Leanpub vs BookWatch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Leanpub
Access your entire ebook library on your mobile device. Discover new titles, take notes, and switch between reading modes. Authors can also write and publish their own books directly through the platform.
- Read Leanpub ebooks
- Discover new ebooks
- Sync notes across devices
- Dark and Light Mode reading
- Write and publish books
- Read ebook samples
Read full descriptionHide full description
Leanpub is the world's best platform for reading and writing ebooks. Download the app to read and listen to all the ebooks in your Leanpub library on your iPhone and iPad. Discover new authors and ebooks in the Leanpub store. Take Leanpub courses right in the app, with lessons, videos, and quizzes. Write and publish your own books using powerful features for authors — now including real-time collaborative writing. With the Leanpub app you can: Read all your Leanpub ebooks, including PDF books, with full offline support Listen to your books with Read Aloud: background playback with follow-along highlighting Take courses with video lessons and quizzes with instant feedback Discover new Leanpub ebooks, courses, and bundles Take notes and highlights within books and sync them across devices Share favorite passages as beautiful quote cards Keep reading from your Home Screen with widgets like Continue Reading, The Shelf, and Passage of the Day Join the conversation in your books' community forums Write on the go: draft chapters, edit visually, and preview and publish new versions Write together with your co-authors in real time Manage co-authors, browse your royalties, and organize collections in the Author studio Choose between Dark Mode and Light Mode for comfortable reading Read samples of ebooks, where available Use credits to add new books to your library Write and publish reviews of books right from your library By using this app, you agree to the Leanpub Terms of Service (https://leanpub.com/terms), Privacy Policy (https://leanpub.com/privacy), Copyright Policy (https://leanpub.com/takedown) and Refund Policy (https://leanpub.com/refunds).
BookWatch
Learn from books by watching animated video summaries. Access key insights from fiction and non-fiction titles presented in engaging whiteboard animations. Ideal for visual learners who prefer concise, digestible content.
- Animated video summaries
- Whiteboard animation style
- Key insights from non-fiction
- Fiction and BookTok adaptations
- Access to best-selling books
Read full descriptionHide full description
If you love books but prefer watching them as movies this app is for you. Watch fiction and booktok books as movies or learn new things in a fun and easy way from the best nonfiction books. Get the key insights from non-fiction books in animated book summaries. Our animated video summaries keep you focused and you can learn the best non-fiction books just by watching 30 minute videos. What if you could watch books? - Never feel bored or overwhelmed again when it comes to learning new things. - We deliver key ideas from nonfiction books in animated video summaries. Why our book summaries are the best? 1. Thorough Summaries: We do thorough summaries covering all the ideas of the book. No more 10 minute summaries. 2. Whiteboard Animation: We use whiteboard animation videos to keep your attention. Never feel bored again when learning from books. 3. The Best Books: Get instant access to the best selling self-development and business book summaries. Terms of use: https://www.bookwatch.com/terms-and-conditions-of-use
Screenshots
Verdict
Leanpub and BookWatch both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 51% of BookWatch's written reviews are positive against 12% of Leanpub's. BookWatch also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (14K vs 29). Leanpub's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, device support and iOS requirement 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. BookWatch sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Leanpub asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Leanpub against 4.7 for BookWatch. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BookWatch has 14K ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 12% of Leanpub's written reviews are positive against 51% of BookWatch's.
Leanpub ships an update every 6 weeks, BookWatch every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Leanpub | BookWatch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (29 ratings) — better | 4.7 (14K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 12.0% of reviews | 50.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 29 | 14K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #63 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 65 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Leanpub | Morfosis |
Customer experience
Leanpub
BookWatch
Bugs and requests
Leanpub
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
BookWatch
Reported bugs
2 issues- Intro content not fully accessible
- Subscription issues and lack of refunds
Requested features
3 requests- Background listening mode
- Web/desktop version
- Improved visualization
In-app purchases
Leanpub
No in-app purchases
BookWatch
- Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$8.991 Month
- Monthly Subscription$12.991 Month
- BookWatch Premium$14.991 Month
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- BookWatch Premium Subscription$29.993 Months
- Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- BookWatch Premium Subscription$59.991 Year
- Bookwatch 7 day trial7 Days trial$69.991 Year
- Annual Plan - 7 Days Trial7 Days trial$89.991 Year
- 3 Day Trial - BookWatch Premium3 Days trial$89.991 Year
- BookWatch Premium Free Trial Annual7 Days trial$139.991 Year
