Book Spin vs Bookspine
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Book Spin
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Stuck on your to-read pile? Book Spin picks a title for you. Import your Goodreads to-read shelf, add books by scanning a barcode, or type one in. Filter by genre and format — physical, digital, or audio — then spin. When you accept a pick, Book Spin opens it on Goodreads so you can mark it currently reading, and removes it from your local TBR. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Spin a random book from your library • Filter by genre and by format (physical, digital, audio) • Import a Goodreads library export (CSV) — only to-read titles are added • Scan an ISBN barcode or type the ISBN to look a book up • Add or edit titles by hand, with covers, notes, genres, and formats • Search your library by title, author, genre, or format • Tag several books at once with genres or formats • Share a CSV into the app from Safari, Files, or Downloads GETTING YOUR GOODREADS LIST IN The Goodreads app can’t export your library. In Safari, go to Goodreads → My Books → Import and export → Export Library. When the CSV is ready, download it and share it to Book Spin. YOUR BOOKS STAY ON YOUR DEVICE Your library is stored on your iPhone. Book Spin is not affiliated with Goodreads or Amazon.
Bookspine
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The book you're reading, on your Home Screen. Bookspine is a reading widget with no subscription and no ads: add a book, and your current read — with a progress ring — sits on the Home Screen. Tap the widget to add pages without opening the app. Most reading apps keep the widget behind a subscription. Here the widget is the point, so the Small one is free, and the number of books is never limited. ■ Free ・Small widget: the book you're reading, its cover or spine, and how far you are ・Add pages right on the widget (iOS 17 interactive widgets) ・Unlimited books — no five-book cap ・Finished books stay on your shelf, free, forever ・Search by title or author, or scan the ISBN barcode ・Works without a connection: you can always add a book by hand ・Set a reading goal for this year and see how close you are ■ Bookspine Pro (one-time purchase, not a subscription) ・Medium widget: cover, progress bar, pages left, books this year ・Large widget: this year's shelf — every book you've finished, lined up ・Lock Screen widgets: your progress without unlocking ・See your shelf by spines or by covers ・Reading goal widget: how far to this year's goal, on the Home and Lock Screens ・Year in review: books per month, pages read, your thickest book and the year's shelf — past years too ・iCloud sync: books, progress and your goal, the same on all your devices — even after a new iPhone ・To-read shelf widget: your to-read pile as spines, in Medium and Large ・Import from Goodreads: bring in what you've read, are reading and want to read from your export file, in one go ・Spine colors: pick the color of any book's spine ■ The shelf Books you finish line up on a shelf, oldest to newest. Books without a cover are drawn as a spine — a colour and the title — so the shelf never has grey holes in it. ■ Privacy Your books stay on your device. Only if you turn on iCloud sync (Pro), they sync through your own iCloud between devices signed in to your Apple Account — the developer never sees them. No account, no ads, no tracking. Only anonymous usage (which screens and widget sizes are used, whether Pro was purchased) is sent to improve the app — never your books, names or any Apple identifier. You can turn it off in Settings. Turn on “Also find covers on Apple Books” in Settings to fill in covers Open Library doesn't have (off by default). Book data comes from Open Library.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Book Spin at none against Bookspine's 1. Bookspine's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.5). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Bookspine sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Book Spin asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Book Spin | Bookspine |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | — | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.5 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ANTHONY SAMUAL COHN-RICHARDBY | Minari Taniguchi |
In-app purchases
Book Spin
No in-app purchases
Bookspine
- Bookspine Pro$4.99









