# SIS VHL vs RedShelf

The clearest difference is update cadence: RedShelf at every 5 weeks against SIS VHL's every 10 months. SIS VHL's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

SIS VHL ships an update every 10 months, RedShelf every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SIS VHL | RedShelf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[4.5 (7.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/redshelf/id1511013608/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **7.1K** |
| Positive reviews | — | 3.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 10 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Size | 34 MB | 26 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [CACI bv](https://appshunter.io/developer/961337312) | [RedShelf](https://appshunter.io/developer/1511013606) |

## What reviewers say

### SIS VHL

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sis-vhl/id1454211225)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### RedShelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/redshelf/id1511013608)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Convenient to access textbooks in one place
- 🚀 Decent overall performance

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
- 💤 Slow loading and page turning
- 👎 Unreliable highlighting and note-taking features
- 🤖 Poor text-to-speech functionality
- 📵 Inability to access books offline

**Reported bugs**

- Books not loading or showing blank screens
- Highlighting issues (selecting wrong text, unable to edit)
- Sync issues between devices and web version

**Requested features**

- Improve highlighting and annotation tools
- Add support for split-screen mode
- Enhance text-to-speech capabilities
- Allow offline access to downloaded books


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SIS VHL free?

SIS VHL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is RedShelf free?

RedShelf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do SIS VHL or RedShelf have ads?

Neither SIS VHL nor RedShelf shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SIS VHL or RedShelf?

SIS VHL ships an update every 10 months, and RedShelf every 5 weeks. Most recently, SIS VHL was updated on November 6, 2026 and RedShelf on November 3, 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.*