Comparison

Bookends vs Uploader for Mendeley

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

Uploader for Mendeley

Effortlessly upload articles and PDFs to your Mendeley library. This app automatically extracts bibliographic data from web pages and documents, offering customization and duplicate prevention for a streamlined research workflow.

Highlights
  • Direct URL pasting for uploads
  • Share webpages or PDFs
  • Recognizes bibliography from PDFs
  • Accurate bibliography for many websites
  • Duplicate prevention
  • Quick actions with custom tags
Features
Read full description

Directly paste a page URL into the Uploader-for-Mendeley search box or share a webpage or PDF with Uploader-for-Mendeley. We take care of the rest. Uploader-for-Mendeley is the most complete and customizable uploader app for Mendeley: - Recognizes bibliography entities from PDF files directly - Provides accurate bibliography for many websites (including ArXiv, ResearchGate and CNKI) - Offers duplicate prevention and integrates well with Google Scholar - Allows quick actions (e.g., adding a specific tag in a tap) - ... and much more Uploader-for-Mendeley automatically pulls in data from journal articles (such as those found on ArXiv.org or Nature.com) to create the perfect bibliography entry that can be directly be added to your personal Mendeley library.

Screenshots

Bookends4 screens
Uploader for Mendeley4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Uploader for Mendeley at none against Bookends's 2. Uploader for Mendeley also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). Bookends's advantage is review sentiment (76% vs 50%) and ratings volume (400 vs 2). 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. Bookends sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. Uploader for Mendeley asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Uploader for Mendeley holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookends has 400 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 76% of Bookends's written reviews are positive against 50% of Uploader for Mendeley's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, Uploader for Mendeley every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Bookends versus Uploader for Mendeley: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookendsUploader for Mendeley
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (400 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.4% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings400 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size114 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSonny Software, LLCSven Gowal

Customer experience

Bookends

All ratings398 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews127 reviews
Positive76.4%
Neutral8.7%
Negative15.0%

Uploader for Mendeley

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

Uploader for Mendeley

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
None

Uploader for Mendeley

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bookends free?
Bookends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Uploader for Mendeley free?
Uploader for Mendeley is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bookends or Uploader for Mendeley?
Uploader for Mendeley is rated higher. Bookends averages 4.7 out of 5 from 400 ratings, while Uploader for Mendeley averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Bookends or Uploader for Mendeley have ads?
Neither Bookends nor Uploader for Mendeley shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bookends or Uploader for Mendeley?
Bookends ships an update every 2 months, and Uploader for Mendeley every 3 months. Most recently, Bookends was updated on November 6, 2026 and Uploader for Mendeley on November 3, 2026.

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