LibraryThing vs KanShare
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.
KanShare
Access your library's catalog from your mobile device. Search for books, DVDs, games, and digital media. Manage your account by placing holds, checking due dates, and renewing items. Keep a digital copy of your library card handy.
- Search library catalog
- Explore digital collections
- Place holds on items
- Check due dates
- Renew eligible items
- Digital library card
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The KanShare app allows you to search and explore your library on the go to find new books, DVDs, video games, ebooks, digital audiobooks, and more! Search the entire consortium catalog, including digital collections. Place holds, check due dates, and renew eligible items. Access a digital copy of your library card. If you have your phone, you have your library card!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: LibraryThing at 47% against KanShare's 0%. LibraryThing also leads on rating (3.5 vs 1.4) and ratings volume (278 vs 14). 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.
LibraryThing holds the better App Store score, 3.5 against 1.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LibraryThing has 278 ratings behind it against 14, 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 0% of KanShare's.
LibraryThing ships an update every 4 weeks, KanShare every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LibraryThing | KanShare |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (278 ratings) — better | 1.4 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 47.2% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 278 — better | 14 |
| 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 | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LibraryThing.com | Derby Public Library |
Customer experience
LibraryThing
KanShare
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
KanShare
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
LibraryThing
No in-app purchases
KanShare
No in-app purchases
