# Shelfie vs Leatherbound

The clearest difference is monetization model: Leatherbound at freemium against Shelfie's subscription. Leatherbound also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5). Shelfie's advantage is ratings volume (201 vs 12) and update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Shelfie sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Leatherbound sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Leatherbound holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shelfie has 201 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 76% of Shelfie's written reviews are positive against 67% of Leatherbound's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Shelfie ships an update fortnightly, Leatherbound monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shelfie | Leatherbound |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (201 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelfie-book-tracker/id1229716523/reviews) | **[4.8 (12 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/leatherbound-reading-tracker/id1578086633/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **201** | 12 |
| Positive reviews | **76.0% of reviews** | 66.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Freemium** |
| Size | 85 MB | 11 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [志鹏 刘](https://appshunter.io/developer/1184833270) | [Sam Davis](https://appshunter.io/developer/1086600257) |

## What reviewers say

### Shelfie

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelfie-book-tracker/id1229716523)

Effortlessly manage your reading notes by scanning book barcodes or using your camera with advanced OCR. Organize your collection, track progress, and share insights with elegant templates. Syncs across all your devices.

**Highlights:** Scan books by barcode or search, Capture notes with OCR technology, Organize books by shelves, Track reading progress, Share notes with templates, Full-text search of notes, Export notes as PDF/HTML

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Monthly Subscription | $2.99 | per month |
| Premium Annually Subscription | $12.99 | per year |
| Shelfie Lifetime (for yearly) | $6.99 | one-time |
| Shelfie Lifetime (for monthly) | $14.99 | one-time |
| Sheifle Premium Lifetime | $19.99 | one-time |


### Leatherbound

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/leatherbound-reading-tracker/id1578086633)

Organize your reading with this app that tracks current books, finished titles, and your reading list. Set goals, view stats, and customize your library with widgets and manual entries. Syncs across devices and offers library import/export.

**Highlights:** Track current, finished, and to-read books, Home screen widgets for progress, Set reading goals, Search and filter library, Syncs across devices, Import/export library, Reading habit insights

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Leatherbound premium monthly | $0.99 | per month |
| Leatherbound premium yearly | $9.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shelfie free?

Shelfie is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Leatherbound free?

Leatherbound is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Shelfie or Leatherbound?

Leatherbound is rated higher. Shelfie averages 4.5 out of 5 from 201 ratings, while Leatherbound averages 4.8 from 12 ratings.

### Do Shelfie or Leatherbound have ads?

Neither Shelfie nor Leatherbound shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Shelfie or Leatherbound?

Shelfie ships an update fortnightly, and Leatherbound monthly. Most recently, Shelfie was updated on October 26, 2026 and Leatherbound on October 27, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*