Comparison

MapleRead CX vs BookShelves eBook Reader

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

Head to head
About

MapleRead CX

This app offers a unique audio-visual reading experience for EPUB ebooks. Customize book styles, generate pseudo audiobooks with various voices, and enjoy immersive reading with synchronized audio and text. It also functions as a powerful library management tool with extensive customization options.

Highlights
  • Audio-visual EPUB reader
  • Pseudo audiobook generation
  • Immersion reading (sync audio/text)
  • Customizable book styles and themes
  • Word lookup and translation
  • Library management and organization
  • User-defined fonts and highlight colors
Read full description

MapleRead is dedicated to enable unique audio-visual reading experience for everyone. ------------ Our MapleRead app family has 3 members, namely SE, CE and CX. - SE is our flagship product with all features. - CE is SE without PDF reader and built-in Library Server. - CX is CE with some limitation. Free to try. - No recurring subscription fees. No ads. Just buy it once. Gratuity optional. - Moreover, SE and CE can be run side-by-side via split-view multitasking. - Recommend SE for use on multiple devices with easy and fast book sharing via Library Server. - Recommend the SE-CE bundle for the best value. ------------ MapleRead includes a superb audio-visual EPUB e-book reader. - It lets you easily modify publisher's original book style to better suit your aesthetic taste. - It lets you instantly generate pseudo audiobooks with a choice of narrator voices over 40 languages. - It enables immersion reading so that you may read and listen to the same book in sync. - Background listening works well too. Compatible with Lock Screen Music Player and CarPlay. MapleRead UI is friendly to users of all ages. - Books can be read in regular and large print. - A choice of UI text sizes makes reading in non-book views much more comfortable. MapleRead is a great learning tool. - It lets you look up words, translate sentences, search text, highlight text and write notes. - It helps you collect vocabulary and organize notes with various priorities. - It provides hooks to user-defined dictionaries, translators, and other tools. - Immersion reading improves your comprehension, especially of foreign-language books. MapleRead is an effective and fast library management tool. - It is designed for you, a book lover, who may own a huge and/or growing book collection. - It lets you keep all your books in one place and well-organized automatically. - It lets you display your books elegantly in style. - It lets you easily repair individual book metadata. - If supports multiple book sets and multiple tags. - It offers multiple ways to import and export books, and works well with Calibre. MapleRead offers unprecedented user-defined customization options. - They include unlimited user-defined fonts, book themes, cover images and library scenes. - Each book theme includes various types of user-defined highlight colors. - Each book can have its own theme, and each EPUB book can have its own style. [For more technical details, screenshots, FAQ and reviews, please visit our website.]

About

BookShelves eBook Reader

This app allows you to read EPUB, PDF, and comic books with access to over 1.5 million free public domain books. Organize your library, customize your reading experience with multiple themes and fonts, and sync your progress across devices.

Highlights
  • 1.5 million+ free books
  • EPUB, PDF, and comic reader
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Smart library management
  • Highlighting and note-taking
  • Export highlights
Features
Read full description

