# Shelfie vs Bookdot

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.

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Shelfie | Bookdot |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (201 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelfie-book-tracker/id1229716523/reviews) | **[4.8 (67 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookdot-book-tracker/id6503656539/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **201** | 67 |
| Positive reviews | 76.0% of reviews | **90.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 85 MB | 59 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [志鹏 刘](https://appshunter.io/developer/1184833270) | [TRILLIWON, Co.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1050731374) |

## 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 |


### Bookdot

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookdot-book-tracker/id6503656539)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bookdot Plus - Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Bookdot Plus - Annual | $9.99 | per year |
| Bookdot Pro | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Clean and simple UI
- 🔗 Notion integration is great
- 📚 Excellent for tracking reading
- 💡 Useful note-taking and archiving
- 📅 Calendar view is appreciated

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Book cover overlap in calendar
- 🤔 Difficulty finding theme settings
- ❓ Unclear Notion sync guide
- 🔄 Inability to change read dates
- ↩️ Missing back button on search page

**Reported bugs**

- 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)

**Requested features**

- 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


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