Leanpub vs Bookshop.org
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
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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).
Bookshop.org
Read your ebooks and discover new titles while supporting independent bookstores. All ebook purchases made through this platform directly benefit local bookshops, ensuring their continued success in the digital age.
- Read ebooks from your library
- Browse millions of ebooks
- Add titles to wishlist
- Support local bookstores with purchases
- Connect seamlessly with Bookshop
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Bookshop.org’s mission is simple: We help local, independent bookstores thrive by giving more than 80% of our profits back to our network of 3,000+ stores. In our app, you can read millions of ebooks - and every purchase supports an independent bookstore near you! In the Bookshop app you can: - Read your ebooks in our customizable ebook reader. - Browse millions of titles and discover your next favorite read in romance, thrillers, mystery, fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and more. - Organize your TBR into custom shelves. - Highlight in five different colors, and add notes to your highlighted passages. - Sort & filter highlights and notes by date created, book order, and more. - Save titles to your wishlist so you can read them later. - Shop knowing that over 80% of the profit goes directly to local, independent bookstores. We’re a Certified B Corp, and we’ve raised more than $50 million for independent bookstores nationwide since 2020. Download the Bookshop.org app to support bookstores, not billionaires.
Screenshots
Verdict
Leanpub and Bookshop.org both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 57% of Bookshop.org's written reviews are positive against 12% of Leanpub's. Bookshop.org also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (2.2K vs 25). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Leanpub against 4.8 for Bookshop.org. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookshop.org has 2.2K ratings behind it against 25, 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 57% of Bookshop.org's.
Leanpub ships an update every 6 weeks, Bookshop.org every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Leanpub | Bookshop.org |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (25 ratings) — better | 4.8 (2.2K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 12.0% of reviews | 56.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 25 | 2.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | #138 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 111 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Leanpub | Bookshop, Inc. |
Customer experience
Leanpub
Bookshop.org
Bugs and requests
Leanpub
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Bookshop.org
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to remember last page read
- Scrolling issues and unexpected page skipping
- Formatting problems (stripped italics, weird paragraph spacing)
- Settings not persisting between app sessions
Requested features
7 requests- More font and theme options
- Ability to adjust line spacing, margins, and other formatting
- Implement highlighting, annotation, and note-taking features
- Add search functionality
- Improve page turning and navigation
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- Provide better dark mode/night reading experience
- Sync reading progress across devices
In-app purchases
Leanpub
No in-app purchases
Bookshop.org
No in-app purchases









