Comparison

Understory 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

Understory

This app helps you track your reading progress, set goals, and build a consistent reading habit. It features a unique plant aesthetic and allows you to grow real-world trees by meeting reading objectives. Connect with friends, share recommendations, and view insightful reading statistics.

Highlights
  • Log reading progress and books
  • Set reading goals and streaks
  • Grow real-world trees by meeting objectives
  • Connect with friends and join book groups
  • Share book recommendations
  • View reading statistics and insights
  • Organize custom reading lists
Features
Read full description

Understory is a reading tracker, book tracker, and social reading app designed to help you track books, log reading progress, set reading goals, and stay consistent. Whether you’re organizing your bookshelf, building a reading habit, or joining a book group, Understory brings together everything you need in one place with a fun plant aesthetic. Join the Understory bookish community to build a better reading habit and build a better world! GROW REAL-LIFE TREES: Watch your garden bloom in Understory and meet monthly objectives to grow real-world trees! Visit friends’ gardens daily to help their trees grow! INTERACT WITH FRIENDS: Join book groups where you and your friends can read different books! Like and comment on reviews in the social feed! TRACK YOUR READING: Review your books with half stars, audiobook tags and private reads! Manage your library with custom reading lists including a Did Not Finish (DNF) list! LEVEL UP YOUR READING: Improve your reading habit with leaderboards for books read, reading streaks, and XP level! Earn XP by logging reading and interacting with other users! SHARE BOOK RECS: See your friends’ favorite and highly rated books and share book recommendations directly with your friends! SEE YOUR STATS: Get insights on your reading history and social interactions through shareable stats and graphs and our signature Library Card graphic! Understory is perfect for readers who want to: - Track books and reading progress in one place - Build a daily reading habit and reading streak by growing a fun garden that doesn’t feel like a chore - Log books, reviews, and ratings (with half stars!) - Organize a TBR (to be read) list - Track audiobooks and ebooks - Join a social book community - Discover new book recommendations Terms of Use: https://www.understory-app.com/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://www.understory-app.com/privacy-policy Content and Copyright Policy: https://www.understory-app.com/content-copyright-policy

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

Understory4 screens
Ex Libris4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ex Libris at none against Understory's 6. Understory's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (63 vs 3). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Understory sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Ex Libris asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Understory against 5.0 for Ex Libris. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Understory has 63 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 96% of Understory's written reviews are positive against 100% of Ex Libris's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Understory ships an update every 9 days, Ex Libris monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Understory versus Ex Libris: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUnderstoryEx Libris
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (63 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews95.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings63 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size213 MB10 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperUnderstory Studios LLCAtreides LLC

Customer experience

Understory

All ratings63 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive95.8%
Neutral4.2%
Negative0.0%

Ex Libris

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Understory

Subscriptions4
  • Understory Premium1 Month trial$4.991 Month
  • Understory Premium - Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Understory Premium1 Year trial$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Understory Premium - Yearly$49.991 Year
One-time2
  • Streak Freeze$0.99
  • Streak Restore$0.99
None

Ex Libris

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Understory free?
Understory is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ex Libris free?
Ex Libris is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Understory or Ex Libris?
Ex Libris is rated higher. Understory averages 4.9 out of 5 from 63 ratings, while Ex Libris averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Understory or Ex Libris have ads?
Neither Understory nor Ex Libris shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Understory or Ex Libris?
Understory ships an update every 9 days, and Ex Libris monthly. Most recently, Understory was updated on November 9, 2026 and Ex Libris on October 31, 2026.

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