Comparison

LibrariesWest vs CircleUp

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ€” with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

LibrariesWest

Manage your library account on the go. Search the catalog, renew borrowed items, and place holds on new books. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

Highlights
  • Manage library account
  • Search catalog
  • Renew books
  • Reserve books
  • Mobile access
Features
Read full description

Access LibrariesWest from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Manage your account, search the catalogue, renew and reserve books.

About

CircleUp

Connect with like-minded individuals in your city for real-world activities and friendships. Discover and join weekly plans like walks, dinners, and social events, fostering a sense of belonging beyond one-off gatherings.

Highlights
  • Weekly real-world plans
  • One-tap event joining
  • Group chat for events
  • Recurring member faces
  • Member-hosted events
  • City-based communities
Features
Read full description

We're the Circle of 20s & 30s who choose belonging over attending, friendships over faces, and doing cool things over the same-old. We don't wait for plans, we create them. We refuse to be the disconnected generation. We're a circle, not strangers. A lifestyle, not one-off events. A movement, not an app. If you're craving more connection, you belong here. WHAT YOU'LL FIND INSIDE Real plans, every week. Walks, dinners, run clubs, football, pub quizzes, gallery trips, brunches and big socials, all happening in your city, with people who live near you. One tap to join. See who's going before you commit, RSVP in seconds, and get everything you need on the day: where to meet, what time, and who's hosting. Your circles. Plans come with a group chat, so you're never walking into a room of strangers. Say hello beforehand, share photos afterwards, and keep the conversation going in between. Faces you'll see again. This isn't a feed of one-off events. The same people turn up week after week, which is how acquaintances quietly turn into friends. Hosted by members. Our plans are created by people in your city who wanted something to exist, so they made it happen. You can host too. WHERE WE ARE Now live in Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Oxford, Manchester, Cambridge, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham, with more cities on the way. MEMBERSHIP CircleUp is a membership community. Your membership covers entry to members' plans across your city, and some ticketed plans are priced separately to cover the venue or the activity itself. Everything you pay for happens in person, in the real world. A GOOD PLACE TO BE THE NEW ONE Every member is a real member of a local community, so nobody here is anonymous. You can report or block anyone from their profile, and we act on reports within 24 hours. Our community guidelines are built into the app. Don't just attend. Belong.

Screenshots

LibrariesWest4 screens
CircleUp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: CircleUp at 63% against LibrariesWest's 17%. CircleUp also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LibrariesWest ships an update every 2 months, CircleUp fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 6 level
LibrariesWest versus CircleUp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLibrariesWestCircleUp
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews16.7% of reviews62.5% of reviews โ€” better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 โ€” better16.4
Further details โ€” not scored
Size50 MB101 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperSomerset County Council Library ServiceHearplay

Customer experience

LibrariesWest

Written reviews78 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative79.5%

CircleUp

Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%

Bugs and requests

LibrariesWest

Reported bugs

20 issues
  • Login PIN not recognized
  • App freezes and becomes unusable
  • Camera not working for verification
  • App stops music playback
  • FastBack renewal error
Show 15 more
  • App won't open unless via App Store
  • Unable to connect to server
  • Linked accounts repeatedly unlinked
  • App doesn't work at night
  • Invalid date error when reserving
  • Charges appear on returned books
  • App stops working after update
  • White screen on launch after update
  • Hangs on loading screen
  • Blank screen with 'image not available'
  • Scrolling not working on loans
  • Cannot search or reserve
  • Linked accounts disappear
  • Catalogue search not working
  • Barcode scanner not working

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add loan history section
  • Indicate font size in book info
  • Add wish list option
  • Improve search functionality
  • Add browsing by categories
Show 1 more
  • Add notes area

CircleUp

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

LibrariesWest

No in-app purchases

None

CircleUp

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LibrariesWest free?
LibrariesWest is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CircleUp free?
CircleUp is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do LibrariesWest or CircleUp have ads?
Neither LibrariesWest nor CircleUp shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LibrariesWest or CircleUp?
LibrariesWest ships an update every 2 months, and CircleUp fortnightly. Most recently, LibrariesWest was updated on November 1, 2026 and CircleUp on October 30, 2026.

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