Software Alternatives & Startups

Open Library VS Endleaf

Compare Open Library VS Endleaf and see what are their differences

Open Library logo Open Library

The ultimate goal of the Open Library is to make all the published works of humankind available to...

Endleaf logo Endleaf

Endleaf is a private reading tracker for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Import your Goodreads or StoryGraph library, log what you read, set a yearly goal, and keep notes and quotes per book. No account, and your library syncs through your own iCloud.
  • Open Library Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-26
  • Endleaf Your library, rated in half and quarter stars
    Your library, rated in half and quarter stars //
    2026-09-02
  • Endleaf Ratings, reading dates and notes per book
    Ratings, reading dates and notes per book //
    2026-09-02
  • Endleaf A reading timer that counts pages or minutes
    A reading timer that counts pages or minutes //
    2026-09-02
  • Endleaf Stats for reading speed, genres and streaks
    Stats for reading speed, genres and streaks //
    2026-09-02
  • Endleaf Your year in books, built to share
    Your year in books, built to share //
    2026-09-02

Endleaf is a reading tracker for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. It keeps your library on your device and syncs it through your own iCloud, so there is no account to make and no server holding your reading history.

Import from Goodreads or StoryGraph and your whole library comes across in a tap, covers included, with start dates kept wherever the file has them. Add books after that by scanning a barcode, searching, or typing them in. Export everything back out as JSON or CSV any time.

Ratings go to half and quarter stars, with optional sub-ratings for plot, characters, quality and enjoyment. Six statuses cover want to read, reading, read, did not finish, paused and re-reading. Approximate dates let you record "2019" or "March 2021" for a book you finished years ago.

The reading timer runs on the lock screen and in the Dynamic Island, counts pages or minutes, and handles audiobooks in hours and minutes with their own progress bar. A session started on an Apple Watch lands in the same library. Filters cover genre, mood, format and rating on top of status and search.

The free tier has no book cap and no trial clock: unlimited books and sessions, the timer, import, export, core stats, quotes, a share card, dark mode, and full offline use.

Premium is $24.99 a year with a 7-day trial, or $49.99 once for lifetime access. It adds advanced stats, Year in Review, extra share-card themes, unlimited shelves and tags, the full quotes library, the cover edition picker, reading goals by books, pages or minutes, and the complete widget set including the lock screen.

There are no ads and no trackers on any tier. The only thing that leaves the device is a title or ISBN used to look up a cover.

Open Library

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

Endleaf

$ Details
freemium $24.99 / Annually (Premium (also $49.99 lifetime))
Platforms
iPhone iPad Apple Watch
Release Date
2026 September

Open Library features and specs

  • Accessibility
    Open Library provides access to a vast collection of books and resources that can be accessed for free online, making literature and educational material available to people globally.
  • User Contributions
    Users can contribute by adding books, editing information, and writing reviews, which helps in creating a more comprehensive and accurate library.
  • Variety of Formats
    Books are available in various formats, including PDFs, ePubs, and audiobooks, catering to different reader preferences and needs.
  • Advanced Search Filters
    Open Library offers advanced search options which allow users to find books by author, title, subject, and other criteria, facilitating efficient research and discovery.
  • Borrowing System
    The platform has a borrowing system where users can 'borrow' digital copies of books, mimicking the traditional library experience.

Possible disadvantages of Open Library

  • Copyright Restrictions
    Many modern books are unavailable due to copyright restrictions, limiting access to recent publications and popular titles.
  • Limited Availability
    Popular books may have limited digital copies available for borrowing, leading to wait times before users can access certain titles.
  • Quality and Usability
    Some scanned books might have poor image quality or OCR errors, making them difficult to read or search through.
  • Contributor Accuracy
    Since users can edit and contribute information, inaccuracies or incomplete data might be present, requiring additional verification by users.
  • Login Requirements
    Certain features, such as book borrowing, require users to create an account and log in, which might be a barrier for some users.

Endleaf features and specs

  • Import and Export
    Goodreads and StoryGraph import, JSON and CSV export
  • Ratings
    Half and quarter stars, with sub-ratings for plot, characters, quality and enjoyment
  • Timer
    Reading sessions in pages or minutes, with a lock screen Live Activity

Analysis of Open Library

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Open Library is generally regarded as a positive resource for anyone interested in reading or researching a wide array of books. Its free access model and extensive catalog make it a valuable tool for book lovers and educators.

