# Bookends vs Count Pomodoros

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Count Pomodoros at none against Bookends's 2. Count Pomodoros also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Bookends's advantage is ratings volume (398 vs 2). On price, 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. Count Pomodoros asks for nothing beyond the download.

Count Pomodoros holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookends has 398 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, Count Pomodoros every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bookends | Count Pomodoros |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (398 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookends/id739087947/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/count-pomodoros/id6449438985/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **398** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 76.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 114 MB | 18 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **16.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sonny Software, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/417583547) | [德宇 赵](https://appshunter.io/developer/721107834) |

## 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


### Count Pomodoros

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/count-pomodoros/id6449438985)

Enhance focus and productivity with a time management tool that supports Pomodoro and Single-Core modes. It offers a simple, secure interface with iCloud sync and no login required for most features.

**Highlights:** Pomodoro and Single-Core timing modes, No login required for most features, Simple and intuitive interface, iCloud sync and backup, Continuous innovation based on productivity methods

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bookends free?

Bookends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Count Pomodoros free?

Count Pomodoros is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Bookends or Count Pomodoros?

Count Pomodoros is rated higher. Bookends averages 4.7 out of 5 from 398 ratings, while Count Pomodoros averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Bookends or Count Pomodoros have ads?

Neither Bookends nor Count Pomodoros shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bookends or Count Pomodoros?

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, and Count Pomodoros every 3 days. Most recently, Bookends was updated on October 12, 2026 and Count Pomodoros on September 29, 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.*