Comparison

Libro.fm Audiobooks vs shelfish

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Libro.fm Audiobooks

Listen to audiobooks while supporting independent bookstores. Access a vast library, enjoy DRM-free content, and utilize reader-friendly features like bookmarks and sleep timers. Purchases directly benefit your chosen local bookshop.

Highlights
  • Support for independent bookstores
  • DRM-free audiobooks
  • Bookmarks and sleep timer
  • Adjustable playback speed
  • Automatic syncing across devices
  • Recommendations from booksellers
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Looking to read audiobooks, and love supporting your local bookshop? We’re Libro.fm, an employee-owned audiobook company that shares profits with more than 4,000 indie bookshops around the globe. Whether you’re starting a membership or grabbing one of our 600,000+ audiobooks à la carte, every purchase supports your chosen store. • DRM-free (accessible audiobooks) • Reader-friendly features: Create bookmarks, set a sleep timer, adjust playback speed, create and assign tags, and automatically sync your spot across devices • Use your Libro.fm credits to redeem audiobooks in app • Supports Apple Watch and CarPlay • Recommendations from real booksellers As a Social Purpose Corporation and Certified B Corp™, we're proud to put time and resources into supporting indie bookshops and getting more folks to read—even if those goals may at times conflict with our financial interests. We care about the reading ecosystem and want it to thrive. Our privacy policy can be found at https://libro.fm/privacy Our terms of use can be found at https://libro.fm/terms

About

shelfish

Features
Read full description

Have you ever wanted a way to quickly scan all of your bookshelves, to catalogue your books? Maybe for a big move or for personal enjoyment. Have you ever been in a bookstore and wondered, do I already own this book? This app lets you scan images of books and bookshelves using AI to automatically extract the book titles from the image, along with finding the author and other info!* Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Neatly organize your collection into shelves of your choosing. Compare the size of your collection to users around the world on the animated leaderboard. Get AI recommendations based on your collection. (1 per number of scans performed). *Disclaimer, the AI may make errors and performs best when images contain no more than 20-30 books. Sometimes multiple images may be needed to capture a book, especially if lighting conditions are poor. This is not a reader app and does not scan book content. Max 50 scans per month with standard subscription model.

Screenshots

Libro.fm Audiobooks4 screens
shelfish4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Libro.fm Audiobooks at Free against shelfish's $4.99. Libro.fm Audiobooks also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 7 months). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Libro.fm Audiobooks is free to download; shelfish costs $4.99 up front. shelfish sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Libro.fm Audiobooks asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Libro.fm Audiobooks ships an update every 3 weeks, shelfish every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Libro.fm Audiobooks versus shelfish: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLibro.fm Audiobooksshelfish
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.9 (41K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews91.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings41K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#43 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.2 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB44 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperLibro.fmJames Kelly

Bugs and requests

Libro.fm Audiobooks

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Playback stops when device goes to sleep
  • Inability to download audiobooks on cellular data
  • App crashes and loses progress in books

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add chapter support for audiobooks
  • Improve search and browsing capabilities
  • Allow in-app purchases and account management
  • Implement syncing across devices

shelfish

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Libro.fm Audiobooks

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

shelfish

Subscriptions2
  • shelfish basic monthly$4.991 Month
  • shelfish pro monthly$49.991 Month

Questions

Is Libro.fm Audiobooks free?
Libro.fm Audiobooks is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is shelfish free?
shelfish costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Do Libro.fm Audiobooks or shelfish have ads?
Neither Libro.fm Audiobooks nor shelfish shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Libro.fm Audiobooks or shelfish?
Libro.fm Audiobooks ships an update every 3 weeks, and shelfish every 7 months. Most recently, Libro.fm Audiobooks was updated on November 13, 2026 and shelfish on November 8, 2026.

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