Comparison

Bookshelf vs MLOL Reader

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

Head to head
About

Bookshelf

Organize your book collection with virtual shelves and tags. Track reading progress, set goals, and manage your wishlist. Discover new books, share recommendations, and connect with friends through your reading journey.

Highlights
  • Virtual bookshelves and tags
  • ISBN barcode scanner
  • Reading progress tracking
  • Wishlist management
  • Social reading profiles
  • Book statistics
  • OCR text scanning for notes
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Organize book collection by creating virtual shelves and tags. Track your reading progress and set reading goals to stay motivated. Manage a wishlist of books that you want to read (TBR). Discover great new reads: rate, review and share book recommendations. Create your own social profile and allow friends to follow your reading journey. ORGANIZE YOUR BOOKS - Catalog books using fast and easy to use ISBN barcode scanner - Batch scanner option allows to rapidly scan multiple books at once - Books can be added using search functionality (title/author/ISBN) - Old and rare books can be added manually - Import books from a CSV file generated by other popular book apps - Import books from Goodreads CREATE SHELVES AND TAGS - Organize books by creating virtual bookshelves and tags - Use search functionality to quickly find books on your shelves - Sort your books by title, author, number of pages, publication date, etc. - Use filters to display books matching your criteria - Track your lent and borrowed books - Add information about your book purchases - Organize books by series and volumes - Create personal notes or add other useful information - Add quotes by simply scanning the text with our OCR reader - Multiple book selection; apply batch operations - Grid view available - Dark theme available SET CUSTOM READING GOALS - Create annual reading goals to stay motivated - Define custom date range goals and share them with your friends TRACK YOUR READING - Log how many pages you have read so far and when did you start and finished reading a book - You can record multiple readings for each book SEE WHAT YOUR FRIENDS ARE READING - Create your own reading social profile - Allow your followers to see your last read books, wishlist and reading goals DISCOVER NEW BOOKS - Discover bestselling books in different categories - Share your favorite books with your friends on social media VIEW YOUR STATISTICS - Rich statistics about your books, purchase, reading progress, ratings, top authors, top categories etc. MANAGE YOUR WISHLIST - Maintain a wishlist of books that you want to read - Book price tracking and price alerts available in some countries RATE AND REVIEW - Help others to discover great books and find books for yourself - Rate books with 5 star rating (half-star ratings available) - Read book reviews from others and leave your own opinion NEVER LOSE YOUR DATA - Your data is securely stored on our servers and it's linked to your account - If you change your device/platform, you just need to log back in with your username - You can export data to a CSV file to create your own backup - You can export your data as HTML web page for easy printing with cover images BOOKSHELF PRO PLANS - Bookshelf is free to download and use for up to 100 books - Bookshelf Pro removes the 100-book limit and unlocks other advanced features - Bookshelf Pro includes a 7-day free trial period after which you can choose between monthly, annual or lifetime plans OTHER NOTES - This is an app to organize your books and to track your reading - Reading is not available within this app FOLLOW US Stay in touch for new features and improvements - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookshelfconcept/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookshelfapp/ FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS bookshelf.concept@gmail.com https://www.bookshelfapp.info * Privacy policy: https://www.bookshelfapp.info/privacy-policy.html * Terms of service: https://www.bookshelfapp.info/terms-of-use.html

About

MLOL Reader

Access and borrow hundreds of thousands of ebooks from Italian publishers through a revamped digital reading platform. Connect with your library account to explore vast collections from public, academic, and school catalogs.

Highlights
  • Borrow ebooks from MLOL catalogs
  • Access public, academic, and school libraries
  • Search and borrow from hundreds of thousands of titles
  • Login with existing library credentials
  • Read ebooks from major Italian publishers
Read full description

MLOL Reader è l'app di lettura e ascolto di MLOL: ti permette di prendere in prestito gli ebook e gli audiolibri della tua biblioteca. Se la tua biblioteca aderisce a MLOL (scoprilo su https://www.medialibrary.it), puoi richiedere in biblioteca le credenziali per usare questa app e accedere gratuitamente a un grande catalogo di ebook e audiolibri di tutti i maggiori editori italiani. La nuova versione 2026 dell'app presenta una Homepage arricchita, che raccoglie informazioni sui tuoi prestiti, suggerimenti personalizzati e link per scoprire sezioni interessanti del catalogo. Tutti gli ebook e gli audiolibri che hai scaricato sul tuo dispositivo sono poi raccolti nella Libreria. Con MLOL Reader, il prestito digitale non è mai stato così facile: prendere in prestito una risorsa dal catalogo MLOL è ora più semplice e intuitivo, grazie a un processo pensato per ridurre il numero di click e facilitare l’esperienza d'uso. Con la nuova versione di MLOL e dell’app è possibile rinnovare il prestito di un ebook per 7 giorni (portando così la durata a 21) o restituirlo in anticipo per renderlo così disponibile agli altri lettori. Pensata per la lettura di ebook e l’ascolto di audiolibri, l’app MLOL Reader offre un’esperienza migliorata grazie a nuove funzionalità e all’ottimizzazione di quelle già presenti. Lo fa con un ecosistema accessibile, capace di garantire una fruizione autonoma a tutti gli utenti grazie alla personalizzazione delle impostazioni di lettura o all’uso di strumenti come screen reader e barre Braille.

Screenshots

Bookshelf4 screens
MLOL Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bookshelf at 94% against MLOL Reader's 35%. Bookshelf also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and chart position (#177 vs unranked). MLOL Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Bookshelf sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. MLOL Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, MLOL Reader every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Bookshelf versus MLOL Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookshelfMLOL Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.1K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews93.7% of reviews — better34.6% of reviews
Number of ratings3.1K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#177 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB25 MB
Age rating+412+
DeveloperSquidBit d.o.o.Horizons Unlimited H.U. srl

Customer experience

Bookshelf

All ratings3,067 ratings
Positive97.3%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews1,246 reviews
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative3.0%

MLOL Reader

Written reviews52 reviews
Positive34.6%
Neutral28.8%
Negative36.5%

Bugs and requests

Bookshelf

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional issues with scanning barcodes
  • Trouble accessing app after account creation

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to organize books by author and series
  • Option to filter statistics by bookshelf
  • Manual page count entry
  • Borrowing/lending tracking system

MLOL Reader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Bookshelf

Subscriptions2
  • Bookshelf (1 Month)7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Bookshelf (1 Year)7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time2
  • Bookshelf (Lifetime)$59.99
  • Bookshelf (Lifetime)$79.99
None

MLOL Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bookshelf free?
Bookshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MLOL Reader free?
MLOL Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Bookshelf or MLOL Reader have ads?
Bookshelf shows ads; MLOL Reader does not.
Which is updated more often, Bookshelf or MLOL Reader?
Bookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, and MLOL Reader every 2 months. Most recently, Bookshelf was updated on November 3, 2026 and MLOL Reader on November 3, 2026.

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