BookShelves is an EPUB, PDF, and comic book reader with a built-in catalog of 1.5 million free books. Discover public domain classics, organize your digital library, and sync seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud (Pro). WHAT READERS SAY "Phenomenal book reading and management app, 'just works'." "My everlasting search for the perfect ePub reader might be coming to an end." "Among the best and actively developed." DISCOVER 1.5 MILLION+ FREE BOOKS • 1.5 million+ classic works — Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick, more • 1,100+ premium editions from Standard Ebooks • Internet Archive — millions of historical texts and rare books • 1,200+ Spanish classics from the Biblioteca Nacional de España • 16,000+ Japanese classics from Aozora Bunko • Browse OPDS catalogs from external libraries and servers One tap to download. No account required. POWERFUL READING EXPERIENCE • Paginated or continuous scroll — read your way • 10 themes including Sepia, Dark Academia, Night Sky, and more • 10 bundled fonts including OpenDyslexic for accessible reading • Adjustable line spacing, margins, text justification, and font weight • Highlight in 5 colors and add notes to any passage • Export highlights to Markdown, JSON, or CSV • Dictionary look-up with language detection • Full-text search across chapters • Nested table of contents navigation • Bookmarks (iCloud sync with Pro) • Vertical text (tategaki) for Japanese and CJK books • Right-to-left reading for Arabic, Hebrew, and CJK texts • Full keyboard and trackpad support • Multi-window reading on Mac COMIC BOOKS AND MANGA • CBZ, CBR, and CB7 format support • Two-page spreads for landscape reading • Right-to-left mode for manga with reversed tap zones and swipes • Auto-detected from metadata or toggled manually SEAMLESS ICLOUD SYNC (Pro) • Books and cover images • Reading progress and current page • Shelves, tags, and ratings • Highlights, notes, and bookmarks • Reader preferences (font, theme, layout) Start reading on your iPhone, continue on your iPad, finish on your Mac. SMART LIBRARY MANAGEMENT • Edit metadata -- title, author, series, publisher, ISBN, and cover image • Automatic metadata and cover art fetching • System shelves: All Books, Recently Added, Reading, Finished, Favorites • Custom shelves for any collection • Color-coded tags for categorization • Search and filter by title, author, or tag • Grid and list views • 5-star ratings • Drag-and-drop import, Files app sharing, or OPDS catalogs • EPUB repair — auto-fixes broken navigation and missing metadata • Import from Calibre libraries with best-format selection FORMAT SUPPORT • EPUB — professional rendering with beautiful typography • PDF — native viewer with smooth scrolling and search • CBZ / CBR / CB7 — comic book archives • FB2 — FictionBook 2 format (auto-converts to EPUB) • MOBI / AZW3 / KF8 / KEPUB — auto-converts to EPUB for reading • TXT / Markdown — plain text and Markdown files (auto-converts to EPUB) MAC EXTRAS • Calibre wireless sync — connect KOReader or other devices over Wi-Fi • OPDS server — share your library on your local network PRIVACY FIRST • Your data stays on your devices • No personal data collected • No ads — clean, distraction-free reading • iCloud keeps your library private and secure FREE AND PRO Free: 10 books with all reading features. Pro unlocks unlimited books, iCloud sync, email to Kindle/reMarkable, highlight export, and OPDS server. Pro is available as a one-time purchase or subscription (monthly/annual, select regions). Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage subscriptions in Apple ID account settings. Privacy Policy: https://getbookshelves.app/privacy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://getbookshelves.app/terms/ All books from discovery sources are public domain or openly licensed.

Screenshots

MapleRead CX4 screens
BookShelves eBook Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BookShelves eBook Reader at 3.8 against MapleRead CX's 3.4. BookShelves eBook Reader also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 5 weeks) and monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs paid). MapleRead CX's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.4). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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

Both are free to download. MapleRead CX sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and BookShelves eBook Reader sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BookShelves eBook Reader holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24 and 19 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of MapleRead CX's written reviews are positive against 64% of BookShelves eBook Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MapleRead CX ships an update every 5 weeks, BookShelves eBook Reader weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
MapleRead CX versus BookShelves eBook Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMapleRead CXBookShelves eBook Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (24 ratings)3.8 (19 ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.5% of reviews63.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24 — better19
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.4
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaplepop LLCCPE Verm. GmbH

Customer experience

MapleRead CX

All ratings24 ratings
Positive58.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews39 reviews
Positive61.5%
Neutral10.3%
Negative28.2%

BookShelves eBook Reader

All ratings19 ratings
Positive57.9%
Neutral21.1%
Negative21.1%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral12.1%
Negative24.2%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MapleRead CX

One-time1
  • Pro Upgrade$6.99
4 purchases

BookShelves eBook Reader

One-time4
  • Small Tip$2.99
  • Medium Tip$3.99
  • Large Tip$8.99
Show 1 more
  • Unlock Pro$9.99

Questions

Is MapleRead CX free?
MapleRead CX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BookShelves eBook Reader free?
BookShelves eBook Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MapleRead CX or BookShelves eBook Reader?
BookShelves eBook Reader is rated higher. MapleRead CX averages 3.4 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while BookShelves eBook Reader averages 3.8 from 19 ratings.
Do MapleRead CX or BookShelves eBook Reader have ads?
Neither MapleRead CX nor BookShelves eBook Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MapleRead CX or BookShelves eBook Reader?
MapleRead CX ships an update every 5 weeks, and BookShelves eBook Reader weekly. Most recently, MapleRead CX was updated on October 21, 2026 and BookShelves eBook Reader on October 25, 2026.

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