LibraryThing vs Little Free Library
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.
Little Free Library
Discover nearby book-sharing locations with this app. Find libraries using filters, get directions, and save your favorites. Track your visits and leave notes for stewards. If you manage a library, update its details directly.
- Find nearby book-sharing locations
- Search filters by location
- Get directions and create routes
- Favorite and track visited libraries
- Leave notes in guest books
- Edit library listings in real-time
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The Little Free Library app makes it easy to find little library locations near you! Use the search filters to narrow in on little libraries you want to visit, easily get directions to the nearest ones, or create a route. See a library you like? Add it to your list of favorites. Track the libraries you visit using the handy check-ins feature. If you’re a Little Free Library steward, there’s a section of the app just for you that lets you edit your library’s listing in real time! Little Free Library Map: Easy-to-use search filters help you find Little Free Libraries by zip code, city/state, charter number, or your current location. Favorite and Track the Little Libraries You Visit: Keep a list of your favorite little libraries and track the ones you visit using check-ins. Get Directions or Create Routes: Tap the Get Directions button to get step-by-step directions to the nearest Little Free Library book-sharing box, or add multiple little libraries to a route. Sign the Guest Book: After you stop by a particular little library, leave a note for the steward (aka caretaker) in its guest book! The guest book is a fun way to connect with the little library steward and see what other visitors have to say. Features for Little Free Library Volunteer Stewards: If you’re the steward of a registered Little Free Library, the app lets you edit your library’s listing in real time! Add new photos, update your library’s story, include social media links, enable a guest book for your visitors, and much more… all from within the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Little Free Library at 3.8 against LibraryThing's 3.5. Little Free Library also leads on chart position (#99 vs unranked). LibraryThing's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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.
Little Free Library holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 288 and 199 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 47% and 47% positive.
LibraryThing ships an update every 4 weeks, Little Free Library every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LibraryThing | Little Free Library |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (288 ratings) | 3.8 (199 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 47.5% of reviews — better | 47.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 288 — better | 199 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | #99 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LibraryThing.com | Little Free Library, Ltd |
Customer experience
LibraryThing
Little Free Library
User reviews
LibraryThing
From 288 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
Little Free Library
From 199 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🗺️ Excellent map feature for locating libraries
- 📍 GPS-based location discovery
- ⭐ Ability to favorite and track visited libraries
- 🧭 Driving directions integration
- 📱 User-friendly interface design
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent and persistent crashes
- ⚠️ App won't open or load
- 🔄 Endless loading screens
- 📵 Incompatible with recent iOS updates
- ❌ Check-in feature consistently fails
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
Little Free Library
Reported bugs
18 issues- App crashes on startup or after 2-3 clicks
- Instant crash when opening app
- Loading screen freezes indefinitely
- Check-in submit button spins forever without submitting
- Favorite feature causes immediate crash
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- Search this area button disappears after use
- Map not loading or displaying libraries
- Login causes app to crash
- App kicks user out after few seconds
- Email confirmation links non-functional
- Help ticket submission page broken
- Check-in notifications appear but don't display in app
- Dark mode purple text unreadable
- Steward registration stuck in infinite loop
- Location services not working
- App incompatible with iOS updates
- Routing doesn't follow selected library order
- Incomplete form loading for stewards
Requested features
14 requests- Ability for non-stewards to add missing libraries
- Retroactive check-in date editing
- Children's book category indicator
- Book genre/category specifications
- Want-to-visit list separate from favorites
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- Photo update capability for all users
- Library condition status tracking
- Goodreads integration
- Little Pantry location support
- Book availability search feature
- Improved routing that respects selected order
- Better steward portal UX for adding comments
- Reduced banner size on map display
- Full Google Maps integration
In-app purchases
LibraryThing
No in-app purchases
Little Free Library
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is LibraryThing free?
Is Little Free Library free?
Which has better reviews, LibraryThing or Little Free Library?
Do LibraryThing or Little Free Library have ads?
Which is updated more often, LibraryThing or Little Free Library?
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