Comparison

The ARC Library vs Cratelog

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

Head to head
About

The ARC Library

Manage your book review workflow with this comprehensive tool. Track ARCs, deadlines, reading progress, and create polished reviews. Features include detailed statistics, a content creator hub, and a public reader profile.

Highlights
  • Track ARCs by ISBN, title, or barcode
  • Interactive reading calendar with deadlines
  • Detailed reading statistics and analytics
  • Rich text review editor with checklist
  • Content creator hub for social media campaigns
  • Public reader profile for showcasing stats
  • TBR spin wheel and Bingo Challenge
Features
Read full description

ARC Library is the all-in-one platform for ARC readers, reviewers, book content creators, and authors. Whether you're keeping an overflowing ARC list under control or running your own ARC campaigns, ARC Library brings your books, deadlines, reviews, teams, campaigns, and reader connections together in one place. FOR READERS TRACK YOUR ARCS Add books by title, ISBN, or barcode and keep track of everything from received to reviewed. Log your reading progress by pages, audio minutes, or percentage, and use reading pace calculations to stay ahead of deadlines. NEVER MISS A DEADLINE See publication dates, review deadlines, PR tasks, and other important dates in your reading calendar. Due-soon alerts help you see what needs your attention next. REVIEW EDITOR Write and save reviews directly in ARC Library. Keep notes and quotes while you read, use structured review prompts, and copy your finished review when you're ready to post. READING STATISTICS Explore detailed statistics covering your ARCs, personal books, reviews, teams, PR activity, ratings, genres, reading habits, and more. SPICE AND SWOON RATINGS Track spice and swoon levels for your books, explore your rating distributions, and filter your library by level. CONTENT CREATOR TOOLS Keep track of cover reveals, release posts, reviews, PR campaigns, and other content across your social channels. YOUR ARC READER PROFILE Create a shareable reader profile featuring your reading activity, reviews, favorite genres, social links, and more. Give authors and publishers a better picture of who you are as a reviewer. DISCOVER NEW OPPORTUNITIES Browse forms shared by authors for ARC applications, teams, campaigns, and other opportunities. TBR TOOLS Not sure what to read next? Use the TBR Spin Wheel, reading challenges, and other tools to make choosing your next book a little more fun. FOR AUTHORS MANAGE YOUR BOOKS Keep your books and their ARC information organized in one place. RUN ARC CAMPAIGNS Create and manage ARC campaigns, organize applications, work with readers, and keep track of your campaign from start to finish. FIND ARC READERS Use the Reader Database to discover readers based on genres, tropes, social platforms, activity, and other information they choose to share. CREATE AND SHARE FORMS Create forms for ARC applications, reader teams, PR campaigns, and more. Share them directly or make them discoverable through the ARC Library Form Catalog. MANAGE YOUR READERS Keep your ARC readers and campaign information organized without relying on scattered spreadsheets, forms, messages, and notes. BUILD YOUR TEAMS Create and manage reader teams and keep the people supporting your books connected to your campaigns. ONE LIBRARY, TWO SIDES OF THE ARC EXPERIENCE ARC Library brings readers and authors together while giving each side the tools they need. Readers get a home for their ARCs, reviews, deadlines, statistics, teams, and content. Authors get tools to manage books, campaigns, applications, readers, and ARC teams. FREE TO START Get started with ARC Library for free, with optional Premium plans unlocking additional tools, customization, statistics, and features. Built by a reader who wanted a better way to manage the beautifully chaotic world of ARCs. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms & Conditions: https://arc-library.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://arc-library.com/privacy

About

Cratelog

Manage multiple book box subscriptions and never miss a skip deadline. Track all your subscriptions, upcoming reveals, and your book collection in one place. Avoid duplicate purchases and understand your spending.

