Comparison

BookBank vs mekuru

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

Head to head
About

BookBank

Track your reading habits and visualize your savings with this app. Organize books by genre, view reading statistics, and create personalized reading lists. You can also add notes to books and export your data.

Highlights
  • Organize books by account and genre
  • Graph view of reading savings
  • Passbook view of reading total
  • Bookshelf view with book covers
  • Manual book registration
  • Monthly log for notes
  • Create and share reading lists
  • Export book data as Markdown
Features
Read full description

BookBank is a reading tracker that saves the cost of every book you read. Your own reading bank, saving your own reading assets. ■ Key Features - Organize by account and genre - Graph view of your reading savings - Passbook view showing your reading total - Bookshelf view with your book covers - Register books manually - Monthly Log for notes each month - Add notes to books you've read - Create and share reading lists - Download book data as Markdown ■ Terms of Use - Terms: https://bookbank-share.vercel.app/terms/en - Privacy Policy: https://bookbank-share.vercel.app/privacy/en

About

mekuru

Experience the quiet companionship of reading paper books with others. This app creates a shared, silent space where reader avatars turn pages and indicate presence without direct interaction. Track your reading time and collect virtual book covers.

Highlights
  • Guest access, no sign-up needed
  • Join open or invite-only reading rooms
  • Silent page-turning indicators
  • Personal reading time tracking
  • Customizable reader avatars
  • Unlockable book cover art
Read full description

Read alone. Not alone—with quiet company for every page. mekuru is a reading room made for time with paper books. Small reader avatars settle into a warm study, and the gentle sign of a page turning lets you feel that someone else is reading too—without video, a microphone, or chat. WITH MEKURU, YOU CAN • Enter as a guest—no sign-up required • Join an open room and read quietly with others • Invite someone with a link and read together • Your reader turns its pages on its own — a faint paper sound is the only sign of presence that travels • Breaks and time away are sensed and shared softly, on their own • Keep your reading time and revisit it in your Time Shelf • Create an account to choose from six reader avatars and unlock book covers as you read • Become reading companions with the people you share a room with There are no DMs, likes, comments, follows, or rankings. mekuru is not about competing over pages. It is a place to let the time you spend with books accumulate quietly. In Korea, a trend called "text hip" has been spreading: enjoying the time spent reading, and sharing it. mekuru is a place to share that time — the middle of the reading itself — quietly, with someone else. OWNER (SUBSCRIPTION) The optional Owner plan is an auto-renewing subscription, billed monthly or yearly, that lets you furnish a room of your own and open it to your companions anytime. Registered accounts can try a one-time 14-day viewing first, no card required. In Japan the price is ¥580/month or ¥5,800/year; pricing for your region is always shown in the App Store before you confirm. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account, and the subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.mekuru.app/en/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.mekuru.app/en/terms

Screenshots

BookBank4 screens
mekuru4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: BookBank at free against mekuru's free with in-app purchases. BookBank also leads on review sentiment (96% vs 86%). mekuru's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). 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. BookBank sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and mekuru sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookBank ships an update fortnightly, mekuru every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
BookBank versus mekuru: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookBankmekuru
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews96.3% of reviews — better85.7% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB68 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMINA YAMAHATA8ARMS, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY

Customer experience

BookBank

Written reviews27 reviews
Positive96.3%
Neutral3.7%
Negative0.0%

mekuru

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral8.6%
Negative5.7%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

BookBank

One-time1
  • BookBank Unlimited (Lifetime)$59.99
2 purchases

mekuru

Subscriptions2
  • Owner$3.991 Month
  • Owner (Annual)$39.901 Year

Questions

Is BookBank free?
BookBank is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is mekuru free?
mekuru is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BookBank or mekuru have ads?
Neither BookBank nor mekuru shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BookBank or mekuru?
BookBank ships an update fortnightly, and mekuru every 4 days. Most recently, BookBank was updated on October 31, 2026 and mekuru on November 2, 2026.

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