Best Libib Alternatives in 2026 for Books, Films and Records

The best Libib alternative depends on what you are cataloging. Achriom is the pick if your shelf holds books, films and records and you care which copy you own, LibraryThing suits a books-only catalog, and CLZ suits a collection of one kind that you want deep fields for.

I last checked these on October 27, 2026. Prices and limits come from Libib’s pricing page, LibraryThing’s announcement and CLZ’s App Store listings, all linked below. They change, so check before you pay.

Libib is a good cataloger, and for plenty of people it is the right one. Its free plan is generous, and it is built for lending items out. The reasons to look elsewhere are narrower. You may want to keep the shelf of what you own and the list of what you have watched and read in the same library. You may want to record whether a film is the 4K disc or the VHS tape. Or you may want to ask your collection a question instead of scrolling it.

Quick verdict

• Books, films, records and games, with the copy you own and a librarian you can ask: Achriom
• A books-only catalog with no fees or limits: LibraryThing
• One kind of collection, with a subscription app for each: CLZ
• Lending items out, or a school or club library: stay on Libib

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Achriom

Best for people who catalog what they own and also track what they read, watch and hear

Achriom keeps eight kinds of media in one library: books, films, shows, albums, anime, podcasts, games and manga. For a collector the part that matters is the copy. You can mark the format you own, including 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, VHS, LaserDisc, vinyl, CD and cassette, and for a digital copy the store it lives in. So a shelf of discs and a shelf of records are cataloged by what they are as well as by title.

Adding things is where it differs most from a form-based cataloger. Photograph a shelf, or a stack of game cases, and the librarian adds what it recognizes. On iPhone the barcode scanner (version 1.7.4 and later) keeps running, and each book or record lands in a tray with its cover. Tap “Add N to library” and the whole stack goes in, with repeats and misreads skipped. The scanner is iPhone only for now.

Then you can talk to the catalog. Ask your own shelf for ”80s horror I haven’t watched” or “a detective in Victorian London” and it answers from what you keep. The same librarian works inside ChatGPT and Claude, so you can ask from the assistant you already use.

What it does well

• Free with no item limit, and every import is free. Imports include Goodreads, StoryGraph, Letterboxd, IMDb and a “Paste a list” option for anything else
• Exports your whole library as CSV, so your data is not trapped
• Private by default. You can switch on a public profile later, then follow people and share reviews and lists. Follower counts stay private
• Half-stars, a did-not-finish shelf, notes and start and finish dates, all free
• Once you have ten items it builds a Taste Portrait, free. Readings that go deeper are Pro
• Pro is $9.99 a month or $99 a year and raises the librarian from 10 messages a month to 200

The limitations. Achriom has no lending or checkout tracking, so it is not a desk for a school or club library. Its scanner is on iPhone, not Android. And it does not catalog board games, which Libib does.

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Libib

Best for home catalogs that also lend, and for schools, clubs and small libraries

Libib catalogs books, board games, movies, music and video games, and says its service caters to “libraries, schools, organizations, and home catalogs.” You scan an ISBN or UPC barcode with a physical scanner or its free iOS and Android apps, and it fills in the details. You can keep up to 100 mixed media collections.

The free plan is the strongest argument for staying. Per Libib’s pricing page, Basic costs $0, needs no credit card, shows no ads, and allows up to 5,000 items and up to 100 collections, with CSV export at any time. Pro is $9 a month or $99 a year and raises the limit to 100,000 items. It adds a kiosk scanner, custom QR barcodes, exportable CSV reports and lending with holds and patron management. Extra managers on Pro cost $2 a month or $24 a year each. Ultimate is $900 a year for schools, districts and libraries.

So the honest comparison is this. If you lend things out, or run a shelf that other people borrow from, Libib has tools nothing else here matches. If you want a catalog of your own collection with no cap, the 5,000-item limit is the number to watch.

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LibraryThing

Best for a books-only catalog

LibraryThing is a long-running books cataloger. Its own March 2020 announcement says it is dropping “all membership fees and limits.” Before that it had charged a fee to catalog more than 200 books, $10 a year or $25 for a lifetime since opening in 2005. The post says you can add as many books as you want, on the web and in the cataloging app. The LibraryThing iPhone app lists adding books by search or by scanning the ISBN barcode with the camera.

