UW vs RedShelf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
UW
Navigate campus, stay updated on news and events, and access essential student resources. Find computer labs, manage your accounts, and track wellness information. This app simplifies campus life for students.
- Campus news and events
- Outdoor navigation
- Computer lab information
- Wellness tracking
- Account management integration
- Health app integration
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The Parkside app is designed for students to help with campus life. Relevant and important information can be found here. Always get lost between the buildings? Do not know where to go to use a computer? Afraid of missing or forgetting an interesting event or news? Then this app is for you! Features Included: News article viewing Events article viewing Outdoor navigation Computer Lab Information Ranger Wellness Linked to Navigate Linked to eAccounts This app integrates with the health app and the information from within it. Your health data from the phone will be used.
RedShelf
Access and read your digital textbooks on any device. Highlight text, take notes, create flashcards, and have content read aloud. Your notes and highlights sync across all your devices.
- Access textbooks on any device
- Highlight text and take notes
- Create flashcards from content
- Define unfamiliar words
- Text-to-speech functionality
- Sync notes and highlights across devices
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The RedShelf eReader companion app provides access to read and engage with your textbooks located in your RedShelf account on the My Shelf page. Access your textbooks no matter where you go with a unified experience across mobile, tablet, and desktop devices. eReader Features: - Access textbooks on your device for seamless reading - Easily highlight text, take notes, and share with classmates - Create flashcards while reading to test your understanding of the content - Define unfamiliar words quickly and easily - Have text read aloud and select the voice and pace - Sync all of your notes and highlights to your account and across devices App Requirements: - Active RedShelf account - One or more books available in your RedShelf account
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: RedShelf at 4.5 against UW's 2.4. RedShelf also leads on ratings volume (7.1K vs 8) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 4 months). UW's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
RedShelf holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RedShelf has 7.1K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two.
UW ships an update every 4 months, RedShelf every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | UW | RedShelf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.4 (8 ratings) | 4.5 (7.1K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 3.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 7.1K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 82 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | University of Wisconsin-Parkside | RedShelf |
Customer experience
UW
RedShelf
Bugs and requests
UW
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
RedShelf
Reported bugs
3 issues- Books not loading or showing blank screens
- Highlighting issues (selecting wrong text, unable to edit)
- Sync issues between devices and web version
Requested features
4 requests- Improve highlighting and annotation tools
- Add support for split-screen mode
- Enhance text-to-speech capabilities
- Allow offline access to downloaded books
In-app purchases
UW
No in-app purchases
RedShelf
No in-app purchases
