LibraryThing vs Libraries Online
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.
Libraries Online
Access your library's digital catalog to search for books, reserve items, and manage your account on the go. Explore a wide range of online resources directly from your mobile device.
- Search library catalog
- Reserve items
- Manage library account
- Access online resources
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Take Libraries Online everywhere you go! -Search the catalog and reserve items -Manage your library account -Access online resources and much more!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Libraries Online at 100% against LibraryThing's 48%. Libraries Online also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.5). LibraryThing's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, 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.
Libraries Online holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 278 and 139 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of LibraryThing's written reviews are positive against 100% of Libraries Online's.
LibraryThing ships an update every 4 weeks, Libraries Online every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LibraryThing | Libraries Online |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (278 ratings) | 4.9 (139 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 48.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 278 — better | 139 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LibraryThing.com | Capira Technologies |
Customer experience
LibraryThing
Libraries Online
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
Libraries Online
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
LibraryThing
No in-app purchases
Libraries Online
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is LibraryThing free?
Is Libraries Online free?
Which has better reviews, LibraryThing or Libraries Online?
Do LibraryThing or Libraries Online have ads?
Which is updated more often, LibraryThing or Libraries Online?
Other comparisons
