--- title: Libib pricing - what small libraries actually pay Metadescription: Libib's free tier can't lend at all, so a small lending library pays $99/year for Pro plus $24/year per volunteer. The real year-one total, itemised. Display description: Libib's free tier can't lend a single book - checkouts, patrons and barcodes are all Pro-only. So the real starting price for a small lending library is $99 USD/year, not $0, and each extra volunteer adds $24 USD/year on top. author: Dan Edwards author_role: Founder author_url: https://danedwardsdeveloper.com author_linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-edwards-developer published: 2026-07-15 --- Token estimate: ~1,900 # Libib pricing - what small libraries actually pay By **[Dan Edwards](https://yourbooknest.com/contact)**, Founder. To run a lending library on Libib, the honest year-one figure for a ~200-item volunteer collection is US$99 (source) - £74 | €86 | CA$141 | A$143 | NZ$174/year for one volunteer, and **$147/year** once three volunteers each need their own login. The free tier does not lend at all, so "$0" and the directories' "from $3/month" are both describing a product that can't check a book out. ## The free tier catalogues, it doesn't lend Libib Basic is genuinely free and genuinely good at what it does - up to 5,000 items, excellent phone-camera scan-to-catalogue, automatic covers and metadata. For a personal collection it is hard to beat. But every part of running a library sits behind Libib Pro. Check-out, check-in, due dates, patron records, lending history, holds, overdue emails - all Pro-only. So is barcode generation and the label-printing interface, so a free-tier user cannot even produce a single barcode. A church or community shelf that wants to lend is paying Pro from day one. ## The real year-one total The figures below are Libib's own published USD prices. The total depends on how many people staff the desk: - **Libib Pro** - US$99 (source) - £74 | €86 | CA$141 | A$143 | NZ$174/year (billed annually) or US$9 (source) - £7 | €8 | CA$13 | A$13 | NZ$16/month. This is the real entry price to lend, not the $0 headline. Pro is where lending, patrons, barcodes and label printing live. - **Each extra volunteer login** - US$24 (source) - £18 | €21 | CA$34 | A$35 | NZ$42/year (or US$2 (source) - £2 | €2 | CA$3 | A$3 | NZ$4/month) per additional manager. Pro covers one person; a second and third volunteer are US$24 (source) - £18 | €21 | CA$34 | A$35 | NZ$42/year each. - **Ultimate** - US$900 (source) - £675 | €783 | CA$1,278 | A$1,296 | NZ$1,584/year, bundling 50 manager licences and multi-account tools. It exists for large or multi-site operations and is far past what a 20-50-patron shelf needs, but it is the next rung if you outgrow per-manager add-ons. So a single-volunteer library pays US$99 (source) - £74 | €86 | CA$141 | A$143 | NZ$174/year. Add two more volunteers and it is US$99 (source) - £74 | €86 | CA$141 | A$143 | NZ$174 plus two lots of US$24 (source) - £18 | €21 | CA$34 | A$35 | NZ$42, which is $147/year. There is no server to buy and no hardware assumption - Libib is cloud-based with iOS and Android apps, which is a real convenience, so the price is the price. ## "From $3/month" is a headline no Libib plan actually charges Directory listings still headline Libib at "from $3/month". No Libib plan costs that - Pro is US$9 (source) - £7 | €8 | CA$13 | A$13 | NZ$16/month or US$99 (source) - £74 | €86 | CA$141 | A$143 | NZ$174/year - and the figure silently assumes you have already accepted that lending costs money at all. The number a small library actually pays is the US$99 (source) - £74 | €86 | CA$141 | A$143 | NZ$174 annual charge, before any extra volunteers. ## Who should stay with Libib For a collector, or a library that mostly catalogues and lends only now and then, Libib is a strong choice and the free tier may be all you ever need. Its catalogue depth, native mobile scanning, and reading features (ratings, reviews, progress) are ahead of what a lending-first tool offers. [Libib's lending side](/articles/is-libib-good-for-lending) is also capable once you are paying for it: a real holds queue, a published public catalogue patrons can browse and self-checkout from, and overdue and due-soon reminder emails. If those matter to you, Pro earns its keep. ## Where Your Book Nest is cheaper to run Your Book Nest is a flat £45 | US$60 | €50 | CA$85 | A$85 | NZ$100/year, and that one price covers lending, every volunteer login, and barcode-label generation - there is no per-seat charge and no separate tier to unlock circulation. Three volunteers cost the same as one. The comparison is not really about the sticker price on a tiny catalogue - a library that only catalogues can sit on Libib's free tier forever. It is about what a _lending_ library pays, and how predictable that number stays as more volunteers help out. On Libib, lending is US$99 (source) - £74 | €86 | CA$141 | A$143 | NZ$174/year and every extra helper is another US$24 (source) - £18 | €21 | CA$34 | A$35 | NZ$42. On Your Book Nest, lending is the core product, not a paid add-on, and the price does not move when your rota grows. Barcodes are included rather than gated: every copy gets a generated three-word code like **oak-bat-tree**, printed onto blank Avery sheets, with no scanner required and nothing to buy. There is more on that trade-off in why library barcodes are so expensive and the wider picture in [what library software really costs](/articles/what-library-software-really-costs) and [library software that doesn't charge per user](/articles/library-software-that-doesnt-charge-per-user). The home page is a live demo - lend a book, take it back, and add a patron, with no account and no card. Libib has no equivalent try-before-you-pay for its lending workflow; you sign up and upgrade to Pro to see it. ## Q&A **Q: Is Libib free for a small library?** A: Only for cataloguing. The free Basic tier holds up to 5,000 items but cannot check a book out - lending, patrons, due dates and barcodes are all part of paid Libib Pro. A library that wants to lend pays for Pro, so "free" describes a catalogue, not a working lending system. **Q: What does Libib actually cost to lend books?** A: Lending requires Libib Pro, billed annually, and each additional volunteer who needs their own login is an extra yearly per-manager charge on top. A single-volunteer library pays the Pro price; a library with three volunteers pays Pro plus two manager add-ons. The low monthly figure some directories quote hides that lending is a paid tier at all. **Q: Does Libib charge per volunteer?** A: Yes. Pro covers one manager, and every extra staff login is billed per person per year. A library run by a small rota of volunteers pays for each one, so the cost rises with your team rather than staying flat. **Q: How does Your Book Nest pricing compare to Libib?** A: Your Book Nest is one flat annual price that includes lending, unlimited volunteer logins, and barcode-label generation - no per-seat fee and no separate tier to switch circulation on. A library that only catalogues can stay on Libib's free tier, but a lending library with more than one volunteer usually pays less, and more predictably, on a flat plan than on Pro plus per-manager add-ons. **Q: Can I try Libib's lending before paying?** A: Not directly. You can use the free tier to catalogue, but to see check-out, patrons and due dates you have to create an account and upgrade to Pro. Your Book Nest runs the full lending workflow as a live demo on its home page with no signup.