A BookBuddy alternative that goes beyond the catalogue
BookBuddy is one of the longest-running book catalogue apps on Apple devices, with custom fields and exports to spare. Volumes is newer and goes further than a catalogue: reading progress and rereads, quotes from a photographed page, lending hand-overs, on-device search in plain words, Siri and widgets.
BookBuddy is one of the longest-running book catalogue apps on Apple devices, with custom fields and exports to spare. Volumes goes further than a catalogue, into your reading, your quotes and your loans.
Volumes and BookBuddy, feature by feature
Feature
Volumes
BookBuddy
No account needed
YesKept in your own iCloud
YesSynced with iCloud or Dropbox
Not tracked across apps
Yes
Yes
No ads
Yes
Yes
Native Mac app
YesNative on iPhone, iPad and Mac
PartlyiPad app on Apple silicon Macs
Barcode scanning
YesOne book or a whole shelf
YesCamera or Bluetooth scanner
Track who borrowed a book
YesPlus hand-over links
Yes
Record which shelf a book is on
Yes
PartlySuggests using categories
Save your own quotes
YesPhotograph the page
PartlyA notes field
Import from Goodreads
YesAlso StoryGraph, LibraryThing
PartlyGeneric CSV import
Export your library
NoComing soon
YesCSV, PDF and HTML
No subscription or paid tier
YesEverything included
PartlyFree up to 50 books
Android or web
NoComing soon
No
YesPartlyNoNot mentioned in their own listing or help pages
BookBuddy exports a CSV with ISBNs, which Volumes reads as it is.
1 · Out of Any spreadsheet with ISBNs
Export your library from the other app as a CSV file. Any spreadsheet works if it has a column with ISBN in its name.
2 · Into Volumes
Open Settings in Volumes
Under the library title on iPhone, the gear on iPad, and ⌘, on a Mac.
Import from Another App
Tap Choose a File and pick the export. Or share the file to Volumes from Files or Mail.
Add to My Library
Check the count, then add. Volumes tells you what came in and anything it couldn't use.
What to expect
Comes across
ISBN, title, authors, publisher, page count and year
The date added, if there's a column for it
Shelves, tags or collections, as lists
Stays behind
Reading status: every book comes in as not started
Ratings, reviews and locations
Books already in your library are skipped, so importing twice is safe. Want to see it first? Try a sample library.
Which is for you
An honest choice
Choose BookBuddy if…
You want custom fields, Bluetooth scanners and PDF or HTML exports.
You need a full export of your library today.
Choose Volumes if…
You want to track your reading, with progress, rereads and Up Next.
You want to scan a whole shelf at once, or scan from the Lock Screen without unlocking.
You want to keep quotes from a photographed page, with the page number.
You want to hand a lent book to a friend's own shelves with a link.
You'd like to search in plain words, like “unread books in the hallway”, worked out on your device.
Privacy and price
What it costs you
BookBuddy
No account is needed for the app itself. Its App Store privacy label lists no tracking across apps.
Free for up to 50 books; BookBuddy Pro unlocks everything for $9.99 once. Online sharing is a separate subscription.
Volumes
No account and no ads. Your library is kept in your own iCloud, and Volumes doesn’t track you across other apps or websites. The privacy policy sets out the little that leaves your device.
Free on the App Store, with no subscription.
BookBuddy
Beyond the catalogue
BookBuddy's strength is the catalogue itself: custom fields, Bluetooth scanners, and exports in three formats.
Volumes catalogues too, a whole shelf at a time, and then goes on into reading: your page and progress, every reread, a book set aside, the quotes you photographed, and a widget for what you're reading now. A native Mac app, not the iPad app, keeps it all in step.
Questions
Good to know
Can I move from BookBuddy to Volumes?
Yes. Export a CSV from BookBuddy. Volumes reads any spreadsheet with an ISBN column: open Settings, tap Import from Another App and choose the file. Every book comes in as not started.
Can I get my books out of Volumes later?
A full library export is coming soon. Until then you can share any single book or quote, and your library lives in your own iCloud rather than on our servers.
What do I need to run Volumes?
An iPhone or iPad with iOS 26 or later, or a Mac with macOS 26 or later. Volumes is free on the App Store.
Everything else
Everything else in Volumes
Your reading, your shelves, your loans and your quotes, in one private app on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
