# Bookends vs HabitGrid

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bookends at 76% against HabitGrid's 31%. Bookends also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (399 vs 35). HabitGrid's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bookends sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year and HabitGrid sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Bookends holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookends has 399 ratings behind it against 35, 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 31% of HabitGrid's.

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, HabitGrid every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bookends | HabitGrid |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (399 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookends/id739087947/reviews)** | [4.2 (35 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/habitgrid-goal-tracker/id6471393755/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **399** | 35 |
| Positive reviews | **76.4% of reviews** | 30.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 114 MB | 7 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sonny Software, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/417583547) | [LEAP STUDIO](https://appshunter.io/developer/1472946428) |

## 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


### HabitGrid

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/habitgrid-goal-tracker/id6471393755)

Build positive daily routines with this habit tracker. It offers interactive widgets, timely reminders, and streak tracking to help you stay consistent. Share your progress and get daily inspiration to achieve your goals.

**Highlights:** Interactive widgets, Timely reminders, Streak tracking, Consistency charts, Progress sharing, iCloud sync

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $9.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bookends free?

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

### Is HabitGrid free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Bookends or HabitGrid?

Bookends is rated higher. Bookends averages 4.7 out of 5 from 399 ratings, while HabitGrid averages 4.2 from 35 ratings.

### Do Bookends or HabitGrid have ads?

Neither Bookends nor HabitGrid shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bookends or HabitGrid?

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, and HabitGrid every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bookends was updated on November 1, 2026 and HabitGrid on October 24, 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.*