Comparison

Bookends vs DEVONthink To Go 4

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

DEVONthink To Go 4

Manage your entire knowledge library on your iPad and iPhone. Organize, edit, and annotate documents, notes, and more. Leverage generative AI for summaries, content creation, and advanced search. Syncs privately and securely across devices.

Highlights
  • Document organization and management
  • AI-powered summaries and content creation
  • PDF annotation and editing
  • On-device OCR for searchable documents
  • Cross-device secure synchronization
  • Custom metadata and tagging
  • Shortcuts automation
Features
Read full description

Your entire knowledge library. Always with you. Always private. DEVONthink To Go is your document repository when you're not at your Mac. Collect, organize, edit, and annotate. Use generative AI to work with your stored knowledge or create new documents. Automate with Shortcuts. Our time-tested technology keeps all your data in sync between your Mac, iPad, and iPhone, privately and securely. The professional document and information manager for iPad and iPhone. From DEVONtechnologies, driving innovation since 2002. - Students: Annotate research papers with AI-powered summaries - Teachers: Organize your materials, use AI to create handouts and tests - Researchers: Have your data with you in a robust, powerful knowledge manager - Lawyers: Keep all case files organized and encrypted Have your important documents with you at all times: - Never lose an important document again, keep everything organized - Store PDFs, notes, images, bookmarks, just about any type - File your documents in groups, even more than one group at a time - Use tags, mark documents with flags or as unread, give them a star rating - Versioning lets you return to a previous state of a document - Revision-proof databases prevent edits to documents with special requirements - Sync your data between Macs, iPads, and iPhones, securely and privately Work with your documents: - Edit texts, Markdown files, or rich text documents - Annotate and edit PDFs with common tools - Make scans, scanned PDFs, or images searchable with the built-in, on-device OCR - Add custom, searchable metadata fields to enrich your documents Use generative AI: - Work with your favorite provider and model - Chat with your documents, analyze or summarize them - Transform text or extract text from images and even handwritten notes - Create new images from your data - Find documents using natural language with the AI-powered search assistant - Let the AI make order from chaos, rename documents, add tags, or label or rate them DEVONthink To Go is well-integrated with other apps: - Link to your documents from other apps with universal links - Access all your documents also through the Files app - Clip data from almost any app with the Clip to DEVONthink extension - Use drag-and-drop, inside DEVONthink To Go or between apps - Automate repetitive tasks with Shortcuts actions DEVONthink To Go is great standalone but also works perfectly with DEVONthink for Mac and across multiple devices. Synchronize your databases securely and privately over the local network or through a cloud service of your choice. You decide what data is synced, when, and where. Strong encryption makes sure that your data belongs to you, not to your service provider or us. Privacy policy: https://www.devontechnologies.com/r/privacy End user license agreement: https://www.devontechnologies.com/r/eula

Screenshots

Bookends4 screens
DEVONthink To Go 44 screens

Verdict

The call

Bookends and DEVONthink To Go 4 both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 76% of Bookends's written reviews are positive against 43% of DEVONthink To Go 4's. Bookends also leads on iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). DEVONthink To Go 4's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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 DEVONthink To Go 4 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Bookends against 4.7 for DEVONthink To Go 4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 394 and 226 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Bookends's written reviews are positive against 43% of DEVONthink To Go 4's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, DEVONthink To Go 4 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 28, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Bookends versus DEVONthink To Go 4: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookendsDEVONthink To Go 4
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (394 ratings)4.7 (226 ratings)
Positive reviews76.4% of reviews — better42.9% of reviews
Number of ratings394 — better226
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size111 MB191 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperSonny Software, LLCDEVONtechnologies, LLC

Customer experience

Bookends

All ratings394 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral2.3%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews127 reviews
Positive76.4%
Neutral8.7%
Negative15.0%

DEVONthink To Go 4

All ratings226 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral2.7%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral21.4%
Negative35.7%

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

DEVONthink To Go 4

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

DEVONthink To Go 4

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • Yearly1 Month trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Bookends free?
Bookends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DEVONthink To Go 4 free?
DEVONthink To Go 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bookends or DEVONthink To Go 4?
Bookends and DEVONthink To Go 4 are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 394 and 226 ratings respectively.
Do Bookends or DEVONthink To Go 4 have ads?
Neither Bookends nor DEVONthink To Go 4 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bookends or DEVONthink To Go 4?
Bookends ships an update every 2 months, and DEVONthink To Go 4 every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bookends was updated on August 28, 2026 and DEVONthink To Go 4 on September 23, 2026.

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