BookBuds: Read with friends

Name: BookBuds: Read with friends
Rating: 4.3 (151 reviews)
Author: Starter School

By: Starter School App

Social book reading & friends

Overview

Version:

1.0.38

Last updated: 2026-06-18

Features & Capabilities

BookBuds turns reading into a cozy, social experience. Gather around a virtual bonfire, start reading sessions, and let automatic timers track your minutes while friends join in. Watch your streaks grow, climb a shared leaderboard, and celebrate wins together.

Perfect for building reading habits, tackling your TBR, or simply staying motivated with friends, BookBuds makes reading feel social, fun, and sustainable. Core features are free, with optional subscriptions offering advanced analytics, deeper customization, and Pro tools.

User Growth & Download Statistics

App Community Education Books Social Media Content

By:

Starter School

Rating:

4.30

(151) 0.10

Version:

1.0.38 Last updated: 2026-06-18

Version code:

887153455

Creation date:

2025-12-22

Compatible devices:

Size:

49.50MB

URLs:

Full description:

Source:

Apple Apps Store

Data ingested on:

2026-08-07

Compare stats and ranking:

Ranking

# 118,709 ▲ 1,590

Other rankings

#49 in kindle keyword 34 ▲

For Developers

Monetize with App Pass Boost with Extension Booster

Contact the developer

Chrome-Stats does not own this Apple app. Please use these information below to contact the Apple app developer.

Developed by:

Starter School

Apple Apps Store

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bookbuds-read-with-friends/id6755941845

User Reviews

Users love the social angle—reading with friends and time tracking—along with ongoing development. However, the experience is clouded by intrusive ads and aggressive monetization, plus recurring bugs (login, search, book adding) and onboarding friction. The app shows strong potential, but needs UX polish and a less aggressive monetization approach to realize its promise.

Pros

Social reading with friends (bonfires/leaderboards) helps accountability and makes it fun to read together.
Reading time tracking and streaks add motivation and visible progress for group reading.
Fresh app with strong potential; many reviewers see it could replace Goodreads for some users.
Active development and responsiveness to feedback with frequent updates.

Cons

Heavy ads and multiple popups, including full-screen upgrade prompts on startup.
Aggressive monetization: forced free trials, upsells, and high-cost paid plans.
Technical reliability issues: login problems, inconsistent search, and difficulty adding or finding books.
Onboarding friction: trouble finding friends, sending/receiving requests, and joining bonfires.

Recent reviews

Hey BookBuds! I hope the developers receive this message because i lost my account. I had over 150 hours in reading this year and 13 books read. All I’m asking is to get my account back. The app itself is good, but for it to log me out when I didn’t is concerning. I really want my account back. Please. The user is “karinavasquez.” So I also forgot my email and there is no username log in.

by Ka*****, 2026-06-19

Honestly I love this app it’s so fun and makes me read so much more however, it keeps logging me out of my account and like a month or two ago made me create a new one. So I restarted re added all my friends did everything now today it logged me out and is again forcing me to create a new account. I have no idea how to fix this and when I reached out to try and get it fixed at first I was getting emails back but then they just ghosted me. This is very disappointing to me because of how much I love this app. I’ll Probubly make a new account so I really hope i don’t get logged out again.