# Bookends vs Talk Fast

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Talk Fast at 100% against Bookends's 76%. Talk Fast also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Bookends's advantage is ratings volume (394 vs 7). 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 Talk Fast sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Talk Fast holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookends has 394 ratings behind it against 7, 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 100% of Talk Fast's.

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, Talk Fast every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 28, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bookends | Talk Fast |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (394 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookends/id739087947/reviews) | **[5.0 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/talk-fast/id6471924431/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **394** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | 76.4% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 111 MB | 15 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.6** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sonny Software, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/417583547) | [John Wright](https://appshunter.io/developer/1714178441) |

## 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


### Talk Fast

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/talk-fast/id6471924431)

This app allows you to quickly convert your spoken words into text messages. It offers a simple workflow to talk, stop, and then copy your transcribed message to any application. It saves your last 50 transcriptions for easy access.

**Highlights:** Speech-to-text conversion, Copy text to any app, Save last 50 transcriptions, Usage statistics, Pay-as-you-go talk time

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Talk Time | $1.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bookends free?

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

### Is Talk Fast free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Bookends or Talk Fast?

Talk Fast is rated higher. Bookends averages 4.7 out of 5 from 394 ratings, while Talk Fast averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.

### Do Bookends or Talk Fast have ads?

Neither Bookends nor Talk Fast shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bookends or Talk Fast?

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, and Talk Fast every 2 weeks. Most recently, Bookends was updated on August 28, 2026 and Talk Fast on September 12, 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.*