Comparison

OpenBookshelf vs BookWorm

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

Head to head
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.

About

BookWorm

This app helps you build a consistent reading habit by tracking books, ebooks, and audiobooks. Set daily goals, maintain streaks, and organize your library. It offers gentle reminders and progress insights to encourage more reading.

Highlights
  • Daily reading goals (pages/minutes)
  • Reading streak tracking
  • Log print books, ebooks, and audiobooks
  • Organize library (Reading, To Read, Finished)
  • Reading timer
  • Monthly progress recaps
  • Shareable reading stats
Features
Read full description

Turn "I should read more" into a daily habit. BookWorm is a calm, beautiful reading tracker for books, ebooks and audiobooks. Set a daily goal, build a streak and watch your reading grow. BUILD A READING HABIT • Set a daily goal in pages or minutes • Keep your streak alive and earn reading quests • See every reading day on your calendar • Gentle reminders, at the time you choose BOOKS AND AUDIOBOOKS, IN ONE PLACE • Log pages for print books and ebooks • Log listening time for audiobooks • Both count toward the same daily goal YOUR WHOLE LIBRARY • Organise your shelf: Reading, To Read and Finished • Import your existing library from a CSV file • Add notes to every book STAY FOCUSED • Start the reading timer with one tap • Pick up right where you left off from Home SEE YOUR PROGRESS • A Monthly Recap of every month you read • Books finished, pages read and hours listened • Your best streak and favourite genres SHARE WHAT YOU READ • Beautiful share cards for every finished book • Share your Monthly Recap in one tap BUILT FOR EVERY SCREEN • Optimised for iPhone Duo: your shelf and your book, side by side • iPhone and iPad, synced with iCloud • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets • Four themes: Light, Dark, Retro and Marginalia • Available in 9 languages Made by an independent developer. If you love BookWorm, an optional tip helps keep it growing.

Screenshots

OpenBookshelf4 screens
BookWorm4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: OpenBookshelf at free against BookWorm's free with in-app purchases. BookWorm's advantage is ratings volume (6 vs 1). 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. OpenBookshelf sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and BookWorm sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

OpenBookshelf holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BookWorm has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OpenBookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, BookWorm every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
OpenBookshelf versus BookWorm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOpenBookshelfBookWorm
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.8 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings16 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.2
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJared FloerschAdam Markocki

Customer experience

OpenBookshelf

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

BookWorm

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

OpenBookshelf

One-time1
  • Unlock$2.99
3 purchases

BookWorm

One-time3
  • An espresso$2.99
  • Coffee & croissant$4.99
  • A week of coffee$9.99

Questions

Is OpenBookshelf free?
OpenBookshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BookWorm free?
BookWorm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, OpenBookshelf or BookWorm?
OpenBookshelf is rated higher. OpenBookshelf averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while BookWorm averages 4.8 from 6 ratings.
Do OpenBookshelf or BookWorm have ads?
Neither OpenBookshelf nor BookWorm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OpenBookshelf or BookWorm?
OpenBookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, and BookWorm every 9 days. Most recently, OpenBookshelf was updated on October 31, 2026 and BookWorm on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons