Comparison

Shelfie vs Bookdot

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

Head to head
About

Shelfie

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
Read full description

Collect your books reading notes in one place by simply pointing your camera at the paperbacks. Managing your reading notes has never been so effortless! KEY FEATURES * Find books and add to your collection by scanning bar code, searching keyword, or entering book info manually. * Take a photo of the printed text and save your reading notes in a flash, empowered by revolutionary Optimal Character Recognition (OCR) technology. * Recognize texts in 45+ languages: English, Chinese, France, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, German, Italian, and many more. * Record your reading data. * Save images directly as your notes. * Organize your books by shelves. * Create a table of contents for your books and navigate your notes by chapters. * Set short title for your notes. * Share your notes and thoughts with multiple elegantly designed templates. * Search full-text and find your notes. * Track your reading progress. * Export your notes as PDFs or HTMLs. * Support various iOS features such as Handoff, Multitasking, and Search. * Website: https://shelfie.app HIGHLIGHTS * Access your notes anywhere: Everything is synced automatically and instantly across any computer, phone, or tablet. Once you create your account, your date stays in sync so that you always have the up-to-date version of your favorite quotes and inspirations (yeah we do not rely on iCloud). * Advanced OCR technology based on Google: Fast and precise. * Auto recognition of tables of contents: Take a photo of a book’s table of contents and we automatically turn it into chapters matched with pages. * Simple, but powerful. SUBSCRIPTION We offer monthly and yearly Premium subscriptions. App Store will renews the subscription during 24 hours before it expires. You can stop the auto renewal in the system settings of iPhone. When start auto renewal in trial period, the trial will stop automatically. If you encounter any problems, please try to restart Shelfie, or tap the restore button below. Privacy: https://yanwai.net/privacy/en Terms: https://yanwai.net/terms/en SUPPORT We love hearing back from you and we are constantly improving our app based on your suggestions! E-mail: hi@yanwai.app

About

Bookdot

Manage your personal library, track reading progress, and improve comprehension with notes and highlights. Set reading goals and visualize your growing collection. Ideal for building consistent reading habits.

Highlights
  • Easy book management
  • Track reading progress
  • Note taking and highlights
  • Rate and review books
  • Customizable themes
  • iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

Bookdot – Build Reading Habits Bookdot helps you nurture a flourishing reading habit, manage your personal library, and better retain what you read, whether it’s physical books or e-books. Tracking your reading progress with Bookdot is simple, motivating, and fun. Set personalized goals, explore insightful statistics, and capture key takeaways with notes and highlights to remember what you’ve read. Grow your personal “Bookdot” by adding books to your virtual shelf, fostering your reading habit with daily goals, and watching as your library branches out with each completed book. Features: • Easy Book Management: Quickly add books through search and seamlessly organize your library, whether it’s physical or digital. • Track Your Progress: Log your reading time with the built-in timer and track the number of pages you read in each session. • iCloud Sync: Keep your data safe and accessible across all your devices with iCloud synchronization. • Note Taking & Highlights: Capture your favorite quotes and insights by writing notes and highlighting passages in your personalized reading journal. • Rate and Review: Reflect on your reading experience by leaving ratings and reviews after finishing a book. • Customize Your Experience: Personalize the app with unique themes that match your reading style and preferences. Bookdot is designed for readers who are passionate about growing their love for books while tracking their progress in an engaging, insightful way. As you continue reading and expanding your knowledge, watch your Bookdot thrive. Stay tuned for more exciting features on the horizon! For customer support, contact: trilliwon.work@gmail.com Terms & Conditions at https://trilliwon.com/apps/terms-and-conditions Privacy Policy at https://trilliwon.com/apps/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Shelfie4 screens
Bookdot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Bookdot at free with in-app purchases against Shelfie's subscription. Bookdot also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (90% vs 76%). Shelfie's advantage is ratings volume (201 vs 67) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Shelfie sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Bookdot sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bookdot holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 201 and 67 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Shelfie's written reviews are positive against 90% of Bookdot's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shelfie ships an update fortnightly, Bookdot weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Shelfie versus Bookdot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShelfieBookdot
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (201 ratings)4.8 (67 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.0% of reviews90.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings201 — better67
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better18
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB59 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer志鹏 刘TRILLIWON, Co.

Customer experience

Shelfie

All ratings201 ratings
Positive89.1%
Neutral1.5%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive76.0%
Neutral2.0%
Negative22.0%

Bookdot

All ratings66 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral3.0%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive90.2%
Neutral9.8%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Shelfie

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Bookdot

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Book covers overlap on the calendar view when multiple books are read on the same day
  • Unable to change the read date after entry
  • ISBN scanning frequently fails, requiring manual entry
  • Search page lacks a back button, forcing app exit
  • Notes not syncing to Notion (reported by multiple users)
Show 4 more
  • Page editing errors
  • New books added go into 'will read' and are inaccessible
  • Books on reading list go blank when tapped
  • Small keyboard bug sometimes

Requested features

14 requests
  • Allow half-star ratings
  • Add functionality to log re-reads of the same book
  • Improve sorting options for completed books (by rating or date)
  • Display multiple book covers clearly when more than two are read on the same day
  • Provide a guide for Notion integration
Show 9 more
  • Add iCloud sync functionality
  • Support for audiobook logging
  • Ability to customize lists into categories
  • Mac sync functionality
  • Store quotes within book entries
  • Add a back button to the search page
  • Improve ISBN scanning accuracy
  • Allow editing of read dates
  • Add more themes or make them discoverable

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Shelfie

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly Subscription$2.991 Month
  • Premium Annually Subscription$12.991 Year
One-time3
  • Shelfie Lifetime (for yearly)$6.99
  • Shelfie Lifetime (for monthly)$14.99
  • Sheifle Premium Lifetime$19.99
3 purchases

Bookdot

Subscriptions2
  • Bookdot Plus - Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Bookdot Plus - Annual7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Bookdot Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Shelfie free?
Shelfie is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bookdot free?
Bookdot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shelfie or Bookdot?
Bookdot is rated higher. Shelfie averages 4.5 out of 5 from 201 ratings, while Bookdot averages 4.8 from 67 ratings.
Do Shelfie or Bookdot have ads?
Neither Shelfie nor Bookdot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shelfie or Bookdot?
Shelfie ships an update fortnightly, and Bookdot weekly. Most recently, Shelfie was updated on October 26, 2026 and Bookdot on October 25, 2026.

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