Comparison

Bookends vs Moonlight

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

Moonlight

Streamline your research by integrating AI tools directly into your PDF documents. Get instant explanations, translations, and citation details without leaving your reading interface.

Highlights
  • AI-powered explanations
  • Document translation
  • Citation retrieval
  • Integrated research tools
  • Seamless PDF interaction
Features
Read full description

Make room for your next idea. Moonlight brings paper reading and your research library together on iPhone and iPad. Open a PDF, explore a paper, and keep the details you want to return to. READ WITH FOCUS Open research PDFs in the Moonlight reader. Use AI assistance for summaries, questions, and translation as you work through a paper. BUILD YOUR LIBRARY Keep papers together and find them by title, author, or tag. Switch between compact lists, minimal lists, and visual cards to suit the way you browse. KEEP YOUR THINKING CLOSE Use tags, ratings, and notes to organize what matters. See paper details and your notes in one place. PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF Recent papers help you return to your reading. Sign in to access your Moonlight library across supported devices. Some features require an account, an internet connection, or an eligible subscription. AI-generated content may be inaccurate; check it against the original paper.

Screenshots

Bookends4 screens
Moonlight4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Moonlight at none against Bookends's 2. Moonlight also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). Bookends's advantage is review sentiment (76% vs 64%). On price, ads and device support 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. Moonlight asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookends ships an update every 2 months, Moonlight every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on August 28, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Bookends versus Moonlight: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookendsMoonlight
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (394 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews76.4% of reviews — better64.3% of reviews
Number of ratings394 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size111 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSonny Software, LLCCorca, Inc.

Customer experience

Bookends

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

Moonlight

Written reviews14 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral21.4%
Negative14.3%

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

Moonlight

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
None

Moonlight

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bookends free?
Bookends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Moonlight free?
Moonlight is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Bookends or Moonlight have ads?
Neither Bookends nor Moonlight shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bookends or Moonlight?
Bookends ships an update every 2 months, and Moonlight every 10 days. Most recently, Bookends was updated on August 28, 2026 and Moonlight on September 18, 2026.

Other comparisons