# Bookends vs Easy Smart Scanner

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Easy Smart Scanner at none against Bookends's 2. Easy Smart Scanner also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). Bookends's advantage is ratings volume (394 vs 12). 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. Easy Smart Scanner asks for nothing beyond the download.

Easy Smart Scanner holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookends has 394 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, Easy Smart Scanner every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on August 28, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bookends | Easy Smart Scanner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (394 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookends/id739087947/reviews) | **[4.9 (12 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/easy-smart-scanner/id6504409603/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **394** | 12 |
| Positive reviews | 76.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 111 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sonny Software, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/417583547) | [Christophe Pereira](https://appshunter.io/developer/1686588142) |

## 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


### Easy Smart Scanner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/easy-smart-scanner/id6504409603)

Transform your iPhone or iPad into a powerful portable scanner. Digitize documents, photos, and receipts with high-quality, multi-page scanning and easy sharing options. Enhance your scans with custom filters and enjoy all features for free.

**Highlights:** High-quality scanning, Multi-page document scanning, Share and export in PDF, Customizable enhancement filters, User-friendly interface, Completely free to use

**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 Easy Smart Scanner free?

Easy Smart Scanner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Bookends or Easy Smart Scanner?

Easy Smart Scanner is rated higher. Bookends averages 4.7 out of 5 from 394 ratings, while Easy Smart Scanner averages 4.9 from 12 ratings.

### Do Bookends or Easy Smart Scanner have ads?

Neither Bookends nor Easy Smart Scanner shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bookends or Easy Smart Scanner?

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, and Easy Smart Scanner every 2 days. Most recently, Bookends was updated on August 28, 2026 and Easy Smart Scanner on September 11, 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.*