ISBN Book Scanner & Library vs Bibliography
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ISBN Book Scanner & Library
Quickly scan book barcodes to instantly retrieve title, author, and cover information from multiple sources. Organize your collection, track reading progress, and export your library data. Purchase books directly through integrated links.
- Barcode scanning
- Batch scanning mode
- Personal library organization
- Reading status tracking
- Export to Goodreads/The StoryGraph/CSV
- Direct purchase links
- Citation generation
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Scan the books you own, build your personal library in seconds, and never accidentally buy the same book twice. A friend of mine keeps a shelf of books behind her sofa, most of them titles I had never come across. Last summer I went through the whole shelf with my phone, scanning one spine after another until every book was saved to my library. That is the app in one sentence: the fastest way I have found to get books into a list I actually keep. Point the camera at the barcode on the back of a book and the app reads the ISBN, then looks it up in Open Library, Google Books, Apple Books and more at the same time. The title, author and cover usually appear within a second or two, even for older or obscure titles. SHELF CHECK In a bookshop, holding a book you think you might already own, turn on Shelf Check and scan it without adding anything to your library. The app tells you whether that exact ISBN is saved, and whether the same title and author sit on a shelf in another edition. It also shows your history with the author: books you own, books read, and the average rating you gave them. Save it with one tap if you want it, or leave the screen and the library is untouched. The edition warning shows up on ordinary scans too, so a duplicate does not slip in unnoticed. YOUR LIBRARY Every book you scan lands in your library. Mark each one as Read, Currently Reading, or Want to Read, and sort them onto shelves you make yourself. I keep one shelf for the books I lend out and would like to see again. BATCH SCANNING When you have a whole shelf to get through, turn on batch mode and scan without stopping between books. The app keeps a running count and lets you look over everything once you are done. This is the mode I reach for when cataloguing a bookcase or a stack from the library. RATE & REMEMBER When you finish a book, give it a rating from one to five stars and write down what you thought while it is still fresh. I use the notes for the small things I would otherwise forget: who recommended it, who I want to lend it to, the line I underlined. Ratings and notes stay private, and they come along when you export. YOUR READING YEAR Set a goal for the year and watch the ring fill as you finish each book. A dedicated tab turns your library into a picture of the year: books read, your average rating, the author you come back to most, whether you are keeping pace, and a chart of every month. I set mine in January and check it more often than I should admit. Setting a goal is free. The full set of insights comes with Premium. EXPORT Your library does not have to stay in the app. Export the whole collection to Goodreads, The StoryGraph, LibraryThing, or a plain CSV file, or share a single book's citation as plain text, BibTeX or Markdown. The citation formats are there for students, researchers, and anyone who keeps a reference list. BUY WHERE YOU LIKE Open any scanned book in Apple Books, Amazon or Bookshop.org and buy it there. That link, from a book in your hand to the edition you want, is the reason I first built the app, back when I mostly wanted the ebook of whatever I found in a shop. Amazon links cover stores in 20 countries, and Premium lets you set the one you shop with. GO PREMIUM The first 10 books and your first shelf are free, with every book source available. So are reading goals and Shelf Check. Premium removes the limits, unlocks batch scanning, ratings and notes, the full reading insights, removes ads, and lets you set the Amazon store you prefer. • Shelf Check spots duplicates and other editions without saving • Batch scan whole shelves, then add reading status, ratings, and private notes • Set a reading goal and follow your year month by month • Export your library or open a book in the store you prefer • Go Premium for unlimited books and shelves, full insights, and no ads
Bibliography
Manage your personal book collection with this app. Organize your library, track books you own, want to buy, or have lent out, and group series for easy reading order. It helps you catalog books, add unreleased titles, and rate your reads.
- Organize personal book catalog
- Group books by series
- Track book status (owned, lent, to buy)
- Add unreleased books
- Rate and genre books
- Sync across devices via iCloud
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The book lovers app. Were you once confused trying to find a book you wanted to read at your apartment? Did you bring home a new book, and found exactly the same one on your shelf? Or are you afraid to miss a new book of your favorite author? If it's about you, just get this app! - Organize a catalog of a books for your own library. - Combine the books in the series with their numbers, so you won't forget the order to read them. - Mark your books! Put it in a home library list, mark it with an electronic form, or maybe you gave it to someone to read, or are you just planning to buy it? - Point places to find books easier No ads, no subscriptions, no limits - Add some books to the app which are not published yet. If a series is not complete and you'd like to get the sequel. - Rate the books, so you can make your own author's rating. - Specify the genres of your books, so you can easily search for books by genres you are interested in. - Sync with all your devices by iCloud.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bibliography at 100% against ISBN Book Scanner & Library's 13%. Bibliography also leads on rating (4.0 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). ISBN Book Scanner & Library's advantage is price (Free vs $0.99) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 15 months). On ratings volume 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
ISBN Book Scanner & Library is free to download; Bibliography costs $0.99 up front. ISBN Book Scanner & Library sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Bibliography asks for nothing beyond the download.
Bibliography holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 13% of ISBN Book Scanner & Library's written reviews are positive against 100% of Bibliography's.
ISBN Book Scanner & Library ships an update every 5 weeks, Bibliography every 15 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ISBN Book Scanner & Library | Bibliography |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) | 4.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 12.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks — better | Every 15 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.2 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Runar Ovesen Hjerpbakk | Valerii Dubovoi |
Customer experience
ISBN Book Scanner & Library
Bibliography
In-app purchases
ISBN Book Scanner & Library
- Premium$2.99
Bibliography
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ISBN Book Scanner & Library free?
Is Bibliography free?
Which has better reviews, ISBN Book Scanner & Library or Bibliography?
Do ISBN Book Scanner & Library or Bibliography have ads?
Which is updated more often, ISBN Book Scanner & Library or Bibliography?
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