Comparison

BookDiary vs Ritsu

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

Head to head
About

BookDiary

A private reading journal to track your books, quotes, and reading habits without requiring an account or social sharing. Log your progress, save memorable passages, and discover new reads all on your device.

Highlights
  • Private reading journal
  • Save quotes from pages
  • Reading progress tracking
  • Digital book shelf
  • Reading calendar
  • Personal reading awards
  • Draw from TBR pile
Read full description

A private reading journal for readers who’d rather not share. Snap a page to save the line that stayed with you, watch your reading days quietly fill a calendar, and keep every book on a shelf that’s yours alone. No accounts. No social feed. ◆ FEATURES Five tabs: Shelf, Reading, To Read, Quotes and Records Read from a photo: snap a page and the text becomes your quote. Snap the cover to fill in title and author. Text recognition runs on your device. Reading calendar: days you added a book, logged a page, or saved a quote are marked Monthly wrap: books finished, pages, reading days and a line from the month, on one card A line for today: one of your saved quotes as a notification at the time you choose (optional) First reads and rereads logged separately, so you can see how a book changes with you Quote cards: save or share a passage as a washi-paper image Reading progress: log today’s page and watch the bar fill Personal reading awards: book of the year, most moving, most reread and more Draw a book: can’t decide what’s next? Draw one from your TBR pile Beautiful covers without photos: nine genres, each with its own washi-paper design. Using a photo? Pinch and drag to fit it to the frame. ◆ WHO IT’S FOR Readers who want to read without other people’s ratings Commonplace-book keepers moving from paper to phone Rereaders who return to favorite books over the years Anyone with a tall TBR pile Lovers of dark academia and quiet design People who avoid apps that require an account ◆ PRIVACY No account required Your books, quotes and notes are stored on your device only and never sent to a server Photo text recognition happens on-device No barcode lookups or external book services No tracking, no analytics on your reading To introduce our other apps, the app may load public App Store information (app names and icons). Your records are never sent. ◆ PRICING, PLAINLY BookDiary is free to use. The free version includes: Up to 50 books Up to 3 quotes per book and 3 photos per reading log 2 personal award categories Up to 5 entries per My Data category 5 photo text scans Washi quote cards in square format Reading calendar for the current month; monthly wrap viewable in the app The Sumi shelf theme in cover view Introductions to our other apps

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

BookDiary4 screens
Ritsu3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Ritsu at 5.0 against BookDiary's 4.0. Ritsu also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, 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. BookDiary 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

Ritsu holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookDiary ships an update every 2 weeks, Ritsu fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
BookDiary versus Ritsu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookDiaryRitsu
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB57 MB
Age rating4+4+
DevelopertorankiriteKYOSUKE WATANABE

Customer experience

BookDiary

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Ritsu

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

In-app purchases

1 purchases

BookDiary

One-time1
  • Premium$3.99
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 BookDiary free?
BookDiary 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, BookDiary or Ritsu?
Ritsu is rated higher. BookDiary averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Ritsu averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do BookDiary or Ritsu have ads?
Neither BookDiary nor Ritsu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BookDiary or Ritsu?
BookDiary ships an update every 2 weeks, and Ritsu fortnightly. Most recently, BookDiary was updated on October 25, 2026 and Ritsu on October 10, 2026.

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