Bookhaven vs Restricted Section
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Bookhaven
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Bookhaven turns your iPhone or iPad into a focused home for the books you already own. Import PDF and EPUB files in a few taps and see them appear on a clean bookshelf right away. Keep reading momentum with saved position and chapter navigation that make every return session simple. Bookhaven is built for people who read local documents, study materials, novels, and long-form references across different formats. You add files once, organize them into collections, and open any title with controls that help you read comfortably for longer sessions. **Bring Your Library Together** Import multiple PDF and EPUB files at once and keep them in one place you control. Bookhaven watches its local Documents folder, so newly added files can appear without extra setup. **Organize by the Way You Read** Create custom collections for topics, classes, projects, or moods to keep your shelf tidy. Long-press actions let you move books into collections quickly, so your next read is always easy to find. **Resume Without Losing Context** Bookhaven remembers your last page in PDFs and your last locator in EPUBs for each title. You can jump back in confidently and continue exactly where you left off. **Navigate Chapters Faster** Open the table of contents to move through chapters and sections without endless scrolling. Search and refresh tools in contents view help you reach the right section when you need it. **Tune Reading Comfort** Adjust PDF fit and scrolling behavior to match the way you hold your device. For EPUB, choose theme, font size, and scroll mode to create a setup that feels natural for your eyes. Import your next book into Bookhaven and enjoy a local-first reading experience designed to stay clear, calm, and dependable every day.
Restricted Section
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Never buy a book you already own. Restricted Section is your personal book catalog for iPhone. Scan the barcode on any book to add it instantly โ cover art, author, series, and metadata included. When you're browsing a store or a friend's shelf, scan to check ownership in seconds. SCAN TO ADD Point at any book's barcode. Restricted Section looks it up via Google Books and adds it to your library automatically. No typing required. ENTER ISBN MANUALLY Can't scan the barcode? Type the ISBN directly and get the same instant lookup. CHECK BEFORE YOU BUY A single tap launches the Check scanner. Scan any book for an immediate answer โ green checkmark if you own it, red X if you don't. No more duplicates. TRACK YOUR READING Mark books as Unread, Reading, Finished, or Wishlist. Add a 1โ5 star rating and personal notes to any book in your collection. BROWSE BY SERIES Group your books by series and see which volumes you have โ and which are still missing. BUILT FOR PRIVACY Everything stays on your device. No account. No cloud sync. No analytics. The only network requests the app makes are ISBN lookups to fetch book metadata โ nothing personal ever leaves your phone. Restricted Section is free, open source, and built for people who take their bookshelves seriously.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Restricted Section at none against Bookhaven's 1. Restricted Section also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). Bookhaven's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Bookhaven sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Restricted Section asks for nothing beyond the download.
Bookhaven ships an update monthly, Restricted Section every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bookhaven | Restricted Section |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 weeks โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No โ better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod โ better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fishington Studios | Elijah Winter |
In-app purchases
Bookhaven
- Upgrade to Pro$4.99
Restricted Section
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Bookhaven free?
Is Restricted Section free?
Do Bookhaven or Restricted Section have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bookhaven or Restricted Section?
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