That is the case for it. A free, uncapped books catalog from a site that has been around since 2005. The case against is scope. Everything in that announcement is about books, so films, records and games need another home. Check LibraryThing for anything newer than that post before you commit.

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CLZ

Best for one kind of collection cataloged in depth

CLZ sells its catalogers as separate apps, so a book collection and a movie collection are two products. The CLZ Books and CLZ Movies App Store listings both show $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year in the US, with a free 7-day trial.

Each is built for the details. CLZ Books lets you add condition, location and purchase info, create custom fields, and keep separate collections for physical books and ebooks. CLZ Movies lists 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD, plus older formats such as HD-DVD, LaserDisc, VHS and UMD. Both add items by barcode scan or by search, and sync to CLZ Cloud as an online backup.

If you collect one thing seriously and want fields for everything about each copy, that depth is worth a small subscription. The cost is that a shelf with books, films and records means paying for and learning more than one app. Prices are the US App Store ones, so check your region.

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Quick comparison

App	What it catalogs	Barcode scanning	Free tier	Paid
Achriom	Books, films, shows, albums, anime, podcasts, games, manga	iPhone scanner, plus photograph a shelf	No item limit, every import free	Pro $9.99/month or $99/year
Libib	Books, board games, movies, music, video games	Physical scanner, free iOS and Android apps	5,000 items, 100 collections	Pro $9/month or $99/year, Ultimate $900/year
LibraryThing	Books	iPhone app, by ISBN barcode	Free, fees and limits dropped in 2020	None listed
CLZ	Books, movies and other collections in separate apps	Yes, by barcode scan or OCR on the ISBN	7-day trial	$1.99/month or $19.99/year per app (iOS, US)

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Which should you use?

Use Achriom if your shelf has more than books on it, you want the copy you own on record, or you would rather ask your collection a question than scroll it.

Use LibraryThing if it is books only and you want a free catalog with no cap.

Use CLZ if one collection matters enough that you want deep fields, and you do not mind a subscription per app.

Stay on Libib if you lend things out, run a club or classroom shelf, or want board games in the same catalog. For a home collection under 5,000 items it is free and does the job.

For more on building the catalog itself, see the best app to catalog your library, the best personal library apps, a game collection tracker and how to organize your book collection.

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Moving off Libib

Export first, whichever app you choose. Libib’s pricing page lists CSV export on the free Basic plan, so you can download your collection at any time.

To Achriom. The import dialog has no Libib option. It does have “Paste a list” for anything else, so the titles from your Libib CSV are the part that carries over. Open the file, copy the titles, and expect titles only. Ratings, dates and the details you keep in Libib will not come across by this route. Everything after the import is free, and the librarian can fill in the copy you own when you tell it. If you add the shelf again by photo or scan, it is quicker for books and records than retyping.

To LibraryThing or CLZ. Each has its own import tools, so check what it accepts before you delete anything in Libib. Nothing on Libib’s pricing page promises that another app will read its CSV.

Keep a copy of the CSV either way. If you are moving a book list from Goodreads, how to export your Goodreads library shows the same habit.

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Common questions

What is the best alternative to Libib?

Achriom is the best fit if you catalog more than books and want to record which copy you own, such as 4K, Blu-ray, vinyl or cassette, and ask your shelf questions. LibraryThing suits a books-only catalog, and CLZ suits a collection of one kind that you want deep fields for.

Is Libib free?

Yes, up to a point. Libib’s free Basic plan allows up to 5,000 items and up to 100 collections, with CSV export. Pro costs $9 a month or $99 a year and adds lending with holds, a kiosk scanner and CSV reports.

Can I export my Libib collection?

Yes. Libib lists CSV export on its free Basic plan, and Pro adds exportable CSV reports. Achriom has no Libib import, but its Paste a list option takes the titles from that CSV.

Does Achriom have a barcode scanner?

Yes, on iPhone. From version 1.7.4 the scanner keeps running and adds a whole stack of books or records at once. You can also photograph a shelf and the librarian adds what it sees.

Is Achriom free?

Yes. Achriom is free with no item limit, and every import is free. Pro costs $9.99 a month or $99 a year and raises the librarian from 10 messages a month to 200.

Does Achriom have lending or checkout tracking like Libib Pro?

No. Libib’s lending with holds and patron management is on its Pro and Ultimate plans, so a school, club or small library that lends items out should stay on Libib.