LibraryThing vs Lerner AR
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.
Lerner AR
This app enhances reading by bringing book content to life through augmented reality. Scan images in companion books to unlock interactive 3D models and animations related to the text. Explore space, the human body, and insects in an engaging, digital format.
- Augmented reality content viewer
- Interactive 3D models
- Educational book companion
- Intuitive AR interface
- Content related to space, biology, and insects
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NOTICE: This app requires a minimum iOS of 11.0 and an A9 chip. Find out if your device meets requirements at www.apple.com/augmented-reality/. Augment your reading experience with Lerner AR! Download this free app to pair with a Lerner AR book. As you read, look for the Lerner AR icon throughout the book. It means there is an augmented reality experience on that page! Use the app to scan the picture near the icon to access bonus augmented reality content related to that page. Features - Easy to use, intuitive augmented reality viewer - Pop-up tips and interactive instruction help you get the most out of the experience - Brings digital content to the reading experience in a way that short links or QR codes simply can’t provide Companion books Creepy Crawlers in Action, Folding Tech, Space in Action, and The Gross Human Body in Action let readers explore space, bugs, and the human body through interactive augmented reality experiences! Watch a black hole eat a star, see the moon's orbit, look around on Mars as if you're actually there. Learn how boogers work, see inside an artery, and find out how what you eat affects your poop. Watch creepy crawlers lay eggs, hunt prey, and perform a mating dance. Each book contains multiple AR experiences to bring learning to life. It's like a pop-up book for your digital device! Augmented reality experiences in Folding Tech and the Space in Action series include: - Insight’s folding solar panels - PUFFER, the Pop-Up Flat Folding Explorer Robot - A star going supernova and exploding - A humanoid robot built for space exploration - Cassini orbiting Saturn and crashing into it - A complete animated model of the solar system - Looking around the surfaces of the moon and Mars as well as the International Space Station Augmented reality experiences in The Gross Human Body in Action series include: - Interactive stomach digestion process - Zit cross section, with interactive popping - Lice on hair - Mouth amoeba eating bad bacteria - Healthy tooth transforming into a cavity - Bruise time lapse - Femur with different kinds of bone breaks - Typical ear morphing into cauliflower ear Augmented reality experiences in Creepy Crawlers in Action series include: -Jumping spider performing a mating dance -Praying mantis hunting a mosquito -Locust laying eggs underground -Stick insect hatching -Tick sucking blood and swelling To learn more about Lerner AR and the books that include augmented reality content, please visit lernerbooks.com/go/AR. Watch your books come to life with Lerner AR! Be aware of your surroundings while using this app, as there are hazards associated with using a camera-based application while driving, walking, or otherwise being distracted or disoriented from real world situations. By downloading the app you agree to the collection, storage and use by PTC and its affiliates and service providers of Statistics from the Software and the transfer of Statistics between PTC and its affiliates and service providers (which may be in the United States or in other countries), in each case for the purposes of (a) providing the Software and Services, (b) facilitating the provision of new products, updates, enhancements and other services, (c) improving the Software, the Services, and other products, services and technologies, and (c) providing new products, services or technologies customers of PTC or its affiliates. No personally identifiable information is collected or stored.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Lerner AR at 4.4 against LibraryThing's 3.5. Lerner AR also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 47%). LibraryThing's advantage is ratings volume (288 vs 7). On price, update cadence, 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.
Lerner AR holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LibraryThing has 288 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of LibraryThing's written reviews are positive against 67% of Lerner AR's.
LibraryThing ships an update every 4 weeks, Lerner AR every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LibraryThing | Lerner AR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (288 ratings) | 4.4 (7 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 47.5% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 288 — better | 7 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 | 11.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 187 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LibraryThing.com | Lerner Publishing Group |
Customer experience
LibraryThing
Lerner AR
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
Lerner AR
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
LibraryThing
No in-app purchases
Lerner AR
No in-app purchases









