Comparison

Bookends vs Taplet

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

Head to head
About

Bookends

Manage your research references and PDFs on your mobile device. Search online databases, import metadata, annotate PDFs, and organize your library. Offers basic functionality for free with optional one-time purchase and yearly subscription for advanced features like cloud sync and unlimited imports.

Highlights
  • Search online reference databases
  • Import metadata and PDFs
  • PDF annotation and markup
  • Barcode scanning for references
  • Cloud sync across devices
  • Share online libraries
  • Create multiple libraries
Features
Read full description

Bookends is the reference management app you've been looking for. The basic version offers: • Search online sites directly (arXiv, Google Books, Google Scholar, JSTOR, the Library of Congress, PubMed, PubMed Central, and Semantic Scholar) or use the built-in browser (EZProxy-compliant) to download reference metadata and PDFs (access privileges required). Searches can return a maximum of 20 references, and only 50 references can be stored in your personal database. • Use unique identifiers such as DOI, PMID, ISBN, or arXiv id to autofill references. • View the text of PDF annotations in a note stream, and create your own with our powerful PDF markup engine. • Barcode scanning, one per day. • And many more features designed to help you discover, organize, and use reference information. Standard, one-time purchase ($14.99): • No limit on searches or importing. Premium, yearly subscription ($14.99). Requires a Standard purchase. • Cloud sync with all your iOS devices and Bookends for Mac (separate purchase). • Share online libraries with colleagues. • Scan documents with Mellel Mobile*. • Create multiple libraries. • Unlimited barcode scanning. • Extract PDF annotations with deep links to annotations and text. • Convenient UI to add PDF notes to the library. • Automate your actions with Shortcuts. * iPad-only. Requires a Mellel Mobile Premium subscription. Subscription is for one year and has an auto-renew option. The subscription can be managed in iOS -> Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions. A subscription will renew if it isn't canceled at least 24 hours before the renewal date. If the subscription is not renewed, Premium will be disabled but Standard will continue to work. Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Taplet

Extract text from images and websites with a single tap. Supports Apple Pencil and Touch, with 7 different text extraction modes. Copied text syncs across Apple devices via Continuity.

Highlights
  • Web browser with OCR
  • Auto-paste keyboard
  • Extract text from images
  • Extract text from websites
  • Apple Pencil and Touch support
  • Continuity text syncing
  • Multiple text extraction modes
Features
Read full description

This is the world's first web browser with auto-paste keyboard and text recognition capabilities as well as support for both the Apple Pencil and Touch.  It allows for the ability to extract text from any picture and website displayed on the screen with just a simple tap on the screen.  There are 7 modes available to copy text from the screen:  1. Taplet 2. Draglet 3. Boxlet 4. Sizelet 5. Wavelet 6. Freestyle 7. Full Screen (In-App Purchase) With Apple's Continuity, the copied text is available to paste to any Apple device including the Mac, iPhone, and iPad.  This app is 100% advertisement free. I never ever never collect any data other than what is natively provided by Apple such as crash reports. Feel free to message me about any bugs, feedbacks, and/or concerns. Languages Supported: English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, French, Chinese (Traditional & Simplified), and many more. Please Note: * Text recognition of videos is not supported at this time (Use Apple Live Text instead). * Must enable full-access in the keyboard section of system settings for auto-paste capabilities. *** Due to Apple Privacy restrictions starting in iOS/iPadOS 16, you may need to enable "Paste from Other Apps" in the iOS/iPadOS settings ***

Screenshots

Bookends4 screens
Taplet4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Bookends at 4.7 against Taplet's 4.2. Bookends also leads on ratings volume (394 vs 5) and review sentiment (76% vs 60%). Taplet's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Bookends sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year and Taplet sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bookends holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookends has 394 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Bookends's written reviews are positive against 60% of Taplet's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, Taplet every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Bookends versus Taplet: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookendsTaplet
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (394 ratings) — better4.2 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews76.4% of reviews — better60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings394 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size111 MB2 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperSonny Software, LLCFahmia Insurance Agency

Customer experience

Bookends

All ratings394 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews127 reviews
Positive76.4%
Neutral8.7%
Negative15.0%

Taplet

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

Bugs and requests

Bookends

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incompatibility with iCloud Optimized Storage
  • Unreliable sync between desktop and mobile versions
  • Occasional data loss or corruption

Requested features

4 requests
  • Nested folders and tags for better organization
  • Automatic PDF metadata extraction
  • Improved search and filtering capabilities
  • Seamless integration with third-party services

Taplet

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bookends

Subscriptions1
  • Premium3 Months trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Standard$14.99
1 purchases

Taplet

One-time1
  • Full Screen Mode$2.99

Questions

Is Bookends free?
Bookends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Taplet free?
Taplet is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bookends or Taplet?
Bookends is rated higher. Bookends averages 4.7 out of 5 from 394 ratings, while Taplet averages 4.2 from 5 ratings.
Do Bookends or Taplet have ads?
Neither Bookends nor Taplet shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bookends or Taplet?
Bookends ships an update every 2 months, and Taplet every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bookends was updated on September 29, 2026 and Taplet on September 20, 2026.

Other comparisons