Comparison

Ex Libris Lookup vs Ex Libris

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

Head to head
About

Ex Libris Lookup

Features
Read full description

Ex Libris Lookup — Know your books. Own your library. Ex Libris Lookup is a fast, private reference tool for readers, students, and librarians. Find the identifiers and details behind any book, build a personal library, and track your reading — all without accounts, ads, or tracking. Find any book Search by title, author, keyword, or ISBN and instantly pull the details you need. Or scan a book's ISBN barcode with your camera to search without typing a single character. Library identifiers at your fingertips Look up Dewey Decimal (DDC), ISBN, LCCN, ISSN, and ASIN numbers for cataloging, citations, and reference. Tap to copy any identifier in a moment. Your own library, on your device Save books to a personal library that lives entirely on your device — no cloud, no sign-in. Organize titles onto shelves, add books in bulk, and keep everything at hand offline. Scan whole shelves with AI (Pro) Point your camera at a bookshelf and let AI read the spines — add dozens of books to your library in one shot, no typing required. Smart collections (Pro) Build collections that organize themselves. Set rules — reading status, rating, format, Dewey class, subject, author, or tag — and books file themselves in automatically as your library changes. Shelf reports (Pro) Get an AI-crafted portrait of your library: its personality, highlights, and tailored suggestions for what to add next. Track loans and locations Lend a book without losing it. Record who borrowed what, set return reminders, and map your library's physical locations, room by room and shelf by shelf. Smart entry Adding books by hand is effortless. As you type, Ex Libris Lookup suggests authors and series drawn from your own saved library, so your catalog stays consistent and quick to build. Track your reading Mark books as want-to-read, reading, read, or did-not-finish. Record your current page to watch your progress, rate finished titles, and save memorable quotes and notes. Smart tags & summaries On-device text analysis suggests relevant tags and concise summaries for your books — processed right on your phone, never sent anywhere. For You recommendations Discover what to read next with personalized suggestions based on the tastes reflected in your own library. Statistics dashboard See your reading come to life with reading streaks, per-month charts, and insights into your habits over time. Citations made easy Generate clean citations in MLA, APA, Chicago, or BibTeX for any book in your library — perfect for essays, papers, and bibliographies. Private by design Ex Libris Lookup collects no personal information and requires no account. Everything you save stays on your device. Book searches are sent only to open book catalogs (Open Library and Google Books) to fetch results, and Pro's AI features send only the shelf photo or book list needed to generate results — nothing is sold or shared. The app sends a small number of anonymous, device-level diagnostics (such as anonymized purchase-error reports) to help us fix problems — these contain no personal information and are never used for advertising or tracking. No ads, no third-party trackers, no accounts — ever. Book data is provided by Open Library (openlibrary.org) and Google Books. Ex Libris Lookup is not affiliated with either service. Ex Libris Pro is an optional auto-renewing subscription ($4.99/month or $29.99/year). Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase, and the subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: available in the app under Settings → Privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Ex Libris

Organize your reading life with this app. Easily add books by scanning barcodes or covers, track your reading progress, and save memorable passages. Connect with friends to see what they're reading and share your own literary discoveries.

Highlights
  • Add books via barcode scan or cover photo
  • Track reading progress and pace
  • Save and share favorite passages
  • Create custom bookplates
  • Connect with friends to see their reading
  • Discuss books with other readers
Features
Read full description

Ex Libris is a quiet & cozy home for your reading life. Scan a book's barcode or snap its cover and it lands on your shelf with the details already filled in. Nudge your progress as you read, keep the passages worth keeping, and share the whole thing with your friends. ADD A BOOK IN SECONDS Point your camera at the barcode on the back, or photograph the cover and let your iPhone read the title. Search by title or author, or add rare finds and borrowed copies by hand. FOLLOW YOUR PROGRESS Ex Libris keeps the sessions quietly in the background, works out your pace, and tells you roughly how many days are left in the book. When you finish, rate it, write a line to remember it by, and pass it on. KEEP THE GOOD LINES Scan a page and pull the text straight off it. Highlight the passages that stopped you, add a personal note, and share it with friends. MARK IT AS YOURS Design your own bookplate — a frame, a typeface for your initials, a color. It follows you everywhere you turn up: your profile, your comments, your friends' pages. READ WITH FRIENDS Add friends by handle and see what they're reading. Browse their shelf, read the quotes they've kept, talk about a book with everyone else reading the same edition, and recommend the ones you think they'd enjoy reading too. No ads, or tracking, or a feed to scroll. Just your books, and the people you want to share them with. Ex Libris...from the library of you.

Screenshots

Ex Libris Lookup4 screens
Ex Libris4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ex Libris at none against Ex Libris Lookup's 2. Ex Libris Lookup's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Ex Libris Lookup sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Ex Libris asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ex Libris Lookup ships an update every 9 days, Ex Libris every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Ex Libris Lookup versus Ex Libris: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEx Libris LookupEx Libris
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGarst PetersonAtreides LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Ex Libris Lookup

Subscriptions2
  • Ex Libris Pro Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Ex Libris Pro Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
None

Ex Libris

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ex Libris Lookup free?
Ex Libris Lookup is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ex Libris free?
Ex Libris is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Ex Libris Lookup or Ex Libris have ads?
Neither Ex Libris Lookup nor Ex Libris shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ex Libris Lookup or Ex Libris?
Ex Libris Lookup ships an update every 9 days, and Ex Libris every 10 days. Most recently, Ex Libris Lookup was updated on October 8, 2026 and Ex Libris on October 9, 2026.

Other comparisons