Glose vs Bilingual Bookshelf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Glose
This reading app enhances the experience with social features, allowing users to connect with others, share notes, and join online book clubs. Explore a vast ebookstore, read excerpts for free, and import your own EPUBs for offline access.
- Social reading and annotation sharing
- Access to 1 million ebooks
- Read up to 10% of any book for free
- Import your own EPUBs
- Offline reading capabilities
- Create and join online book clubs
- Generate and share quote cards
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The next-generation READING APP that makes reading AWESOME with features to keep you engaged and motivated. Pick a book in our choice of 1 million, start reading any book for free, connect with other readers and share notes, highlights, and conversation - and become a better reader. Build your bookshelf in seconds : Create a free reader profile, organize your books, create lists. Browse our ebookstore : 1 million ebooks in all categories. Best sellers, fiction, non fiction, young adult, business, education etc... with great discounts and free classics. Start any book for free! One touch and you’re into any book for free. Read up to 10% of the content before deciding to pursue and purchase the book. Also, upload an import your own epubs from Dropbox, your desktop of anywhere else! Read anywhere, anytime, online and offline. Glose stores your current reads so you can read them offline, in the bus, subway, in the depths of a mysterious forest or a far away galaxy. Join the Community : see what other people are reading, recommending, highlighting, and annotating. Read with your friends! Create reading groups to read with your friends and share highlights and annotations. Shared annotations in the margins of the text make reading more engaging and exciting. Post a note and see what other readers think. Start an online book club! Create a group, pick a name and image, invite people and choose books : you’ve got your online book club read to go - around the world! Make reading beautiful : create beautiful quote cards from the books you read. Choose a sentence that inspires you, choose a background photo, and share the quote card on social media. More about Glose : Reading for better learning : our unique features makes your reading more conducive to text analysis, memorization, and study. Glose is used in leading schools and universities to power distribution of reading material and discussion around text. Our bookstore features the works of Malcolm Gladwell, Walter Isaacson, Stephen King, John Green, Paulo Coelho, James Patterson, E.L. James, Suzanne Collins, Danielle Steel, David Baldacci, Janet Evanovich, Nora Roberts, Dan Brown, Dean Koontz, John Grisham, George R.R Martin, and many more ! • Read popular FREE ebooks by classic authors : Moby Dick, Alice in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes, The Art of War, by Sun Tzu, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Tales from Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet, Pride & Prejudice and more. On Glose, reading becomes social. You can highlight your favorite quotes with one touch, archive them, share them on social networks, and annotate them. So join our community of readers who read, share, and discuss the books they love! Glose provides the most powerful reading experience online. • Customise your reading settings to personalise your experience : fonts, spacing, page structure, background color (might mode and more). • Always pick up your reading at the right page thanks to automatic synchronisation of your Reading activity on all devices. • Make new friends through books So what are you waiting for ? Don’t miss the inspiring conversations happening every day in Glose, and Download our app ! Connect with us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/GloseApp) Follow Glose on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Glose)
Bilingual Bookshelf
Explore a collection of over 50 bilingual storybooks in American Sign Language and English. Designed for families, this app fosters language development, literacy, and a love for reading through engaging stories and vibrant illustrations.
- 50+ bilingual storybooks
- American Sign Language (ASL) and English narration
- Stunning illustrations
- Vocabulary building
- Early language development support
- Literacy skill enhancement
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The Clerc Center proudly presents a bookshelf of 50+ bilingual storybooks in American Sign Language (ASL) and English — made for families who believe in the power of language, imagination, and connection. Each story invites you to: - Experience amazing storytelling told in rich ASL and written English - Enjoy stunning illustrations that bring stories to life - Grow your vocabulary with a wide range of new and familiar words These storybooks support early language development, literacy skills, and a lifelong love of reading — all in an engaging, fully accessible way. Start your family's bilingual journey today! There's a story here for everyone. Your bookshelf is waiting. Apple's EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bilingual Bookshelf at 100% against Glose's 27%. Bilingual Bookshelf also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5). Glose's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (8.1K vs 6). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Bilingual Bookshelf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Glose asks for nothing beyond the download.
Bilingual Bookshelf holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Glose has 8.1K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 27% of Glose's written reviews are positive against 100% of Bilingual Bookshelf's.
Glose ships an update every 3 weeks, Bilingual Bookshelf every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Glose | Bilingual Bookshelf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (8.1K ratings) | 4.8 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 26.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8.1K — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 65 MB | 598 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Readwise, Inc | Gallaudet University |
Customer experience
Glose
Bilingual Bookshelf
Bugs and requests
Glose
Reported bugs
4 issues- Pages skipping or jumping unexpectedly
- Highlighting and note-taking features not working as expected
- Audiobook playback issues like skipping and glitching
- Login and account management problems
Requested features
4 requests- Bookmark and annotation management
- Customizable reading settings
- Seamless sync across devices
- Improved search and organization of library
Bilingual Bookshelf
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Glose
No in-app purchases
Bilingual Bookshelf
- Monthly Subscription$0.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription$4.991 Year
Questions
Is Glose free?
Is Bilingual Bookshelf free?
Which has better reviews, Glose or Bilingual Bookshelf?
Do Glose or Bilingual Bookshelf have ads?
Which is updated more often, Glose or Bilingual Bookshelf?
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