LibraryThing vs BookBub
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LibraryThing
Catalog your personal book, DVD, and CD collections. Easily add items by searching or scanning barcodes. Enhance your catalog with high-resolution cover photos and browse your collection visually.
- Catalog books, DVDs, and CDs
- Search for media items
- Scan ISBN barcodes
- Add high-resolution cover photos
- Browse collection by cover type
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The LibraryThing app allows LibraryThing members to catalog and browse their collections. LibraryThing is focused on books, but you can add most media, including books, DVDs and CDs. LibraryThing relies on data from Amazon, and over 65 million library records. Add books by searching for them or scanning their ISBN barcode with the camera. Add high-resolution cover photos of your books with the cover editor and browse your books by cover type to find copies that need better covers.
BookBub
Discover daily deals on bestselling and free ebooks across all genres. Track your wishlist and receive price alerts for your favorite titles, ensuring you never miss a sale on books you want to read.
- Daily ebook deals
- Hundreds of free ebooks
- Personalized recommendations
- Wishlist tracking
- Price alerts
- Genre and price filtering
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Discover amazing deals on bestselling ebooks, plus hundreds of free ebooks. Track your wishlist and get alerts when your most wanted titles go on sale. BookBub helps millions of readers save money on ebooks they'll love. Our expert editors hand pick incredible ebook deals every day across all major genres — romance, mystery, thrillers, women's fiction, fantasy, contemporary fiction, nonfiction, and many more — from bestselling authors to hidden gems. WHY READERS LOVE BOOKBUB: THE BIGGEST EBOOKS, UP TO 95% OFF We feature limited-time ebook deals from all major retailers. Get huge savings on the biggest books and authors, including #1 New York Times bestsellers. HUNDREDS OF FREE EBOOKS Unlock a vast selection of free ebooks across 40+ genres, with new titles added each day YOUR PERSONAL BOOK TRACKER Build your reading wishlist and never miss a sale. Add any book you want to read, and we'll notify you when it's discounted. Track your TBR (to-be-read) list, sort by release date or author, and mark it as read when you're done. PERSONALIZED TO YOUR READING TASTE Our editorial team hand picks from thousands of ebooks to bring you only the best — from BookTok favorites to award-winning fiction. FEATURES: - Browse daily ebook deals personalized to your reading preferences - Track unlimited books on your wishlist - Get price alerts for specific titles or favorite authors - Discover popular titles to add to your list - Filter deals by genre and price - Buy from your favorite ebook store "When we say 'deal,' we mean it — many of BookBub's titles are free entirely, $0.99, or just a couple of bucks." — Lifehacker "Bargain-basement deals on ebooks." — The New York Times Join millions of happy readers saving money on ebooks every day. Questions? Visit bookbub.com/apphelp
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: BookBub at 4.7 against LibraryThing's 3.5. BookBub also leads on ratings volume (960 vs 278). LibraryThing's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 26.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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.
BookBub holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 278 and 960 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of LibraryThing's written reviews are positive against 54% of BookBub's.
LibraryThing ships an update every 4 weeks, BookBub every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LibraryThing | BookBub |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (278 ratings) | 4.7 (960 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 47.2% of reviews | 54.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 278 | 960 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #200 | #72 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | LibraryThing.com | Pubmark Inc. |
Customer experience
LibraryThing
BookBub
User reviews
LibraryThing
From 278 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Quick barcode scanning
- 👍 Useful for cataloging library
- 🚀 Fast book addition
Room to improve
- 🐛 Glitches and crashes
- 🔍 Limited search and editing capabilities
- 🤖 Outdated and dated UI
BookBub
From 960 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🤩 Great deals on books
- 📚 Variety of genres and authors
- 💰 Affordable and free books
- 🔍 Personalized recommendations
Room to improve
- 🔒 Limited to Apple Books only
- 🔍 Lack of search functionality
- 📝 Inability to leave reviews
- 🔁 Repeated email subscriptions
Bugs and requests
LibraryThing
Reported bugs
3 issues- Barcode scanner not working
- Books disappearing from catalog
- Editing and saving issues
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to create custom collections
- Offline access to library
- Integration with other book apps
- Lending/loan tracking feature
BookBub
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes or freezes during use
- Sign-up and login issues
- Incompatibility with certain devices or operating systems
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for Kindle and other ebook platforms
- Implement search and filtering options
- Allow users to manage their reading lists and leave reviews
- Improve email subscription management
In-app purchases
LibraryThing
No in-app purchases
BookBub
No in-app purchases
