LibraryThing vs Collective
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.
Collective
This app helps you organize and track all your favorite movies, TV shows, anime, manga, and books in one place. Discover new content with personalized recommendations and detailed insights into your media consumption habits.
- Unified media library
- Progress tracking for episodes/chapters
- Customizable lists
- Smart media recommendations
- Detailed media information
- Global search
- Personal media statistics
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Collective: Your All-in-One Media Journal Stop switching between apps. Start tracking everything in one place. Whether you're a cinephile, a bookworm, or an anime fan, Collective is the ultimate digital companion for your entertainment journey. Organize your entire backlog of movies, TV shows, anime, manga, and books into a single, beautiful collection. Track Your Progress Unified Library: Keep an online record of every story you’ve ever watched or read. Progress Tracking: Log specific episodes, chapters, or pages so you never lose your place. Custom Lists: Create "Plan to Watch," "Currently Reading," and "Favorites" lists to stay organized. Discover Your Next Obsession Smart Recommendations: Find new media based on your unique tastes and history. Detailed Insights: Access deep-dive information, including cast/author details, synopses, and community ratings. Trending Now: Stay updated with what’s popular and upcoming in the world of entertainment. Features at a Glance: Global Search: One search bar for movies, TV, anime, manga, and books. Personal Stats: See your media habits with beautiful charts and data summaries. Join thousands of users who have traded their messy notes for a smarter way to track. Download Collective today and build your ultimate media collection!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Collective at 5.0 against LibraryThing's 3.5. LibraryThing's advantage is ratings volume (288 vs 1) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). 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.
Collective 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, Collective every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LibraryThing | Collective |
|---|---|---|
| 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 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LibraryThing.com | Saveary Joseph |
Customer experience
LibraryThing
Collective
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
Collective
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
LibraryThing
No in-app purchases
Collective
No in-app purchases
