Comparison

Bookshelf Diary vs Next Chapters

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

Head to head
About

Bookshelf Diary

Organize your book collection with ease using barcode scanning, batch entry for series, and progress tracking. Manage wishlists, customize shelf arrangements, and back up your data locally or via the cloud. Supports offline use and offers a dark mode.

Highlights
  • ISBN barcode scanning
  • Batch entry for series
  • Track owned and missing books
  • Wishlist management
  • Customizable shelf sorting
  • Excel export/import
  • Cloud backup
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

[Core Features] - ISBN Barcode Scanning: Instantly retrieve book information with the cover and title filled in automatically. - Batch Quick Entry: Designed for series collections, create multiple volumes in one tap. - Collection Progress: Mark books as Owned or Missing to track your collection gaps. - Wishlist: Scan a book now and add it to your list for later. - Custom Sorting: Drag and drop to arrange your shelves your way. - Export & Import: Excel support makes moving and organizing your collection easy. - Cloud Backup: Sign in to back up and restore on a new device. - Dark Mode and Offline Search: Choose your preferred appearance and browse your local data offline. [What's New in 1.3.7] - Added purchase prices and collection spending summaries. - Expanded official and custom category management with improved visibility and ordering. - Added duplicate series and work merging directly from search results, with a choice of the item to keep. - Added a missing-volumes-first sort option to the book list. - Improved sale photo and video storage, sharing, and multi-select actions. - Improved bottom sheets, keyboard handling, backups, sign-in reliability, and data safety. - Settings now links directly to the App Store rating page. [Membership & Privacy] Your book data is primarily stored on your device and remains available for offline search. Google and Apple sign-in and purchase features are optional; membership access is validated against store purchases. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Next Chapters

Features
Read full description

Next Chapter is your personal reading companion — organize your entire book life in one beautiful app. BUILD YOUR BOOKSHELF Keep every book in the right place with four smart reading lists: • Currently Reading — stay focused on what you're reading now • To Be Read — your ever-growing stack of future reads • Wishlist — books you want to buy or borrow • Finished — your reading history, always close at hand SEARCH & DISCOVER Search millions of books from the Open Library catalog. Scan any book's barcode with your camera for an instant lookup. Add books manually or enter an ISBN directly. TRACK YOUR GOALS Set a yearly reading goal and watch your progress in real time. Stay motivated with stats showing everything you've read this year and all time. BROWSE FOR YOU Discover books across your favorite genres — Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Mystery, Horror, Thriller, and Sci-Fi — curated just for you on your personal For You page. SYNC WITH OPEN LIBRARY Connect your Open Library account to access and manage your reading lists from anywhere. PRIVACY FIRST Sign in securely with Apple — or explore as a guest with no account required. Your library is stored on your device. Club Plus is an optional auto-renewing subscription, billed monthly or yearly, that unlocks more book clubs, member invites, unlimited club shelves and club challenges. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://lumaraysoftware.com/next-chapter/privacy/

Screenshots

Bookshelf Diary4 screens
Next Chapters4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Next Chapters at none against Bookshelf Diary's 1. Bookshelf Diary's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads 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. Bookshelf Diary sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Next Chapters asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookshelf Diary ships an update every 9 days, Next Chapters every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Bookshelf Diary versus Next Chapters: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookshelf DiaryNext Chapters
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size135 MB21 MB
Age rating4++12
DeveloperWANG MEI TINGLumaRay

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Bookshelf Diary

One-time1
  • Plus 永久版$7.99
None

Next Chapters

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bookshelf Diary free?
Bookshelf Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Next Chapters free?
Next Chapters is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Bookshelf Diary or Next Chapters have ads?
Neither Bookshelf Diary nor Next Chapters shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bookshelf Diary or Next Chapters?
Bookshelf Diary ships an update every 9 days, and Next Chapters every 2 months. Most recently, Bookshelf Diary was updated on October 13, 2026 and Next Chapters on October 10, 2026.

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