Comparison

Rafım vs Kernel

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

Head to head
About

Rafım

Features
Read full description

PHOTOGRAPH YOUR SHELF — AI DOES THE REST (Premium) - Take a photo of your shelf and AI reads the book spines - Books arrive with cover, author and page count - Review the list before adding; books you already own are marked BUILD YOUR LIBRARY - Scan an ISBN or add manually; cover, author and pages fill in automatically - First 5 books free; unlimited books and shelves with Premium - Create your own colour-coded shelves: Classics, Summer Reads, Someday… COMPLETE YOUR SERIES - We find the volumes you're missing and add them in one tap - “You own 3 of 5” — see exactly where you are in a series TRACK YOUR READING - Set a yearly goal, log pages read and books finished - Follow your progress with a heatmap, streaks and badges - Monthly Reading Recap and yearly Wrapped — ready to share LENDING TRACKER - Never forget who has your book - Get it back easily with reminders MULTILINGUAL & SAFE - 16 languages - Cloud backup keeps your library with you - Works offline too One more page every day. Your library now fits in your pocket. Terms: https://rafim-app.web.app/terms Privacy: https://rafim-app.web.app/privacy

About

Kernel

Features
Read full description

Chapter summaries of the books you read. You finish a book and a month later you remember one idea. Kernel keeps the rest. Every chapter, in plain words, readable in a minute. Open a book and see its chapters. Open a chapter and read it, or press Listen and hear it explained by two hosts while each word lights up as it is read. Your summaries are yours. They live in your account, sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web, and deleting your account deletes all of it. Sign in with Apple or email. Share any summary with a link.

Screenshots

Rafım4 screens
Kernel3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Rafım at Free against Kernel's $0.99. Rafım also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs weekly). Kernel's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Rafım is free to download; Kernel costs $0.99 up front. Rafım sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Kernel asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rafım ships an update every 4 days, Kernel weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
Rafım versus Kernel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRafımKernel
PriceFree — better$0.99
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMerve GultekinJoshua Trommel

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Rafım

Subscriptions2
  • Rafım Premium Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Rafım Premium Yearly7 Days trial$6.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$29.99
None

Kernel

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Rafım free?
Rafım is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kernel free?
Kernel costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Rafım or Kernel have ads?
Neither Rafım nor Kernel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Rafım or Kernel?
Rafım ships an update every 4 days, and Kernel weekly. Most recently, Rafım was updated on October 28, 2026 and Kernel on October 31, 2026.

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