Comparison

OpenBookshelf vs Ritsu

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

Ritsu

Organize your reading with a visually appealing digital bookshelf. Track books you've read, are currently reading, or want to read, and save notes and impressions for each title. Enjoy a beautiful way to manage your reading history and TBR list.

Highlights
  • Visual bookshelf UI
  • Track read, reading, and TBR books
  • Save notes and quotes
  • Manage reading status
  • Organize various book types
  • Beautiful reading history view
Features
Read full description

Ritsu is a beautiful book tracker and reading log app that lets you collect the books you have read, are currently reading, and want to read on your own personal bookshelf. With a visual bookshelf UI inspired by real book covers and spines, Ritsu makes it more enjoyable to keep track of your reading. Every book you add becomes part of a growing collection, helping you turn everyday reading into something you can see, organize, and look back on. Whether you read novels, manga, business books, ebooks, or nonfiction, Ritsu helps you manage your reading history, notes, thoughts, and to-be-read list in one simple place. Every book you read adds something new to your shelf. Ritsu combines the joy of collecting books with the convenience of a reading tracker. What you can do with Ritsu: • Track books you have read, are reading, and want to read • Manage reading status for each book • Save thoughts, notes, memorable quotes, and impressions • View your reading history in a beautiful bookshelf-style interface • Organize novels, manga, business books, practical books, ebooks, and more • Keep your TBR list and completed books easy to see Recommended for people who want to: • Keep a clean and beautiful record of books they have read • Build a personal bookshelf on their phone • Save reading notes and impressions for each book • Manage books they want to read or have not finished yet • Enjoy reading as if they were collecting books on a real shelf With Ritsu, your reading record becomes more than just a log. It becomes a bookshelf that grows with every book you read. Make your daily reading more enjoyable, more organized, and more beautiful. Some features, such as unlimited bookshelves and detailed statistics, are available with the Premium Plan through in-app purchase. Terms of Use:https://scented-cross-231.notion.site/Terms-of-Use-35971e35e68d80f2a90cd3cc19d43b2f Privacy Policy:https://scented-cross-231.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-35971e35e68d80debcccc8d658ec9be5

Screenshots

OpenBookshelf4 screens
Ritsu3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: OpenBookshelf at free against Ritsu's free with in-app purchases. Ritsu's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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 Ritsu sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. 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 OpenBookshelf against 5.0 for Ritsu. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

OpenBookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, Ritsu fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
OpenBookshelf versus Ritsu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOpenBookshelfRitsu
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB57 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJared FloerschKYOSUKE WATANABE

Customer experience

OpenBookshelf

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

Ritsu

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

In-app purchases

1 purchases

OpenBookshelf

One-time1
  • Unlock$2.99
3 purchases

Ritsu

Subscriptions2
  • Ritsu Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Ritsu Pro Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Ritsu Pro Lifetime$34.99

Questions

Is OpenBookshelf free?
OpenBookshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ritsu free?
Ritsu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, OpenBookshelf or Ritsu?
OpenBookshelf and Ritsu are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do OpenBookshelf or Ritsu have ads?
Neither OpenBookshelf nor Ritsu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, OpenBookshelf or Ritsu?
OpenBookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, and Ritsu fortnightly. Most recently, OpenBookshelf was updated on October 17, 2026 and Ritsu on October 30, 2026.

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