Why this product is good

  • Open Library is considered good because it offers free access to a vast collection of books, including classic literature, contemporary titles, and rare editions. Its mission is to make books accessible to everyone, and it achieves this by supporting various reading formats and having a user-friendly interface. Additionally, Open Library allows users to contribute by adding new information about books and authors, fostering a collaborative community.

Recommended for

  • Students seeking resources for research or study.
  • Avid readers looking for free access to a diverse range of literature.
  • Educators needing additional reading materials for their classrooms.
  • Researchers interested in historical and rare book collections.
  • Individuals who enjoy contributing to and enhancing a collaborative library project.

Open Library videos

Open Library Overview

More videos:

  • Review - Aaron Swartz on The Open Library
  • Review - The Open Library of Humanities

Endleaf videos

No Endleaf videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Open Library and Endleaf)
eBook Reader
100 100%
0% 0
Books & Reference
96 96%
4% 4
Ebooks
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Open Library and Endleaf.

What makes your product unique?

Endleaf's answer:

The whole tracker is free. Unlimited books and reading sessions, half and quarter star ratings, six statuses, the reading timer, Goodreads and StoryGraph import, and full JSON and CSV export all work without paying and without an account. The library lives on the device and syncs through the reader's own iCloud, so no server of ours ever holds it. Ratings carry optional sub-ratings for plot, characters, quality and enjoyment. Audiobooks are logged in hours and minutes with their own progress bar instead of invented page counts, and approximate dates let someone record a book they finished sometime in 2019.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Endleaf's answer:

Goodreads has no half stars and drops start dates when you export. Bookly puts its reading timer behind a subscription. Endleaf gives half and quarter stars, a timer that runs on the lock screen and in the Dynamic Island, Apple Watch logging, and a full JSON or CSV export on the free tier. There are no ads, no trackers and no feed to scroll. The only request that leaves the device is a title or ISBN sent to look up a cover, and nothing about the reader is stored.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Endleaf's answer:

Readers who keep track of their own reading and want that record private. A lot of them are moving off Goodreads or StoryGraph and bring a CSV with them. They log sessions, set a yearly goal, rate in half stars, and keep quotes and notes per book. Endleaf is built for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, needs no account, and works with no connection.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Endleaf's answer:

The iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch apps are written in Swift with SwiftUI. Books and sessions are stored on the device with SwiftData and synced through the reader's own iCloud using CloudKit, so no server of ours holds a library. WidgetKit powers the home and lock screen widgets, ActivityKit runs the reading timer's Live Activity, and StoreKit handles the premium purchase. The website is a static Astro site styled with Tailwind CSS.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Open Library and Endleaf

Open Library Reviews

  1. Nice

15 Best LibGen Alternatives & Sites Like It in 2024
Open Library stands out by prioritizing accessibility for visually impaired readers, offering a diverse range of books in accessible formats, and reinforcing its commitment to inclusivity and equal access to information.
Source: earthweb.com

Endleaf Reviews

We have no reviews of Endleaf yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Open Library seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 268 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Open Library mentions (268)

  • Unhooking from Amazon Ebooks
    There's also OpenLibrary by the Internet Archive: https://openlibrary.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Technische Universitat Chemnitz FTP Server
    Fwrite("https://openlibrary.org",1,23,yyout);. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Show HN: I built a modern Goodreads alternative
    - https://joinbookwyrm.com I was actually trying to determine the best free source of metadata for books. I was hoping for something like MusicBrainz. The best I could find seemed to be https://openlibrary.org. There is https://isbndb.com, but it is paid. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Getting to Two Million Users as a One Woman Dev Team
    OpenLibrary has a pretty solid API that I've been using for a bit now. It returns metadata as well as over images. https://openlibrary.org/ https://openlibrary.org/search.json?title=project%20hail%20mary. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Getting to Two Million Users as a One Woman Dev Team
    Https://openlibrary.org/ has a pretty good set of data and a decent API. You can mix and match too, since openlibraries covers kinda suck half the time. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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Endleaf mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Endleaf yet. Tracking of Endleaf recommendations started around Sep 2026.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Open Library and Endleaf, you can also consider the following products

Archive.org - Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library offering free universal access to books, movies...

Goodreads - See what your friends are reading.

Z-Lib - ZLibraryPart of Z-Library project. The world's largest ebook library.

LibraryThing - A home for your books.

Libib.com - Our library management app caters exclusively to home and private libraries.

Standard Ebooks - Online library of downloadable e-books that focuses on quality and modern standards in typography.