Highlights
  • Never miss a skip deadline
  • All subscriptions in one place
  • Spoiler-safe reveals
  • Track your book collection
  • Monitor spending and savings
  • Manage preorders and sales
Features
Read full description

You're subscribed to five book boxes. Each one skips differently: one wants a form by the 5th, another an email by the 12th, a third won't let you skip at all this quarter. Miss one deadline and you've paid for a special edition you already own. Cratelog keeps it all straight: every subscription, every skip deadline, and every book you own in one place, built for special edition collectors. Keep StoryGraph or Goodreads for your reading; Cratelog tracks what they don't. NEVER MISS A SKIP DEADLINE Every box has its own skip window, limit, and way to skip. Cratelog knows them all. Get reminders 7, 3, or 1 day before each deadline, see how many skips you have left under each box's policy, and get a warning before a skip that could cancel your subscription or cost you early access. When it's time to act, Cratelog takes you to the right portal, email, or form, then records what you did so your counters stay accurate. DECIDE THE MONTH BEFORE IT CHARGES Every box with an open decision window sits on one screen: skip it, keep it, or sell it on. Filter to what you still have to decide, close a month in one tap, and when a box never ships a cycle, record that without spending a skip on it. PHOTOGRAPH YOUR OWN COPY Take seven shots of a book, jacket on and off; the app frames each face and finds the book by its edges. Turn the finished copy in 3D and look at the sprayed edges from any angle. Then stand your books on a shelf, spine out or edges out, in the order you arrange them yourself. If you have never photographed an edition, you see another reader's reviewed shots of it, credited. EVERY SUBSCRIPTION IN ONE PLACE One dashboard for all your boxes: renewal dates, next charge, skip counters, and a calendar of every billing day and deadline. Track waitlists for invite-only boxes and see how long others waited. Works with FairyLoot, Illumicrate, OwlCrate, Goldsboro, The Broken Binding, The Bookish Box, LitJoy, and dozens more through a community-maintained catalog. SEE WHAT'S COMING, SPOILER SAFE Theme and book reveals for your upcoming boxes, leaks and confirmed announcements clearly labeled, down to the sprayed edges, endpapers, and the artists behind them. Spoilers stay hidden until you choose to peek. YOUR COLLECTION, ON ONE SHELF Import your whole library from Goodreads or StoryGraph in one go, then scan a barcode for anything new. Signed, numbered, and sprayed edges badges, custom shelves, and series that show how many books you own and how many you have read. Cratelog warns you when a box book is already on your shelf, so you never buy the same edition twice. KNOW WHAT YOU SPEND (AND SAVE) Monthly and yearly spending across subscriptions and preorders, in your currency, plus a running total of the money skipping has saved you. PREORDERS, DROPS, AND SALES Track special edition preorders from any store, keep a wishlist of the ones you have not ordered yet, and follow a calendar of drops and warehouse sales in your local time, with an alert before a watched sale starts. CRATELOG PLUS, IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT IT Everything above is free and stays free. Plus is an optional membership, monthly or annual, that helps cover what the app costs to run. It adds a Subscription Review of each box on the one to three measures you pick, from cost and skips to resale and edition design, and Compare, your boxes side by side on cost per month, cost per book, skips, ratings, and reading. Terms of Use: https://getcratelog.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://getcratelog.com/privacy THE HONEST PART Cratelog never skips, cancels, or buys anything for you; you act directly with the box company. Your collection is private, and deleting your account never touches your real subscriptions. Cratelog is an independent app made by one person, not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any book box company. Brand names only describe which services you can track. Free to download and free to use. Never pay for a box you didn't want again.

Screenshots

The ARC Library4 screens
Cratelog4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cratelog at none against The ARC Library's 4. The ARC Library's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. The ARC Library sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Cratelog asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for The ARC Library against 5.0 for Cratelog. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The ARC Library ships an update every 9 days, Cratelog every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
The ARC Library versus Cratelog: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe ARC LibraryCratelog
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (10 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings10 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size105 MB82 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperRomana AdamkaMicha Przybya

Customer experience

The ARC Library

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Cratelog

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

The ARC Library

Subscriptions4
  • ARC Addon (Monthly)$2.991 Month
  • ARC Library Premium (Monthly)7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • ARC Addon (Yearly)$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • ARC Library Premium (yearly)7 Days trial$79.991 Year
None

Cratelog

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The ARC Library free?
The ARC Library is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cratelog free?
Cratelog is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The ARC Library or Cratelog?
The ARC Library and Cratelog are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 10 and 4 ratings respectively.
Do The ARC Library or Cratelog have ads?
Neither The ARC Library nor Cratelog shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The ARC Library or Cratelog?
The ARC Library ships an update every 9 days, and Cratelog every 5 days. Most recently, The ARC Library was updated on October 12, 2026 and Cratelog on October 9, 2026.

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