Comparison

Elephant Folio vs Brickby

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

Head to head
About

Elephant Folio

This app automatically organizes your PDF documents using on-device AI. It intelligently files, tags, and categorizes PDFs from various sources, making them easily searchable. Your documents remain private and accessible across all your Apple devices.

Highlights
  • On-device AI for automatic filing
  • Intelligent tagging and categorization
  • Cross-device library sync via iCloud
  • Capture PDFs from Safari, Mail, and camera
  • Full-text search including document content
  • Offline-first functionality
  • Siri Shortcuts integration
Features
Read full description

Elephant Folio is a PDF organizer built for people who read a lot of PDFs. Bring a paper in from Safari, Mail, or anywhere on your device, and Elephant Folio files it for you; based on what's inside of it, not just the filename. The folders get made. The tags get applied. You keep reading. Rules that organize for you Set a rule once and every matching document gets tagged automatically. Match on filename, file contents, author, and more. Rules run the moment a file arrives, and you can re-run them on any file in your whole library anytime. No more tagging one file at a time. Smart organizing, on by default When Apple Intelligence is available on one of your devices, Elephant Folio can also read and tag documents on its own. Your documents stay yours Everything stays on your devices. Nothing is uploaded anywhere. Capture from anywhere The Share extension works across Safari, Mail, Files, and anything else that can hand off a PDF. Scan a physical page and it's filed before you put your phone down and your rules apply instantly. Search that actually reaches Not just filenames. Not just folders. Text, tags, and document content, so the thing you're looking for turns up even when you don't remember what you called it. One library across all your devices iCloud keeps Mac, iPad, and iPhone in sync — down to the exact page you left off on. Files live in your Documents folder and open in any app that reads PDFs. Siri Shortcuts let Elephant Folio fit inside whatever system you've already built for yourself. Import from anywhere (even from the browser on a Windows): As long as you can access your iCloud folder, you can drag your PDF documents to Elephant Folio and they will be imported next time you open the app. No internet? No problem Elephant Folio is a privacy-centric, offline-first app. Capture, read, tag, and search anywhere. The only network requests this app makes are ones to Apple's servers for iCloud syncing or those to fetch metadata from CrossRef/ArXiv/Pubmed. The elephant never forgets. Now neither do you. By using this app you agree to Apple's standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

About

Brickby

Features
Read full description

Brickby is the simplest way to save and organize anything from your iPhone. Links, images, notes, files — capture it all in one tap from any app using the Share Sheet, then sort everything into beautiful collections. SAVE ANYTHING, INSTANTLY Share a link, photo, document, or note from any app and it lands in Brickby. The app auto-detects content types — web pages, videos, music, social posts, images, and files — and fetches rich previews with titles and thumbnails. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY • Create collections with custom icons and colors • Add items to multiple collections at once • Tag items with color-coded labels for finer organization • Pin important items to the top of any collection • Mark favorites for quick access • Group items by domain, date, type, or label • Sort collections by name, date, item count, or last updated • Archive collections you're done with but want to keep NEVER FORGET • Set reminders on any item — get notified in 1 hour, tonight, tomorrow, or pick a custom time • Tap the notification to jump straight to the item FIND IT FAST • Full-text search across titles, images, notes, and URLs • Filter by content type, label, date range, or favorites • Duplicate detection warns you before saving the same content twice HOME SCREEN WIDGETS • Recent Items widget — see your latest saves at a glance • Favorites widget — keep your best finds one tap away • Small, medium, and large sizes with thumbnails SYNC ACROSS DEVICES • iCloud sync keeps your collections up to date on all your devices • Your data stays private in your personal iCloud account Built with privacy in mind. No accounts, no tracking, no ads. Your content is yours.

Screenshots

Elephant Folio4 screens
Brickby4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Elephant Folio at Free against Brickby's $1.99. Elephant Folio also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly). Brickby's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). On 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

Elephant Folio is free to download; Brickby costs $1.99 up front. Elephant Folio sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.00 per month. Brickby asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Elephant Folio ships an update every 2 days, Brickby monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Elephant Folio versus Brickby: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElephant FolioBrickby
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size95 MB3 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperBeroea Tech L.L.CJakov-Marin Vezic

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Elephant Folio

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$4.001 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$25.001 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime License$55.00
None

Brickby

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Elephant Folio free?
Elephant Folio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Brickby free?
Brickby costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Elephant Folio or Brickby have ads?
Neither Elephant Folio nor Brickby shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Elephant Folio or Brickby?
Elephant Folio ships an update every 2 days, and Brickby monthly. Most recently, Elephant Folio was updated on October 24, 2026 and Brickby on October 25, 2026.

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