LibraryThing vs Bookshop.org
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.
Bookshop.org
Read your ebooks and discover new titles while supporting independent bookstores. All ebook purchases made through this platform directly benefit local bookshops, ensuring their continued success in the digital age.
- Read ebooks from your library
- Browse millions of ebooks
- Add titles to wishlist
- Support local bookstores with purchases
- Connect seamlessly with Bookshop
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Bookshop.org’s mission is simple: We help local, independent bookstores thrive by giving more than 80% of our profits back to our network of 3,000+ stores. In our app, you can read millions of ebooks - and every purchase supports an independent bookstore near you! In the Bookshop app you can: - Read your ebooks in our customizable ebook reader. - Browse millions of titles and discover your next favorite read in romance, thrillers, mystery, fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and more. - Organize your TBR into custom shelves. - Highlight in five different colors, and add notes to your highlighted passages. - Sort & filter highlights and notes by date created, book order, and more. - Save titles to your wishlist so you can read them later. - Shop knowing that over 80% of the profit goes directly to local, independent bookstores. We’re a Certified B Corp, and we’ve raised more than $50 million for independent bookstores nationwide since 2020. Download the Bookshop.org app to support bookstores, not billionaires.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Bookshop.org at 4.8 against LibraryThing's 3.5. Bookshop.org also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 4 weeks) and chart position (#176 vs unranked). LibraryThing's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
Bookshop.org holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookshop.org has 2.1K ratings behind it against 278, 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 57% of Bookshop.org's.
LibraryThing ships an update every 4 weeks, Bookshop.org every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LibraryThing | Bookshop.org |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (278 ratings) | 4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 47.2% of reviews | 56.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 278 | 2.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | — | #176 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 106 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | LibraryThing.com | Bookshop, Inc. |
Customer experience
LibraryThing
Bookshop.org
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
Bookshop.org
From 2.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Wonderful app
- 👍 Great alternative to Amazon
- 👍 Supports local bookstores
- 👍 Clean and pleasing interface
- 👍 Solid app for a new release
Room to improve
- 🐛 Formatting issues (lack of italics, poor paragraph spacing, etc.)
- 🐛 Buggy page turning and navigation
- 🔧 Limited customization options (fonts, themes, brightness, etc.)
- 🔧 Missing essential features (highlighting, note-taking, search, etc.)
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
Bookshop.org
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inability to remember last page read
- Scrolling issues and unexpected page skipping
- Formatting problems (stripped italics, weird paragraph spacing)
- Settings not persisting between app sessions
Requested features
7 requests- More font and theme options
- Ability to adjust line spacing, margins, and other formatting
- Implement highlighting, annotation, and note-taking features
- Add search functionality
- Improve page turning and navigation
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- Provide better dark mode/night reading experience
- Sync reading progress across devices
In-app purchases
LibraryThing
No in-app purchases
Bookshop.org
No in-app purchases
