Bookends vs APA Citation Generator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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/
APA Citation Generator
Effortlessly create APA 7 or MLA 9 citations with this tool. It supports autofill from URLs, combining multiple sources, and generating in-text citations. Organize and back up your references securely in iCloud.
- APA 7 and MLA 9 citation generation
- Autofill from URLs
- Combine multiple sources
- Generate in-text citations
- Scan books via ISBN
- iCloud backup and sync
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Solon makes it easy to generate APA 7 or MLA 9 citations. You just have to save a source and you will be able to generate reference list citations, narrative citations and parenthetical citations. No sign-in is required. Autofill: Automatically fill in details by searching or entering URLs. Combine multiple sources: Create multi-source citations. Organize your sources: Keep your sources organized in one place. Generate in-text citations: Create narrative or parenthetical in-text citations. Scan books: Add books by scanning their ISBN barcodes. Data is backed up: Your citations are backed up securely in your iCloud and synchronized across your devices. If you have any suggestions on how to improve Solon, feel free to contact the App Support email. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Bookends at 399 against APA Citation Generator's 11. APA Citation Generator's advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.7) and update cadence (every 3 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
Both are free to download. Bookends sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year and APA Citation Generator sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
APA Citation Generator holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookends has 399 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Bookends ships an update every 2 months, APA Citation Generator every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bookends | APA Citation Generator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (399 ratings) | 4.9 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 76.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 399 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 17.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 114 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sonny Software, LLC | Havard Tryman |
Customer experience
Bookends
APA Citation Generator
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
APA Citation Generator
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Bookends
- Premium3 Months trial$14.991 Year
- Standard$14.99
APA Citation Generator
- Pro3 Days trial$5.997 Days
- Pro$24.991 Year
Questions
Is Bookends free?
Is APA Citation Generator free?
Which has better reviews, Bookends or APA Citation Generator?
Do Bookends or APA Citation Generator have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bookends or APA Citation Generator?
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