraph, or any CSV in a single tap. Your past library fills your shelf instantly. No problem if you don't have any accounts - you can add books individually from our massive library. THREE WAYS TO SEE YOUR SHELF - Spine view with procedurally illustrated, cover-matched spines - Cover view to show off your front covers - A 3/4 perspective "crate" mode that feels like a real shelf Press and scrub to browse, and drag to reorder your books exactly how you like them. STATS THAT FEEL LIKE A FOLIO, NOT A DASHBOARD See how you rate, your fiction vs. nonfiction split, the decades you read across, and your favorite authors and genres โ€” all rendered in big serif numerals with room to breathe. Look back on your year with Reading Wrapped. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS Export your whole library any time โ€” as a spreadsheet (CSV/XLSX) or a self-contained offline webpage. Free or Pro, your library is always yours to take with you. FREE TO START Try everything with up to 10 books in your collection โ€” a real, full-fidelity trial, not a locked demo. Your wishlist is always unlimited and free. Upgrade to Pro to remove the collection cap and unlock your full library. Upgrade to Pro to unlock the full experience: - Unlimited collection โ€” shelve every book you've ever read, no cap - Your complete library on every widget size and display mode - Full reading stats and Reading Wrapped across your entire history - Export your whole library any time โ€” CSV, XLSX, or a self-contained offline webpage - No ads, no tracking, and your data is never sold โ€” free or Pro Built by one person who wanted their bookshelf on their home screen. No ads. Your data is not sold. Just a beautiful place to keep the books you love. Bring your library home. Terms of Use (EULA): https://papyrus-b03fd.web.app/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://papyrus-b03fd.web.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

Reading Journal4 screens
Papyrus4 screens

Verdict

The call

Reading Journal and Papyrus are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters โ€” price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them โ€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Reading Journal sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Papyrus sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Reading Journal versus Papyrus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReading JournalPapyrus
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksโ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size36 MB20 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperRazvan PopaTyler Nam

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Reading Journal

Subscriptions3
  • Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Pro Weekly$3.997 Days
  • Pro Yearly3 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • BookBinge Pro$29.99
3 purchases

Papyrus

Subscriptions2
  • Papyrus_monthly$1.991 Month
  • papyrus yearly$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • papyrus lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Reading Journal free?
Reading Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Papyrus free?
Papyrus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Reading Journal or Papyrus have ads?
Neither Reading Journal nor Papyrus shows ads.

Other comparisons