Comparison

Pinakes vs Emberlitt

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

Head to head
About

Pinakes

Features
Read full description

Pinakes — Your Personal Library, Always with You The reading tracker for iOS book lovers. Track reading sessions with Live Activity, manage your library with Smart Collections, and sync everything privately via iCloud. No account. No ads. Import from Goodreads in seconds. YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY Organize your books with five reading statuses: Currently Reading, To Read, Wishlist, Already Read, and Did Not Finish. Smart Collections automatically group your library by genre, reading format, and more — no manual sorting needed. Filter by genre, format, or your own custom tags. Sort by author, title, or date. Group by shelf, author, or series — and collapse an entire series into a single row. DISCOVER YOUR NEXT GREAT READ Search millions of books by title, author, or subject — with improved results for non-English books across parallel catalog sources. Scan any book's barcode with your camera to add it instantly. Add books manually if they're not found in any catalog. Replace a book to fix incomplete metadata from a Goodreads import. Browse current NYT bestsellers and genre-based discovery lists. Watch BookTok-style video recommendations curated to your favourite genres. YOUR AI READING GUIDE Not sure what to read next? Books Guide uses Apple Intelligence to suggest up to five books from your own library — one similar to your current read, one refreshingly different, the one gathering dust the longest, a comfort pick from a favourite author, and a short read for busy days. Every reason is generated entirely on-device, with no data leaving your phone. TRACK YOUR READING TIME Start a reading session with a tap and follow your progress on the lock screen and Dynamic Island via Live Activity. Pause, resume, and finish sessions from your Apple Watch companion app. Browse your complete reading history month by month in the built-in calendar. Start and stop sessions hands-free with Siri. RICH BOOK DETAILS Rate books (1–5 stars), write reviews, and log exactly how and when you read each one — down to the life stage if the exact date is lost. Attach notes and quotes, even scanning text directly from a physical page with your camera. STAY ON TRACK Set a reading goal and receive personalised notifications featuring the book you're currently reading. Inactivity reminders nudge you back after 14 days. Library loan reminders fire 3 days before — and on — the return date. WORKS EVERYWHERE Home screen and lock screen widgets show your wishlist or upcoming loan returns at a glance. Apple Watch app lets you control reading sessions from your wrist. Ask Siri to update a book's status or start a reading session — without opening the app. Quick Actions jump you straight to the barcode scanner or your favourites. IMPORT & EXPORT Moving from Goodreads? Import your entire library with a single CSV file. Export your library anytime to share or back it up. PRIVACY FIRST Your library syncs privately and securely across all your devices via iCloud. No account required — your data stays yours. Start your reading journey with Pinakes today.

About

Emberlitt

Connect with others who share your passions in vibrant communities. Read books together, track your progress, and discover local meetups. Turn passive phone time into meaningful engagement and learning.

Highlights
  • Create and join interest-based communities
  • Start reading circles with friends
  • Access half a million free books and audiobooks
  • Highlight passages and create notes/flashcards
  • Discover local readers and events
  • Track reading progress and set goals
Features
Read full description

Emberlitt is a reading app for people who love books and love talking about them. READ Pick up where you left off. Read free classics from Project Gutenberg, listen to free audiobooks from LibriVox, or import your own EPUB and PDF books. Footnotes, search, text settings and Read Aloud are built in. KEEP PASSAGES Keep the lines that stay with you, with a note if you like. Your passages become your own commonplace book. THE MARGIN See the passages other readers kept in the same book, right where you are. Spoilers stay hidden until you get there. BONFIRES: READ TOGETHER Read one book with friends, chapter by chapter. Set a reading plan, talk about each chapter and invite people with a link. Open Bonfires of free classics take one tap to join. Start with the house read: Marcus Aurelius's Meditations. FIND READERS Find readers who read what you read, follow them and chat. Messages from people you don't follow arrive as requests. ASK EMBER Ask about what you're reading, or have a word defined or a passage explained or translated. Ember runs on your device, so your pages never leave it. YOUR CHOICE, YOUR SAFETY You choose who sees your passages, and report, block and mute are always one tap away.

Screenshots

Pinakes4 screens
Emberlitt4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Emberlitt at every 4 days against Pinakes's every 9 days. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pinakes ships an update every 9 days, Emberlitt every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Pinakes versus Emberlitt: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPinakesEmberlitt
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.126.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB68 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperPablo Gomez FernandezAlejandro Marin

In-app purchases

None

Pinakes

No in-app purchases

None

Emberlitt

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pinakes free?
Pinakes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Emberlitt free?
Emberlitt is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Pinakes or Emberlitt have ads?
Neither Pinakes nor Emberlitt shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pinakes or Emberlitt?
Pinakes ships an update every 9 days, and Emberlitt every 4 days. Most recently, Pinakes was updated on October 31, 2026 and Emberlitt on October 31, 2026.

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