Comparison

Bookends vs Citer

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

Citer

Write academic papers in sections on the go, manage references, and auto-generate citations and reference lists. Supports APA and MLA formats, with PDF and RTF export options.

Highlights
  • Section-based paper writing
  • Online reference search and import
  • Auto-generated citations and reference lists
  • APA and MLA format support
  • PDF and RTF export
  • Reference library for sharing
  • Image insertion
Read full description

Citer is a scholarly academic writing app for students & professionals that lets you write an academic paper in sections on the go with ease. A concise & precise reference management system that lets you search & add references and auto-generates citations & reference lists. LOOSE LEAF PAPER - Write one section at a time with each section as big and small as you like e.g. title page, abstract, author note, heading levels, etc. - Figure section lets you add an image such as a chart, graph, photo, drawing, or other illustration itself from the photo library. - You can also rearrange sections simply by drag & drop so that e.g. section 4 becomes section 1. SEARCH REFERENCE & ADD - Search for references online & add it to a paper and it auto-generates the reference entries and citations for you. CONCISE REFERENCE & PRECISE CITATION MACHINE - A concise reference entry which includes the four elements of author, date, title and source and answers the elemental question about a work of Who, When, What & Where. - Contributor element appears only where applicable e.g. for edited book chapters & TV Episode. - You can add a reference manually too and tweak it further and it auto-generates precise citation for you in a specific citation style. AUTOMATIC IN-TEXT CITATION - Auto-generates parenthetical and narrative in-text citation of single or multiple works with further choice of first or subsequent mention. - For APA, you can cite not just pages, but paragraphs, sections, tables, chapters, section names, slide numbers, etc. REFERENCE LIBRARY - A common reference library that lets you share references across papers and automatically adds a reference list section to your paper. REFERENCE TYPES - Comprehensive coverage of all reference types which includes textual works such as periodicals, books, edited book chapters, reports, conference session & presentations, and dissertations & theses. - Data sets, software, and tests. - Audiovisuals such as films or videos, tv series, tv episode and webinar; audio works such as songs and podcast episodes; visual works such as infographic, map and photo. - Online media such as social media and web pages. PDF MAKER - Automatically removes widow & orphan lines and generates PDF for you with reference list in a specific paper format. POWERFUL PAPER FORMATTING - Powerful paper formatting features such as paragraph indentation & alignment, heading levels, cases, superscript, etc. along with basic formatting features such as style, bullet, etc. - A choice of all of Apple's system fonts to choose from, e.g. Arial, Times New Roman, etc. EXPORT TO RTF - Export paper to RTF which retains all the formatting and includes the reference list which you can import & edit in Microsoft Word or Apple Pages app. - Export to MS DOC format only on the Mac. PAPER FORMAT - Citer covers APA & MLA format right now and other paper formats will be added soon. AUTOMATIC iCLOUD SYNC & STORE - Automatically stores all your papers and app data safely on iCloud and syncs across all your devices. ADAPTIVE SPLIT-VIEW USER INTERFACE - Citer is a universal app available on iOS, iPadOS & macOS and adapts its split-view design on the fly so that user gets best & native experience on that platform. Monthly & yearly subscription with free trial period of 3 days for monthly and 7 days for yearly with full access to all features of the app. Requires an active subscription without which you can only read & not edit. Citer's powerful loose-Leaf paper makes writing on the go on a mobile device such as an iPhone, iPad or MacBook a breeze. Whether you are a student writing an essay or a professional writing a manuscript for publication, Citer is the app for writing an academic paper on the go with ease and its concise & precise reference management system will help you understand the work better, provide appropriate credit and avoid plagiarism. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Bookends4 screens
Citer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bookends at 76% against Citer's 0%. Bookends also leads on rating (4.7 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (400 vs 1). Citer's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 and Citer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bookends holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookends has 400 ratings behind it against 1, 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 0% of Citer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, Citer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Bookends versus Citer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookendsCiter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (400 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews76.4% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings400 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size114 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSonny Software, LLCBetyl Pty Ltd

Customer experience

Bookends

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

Citer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

Citer

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
2 purchases

Citer

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is Bookends free?
Bookends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Citer free?
Citer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bookends or Citer?
Bookends is rated higher. Bookends averages 4.7 out of 5 from 400 ratings, while Citer averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Bookends or Citer have ads?
Neither Bookends nor Citer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bookends or Citer?
Bookends ships an update every 2 months, and Citer every 2 weeks. Most recently, Bookends was updated on October 29, 2026 and Citer on October 26, 2026.

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