Comparison

Chapterly vs OpenBookshelf

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

Head to head
About

Chapterly

This app helps readers track their reading habits and stay motivated to read more consistently. It offers a simple, distraction-free interface to log books and understand personal reading patterns.

Highlights
  • Track books read
  • Understand reading habits
  • Stay motivated
  • Distraction-free interface
  • Set yearly reading goals
Features
Read full description

Track every book you read, understand your habits, and stay motivated with a simple, distraction-free book tracker built for readers. Whether you’re working toward a yearly goal or just want to read more consistently, this app helps you turn reading into a lasting habit. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

OpenBookshelf

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
Read full description

Your books. Without the noise. OpenBookshelf is a clean, focused book tracker for readers who want to organize what they read — not be sold a subscription, shown ads, or pushed into a social network. Track your reading in three taps. Search for a book, add it to your shelf, mark it as read. No onboarding wizard, no account creation, no tutorial. Just your books. SEARCH MILLIONS OF BOOKS Find books instantly by title, author, or ISBN — powered by Open Library, the world's largest open book database. No proprietary database, no lock-in. IMPORT FROM GOODREADS Bring your entire reading history with you. Export your Goodreads data and import it into OpenBookshelf in seconds. Keep your shelves, ratings, and reading dates without starting over. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES Your library stays up to date on every device automatically with iCloud. Add a book on your iPhone, see it on your iPad. No account required. WHAT YOU WON'T FIND HERE No algorithmic recommendations. No social feed. No reading challenges designed to make you feel guilty. No ads. No behavioral tracking. No subscription. OpenBookshelf does one thing well: it helps you keep track of what you've read, what you're reading, and what you want to read next. Nothing more. Nothing less. Completely free. No account. No tracking. No catch.

Screenshots

Chapterly4 screens
OpenBookshelf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: OpenBookshelf at free against Chapterly's free with in-app purchases. Chapterly's advantage is ratings volume (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Chapterly sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and OpenBookshelf sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Chapterly against 5.0 for OpenBookshelf. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chapterly ships an update every 10 days, OpenBookshelf every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Chapterly versus OpenBookshelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChapterlyOpenBookshelf
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLuis SantanaJared Floersch

Customer experience

Chapterly

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

OpenBookshelf

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Chapterly

Subscriptions2
  • Chapterly Monthly Subscription$4.991 Month
  • Chapterly Annual Subscription$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Chapterly Lifetime Purchase$69.99
1 purchases

OpenBookshelf

One-time1
  • Unlock$2.99

Questions

Is Chapterly free?
Chapterly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OpenBookshelf free?
OpenBookshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Chapterly or OpenBookshelf?
Chapterly and OpenBookshelf are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Chapterly or OpenBookshelf have ads?
Neither Chapterly nor OpenBookshelf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chapterly or OpenBookshelf?
Chapterly ships an update every 10 days, and OpenBookshelf every 2 weeks. Most recently, Chapterly was updated on October 1, 2026 and OpenBookshelf on September 14, 2026.

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