LibraryThing vs Darien 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.
Darien Library
Access a vast collection of books, audiobooks, movies, and more from your local library. Search the catalog, place holds, and borrow digital items instantly. New content is added weekly, offering endless entertainment and learning opportunities.
- Search library catalog
- Place and manage holds
- Borrow digital items
- Access online learning resources
- Manage family borrowing
- View borrowing history
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Enjoy instant access to all the collections that Darien Library has to offer. Search for and place holds on books, audiobooks, DVDs, magazines, and tech gadgets. Explore our digital collection of books, audiobooks, movies, music, magazines, TV shows, and online learning resources. For many of our digital items, there's no wait, so you can borrow items right away! We add new items each week, so check back frequently to see what your library has for you. With the Darien Library app, you can: - Search the catalog - Check due dates - Renew eligible items - Place and manage holds - View your borrowing history - Access your library barcode - Create lists to track your interests - Manage your family's borrowing through Linked Accounts More features are coming soon, so stay tuned. Our mission is to provide education, entertainment, enrichment, and community building through compassionate service to all.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Darien Library at 5.0 against LibraryThing's 3.5. LibraryThing's advantage is ratings volume (288 vs 1) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.1). 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.
Darien Library holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LibraryThing has 288 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
LibraryThing ships an update every 4 weeks, Darien Library every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LibraryThing | Darien Library |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (288 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 47.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 288 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LibraryThing.com | Darien Library |
Customer experience
LibraryThing
Darien Library
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
Darien Library
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
LibraryThing
No in-app purchases
Darien Library
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is LibraryThing free?
Is Darien Library free?
Which has better reviews, LibraryThing or Darien Library?
Do LibraryThing or Darien Library have ads?
Which is updated more often, LibraryThing or Darien Library?
Other comparisons
