# Bookends vs Uploader for Mendeley

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.

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.

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bookends | Uploader for Mendeley |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (400 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookends/id739087947/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/uploader-for-mendeley/id1606546011/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **400** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | **76.4% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 114 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sonny Software, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/417583547) | [Sven Gowal](https://appshunter.io/developer/1557039598) |

## What reviewers say

### Bookends

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookends/id739087947)

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:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium | $14.99 | per year |
| Standard | $14.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Seamless sync across devices
- 👍 Excellent PDF annotation tools
- 🔒 Reliable and stable
- 💡 Powerful reference management features
- 👍 Responsive and helpful developer support

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Sync issues with iCloud and PDF files
- 🔒 Subscription model for essential features
- 👎 Outdated and clunky user interface
- 🔒 Limited functionality on iOS without subscription

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/uploader-for-mendeley/id1606546011)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*