Comparison

Bookshelf vs PCL Mobile

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 TBR list. Discover new books, share recommendations, and connect with friends' reading journeys.

Highlights
  • Virtual bookshelves and tags
  • ISBN barcode scanner
  • Reading progress tracking
  • TBR wishlist management
  • Social reading profiles
  • Book statistics and insights
  • OCR text scanning for quotes
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

PCL Mobile

Access your library account, search the catalog, and reserve items. Discover digital collections, view event calendars, and make program reservations. Enjoy a comprehensive library experience on your mobile device.

Highlights
  • Catalog search
  • Item reservation
  • Account management
  • Event calendar
  • Program reservations
  • Digital collections access
Read full description

PCL Mobile allows you to search the catalog, reserve items for pickup, take a look at your account, view our calendar, make reservations for programs and events, access our digital collections, and so much more!

Screenshots

Bookshelf4 screens
PCL Mobile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PCL Mobile at none against Bookshelf's 4. PCL Mobile also leads on ads (none vs shown). Bookshelf's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (3.1K vs 2). On price, rating, review sentiment and device support 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. PCL Mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PCL Mobile holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookshelf has 3.1K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 94% of Bookshelf's written reviews are positive against 100% of PCL Mobile's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, PCL Mobile every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Bookshelf versus PCL Mobile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookshelfPCL Mobile
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.1K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.1K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 6 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#200 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSquidBit d.o.o.Pendleton Community Public Library

Customer experience

Bookshelf

All ratings3,041 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral1.6%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews1,244 reviews
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative3.0%

PCL Mobile

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

PCL Mobile

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

PCL Mobile

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bookshelf free?
Bookshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PCL Mobile free?
PCL Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bookshelf or PCL Mobile?
PCL Mobile is rated higher. Bookshelf averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.1K ratings, while PCL Mobile averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Bookshelf or PCL Mobile have ads?
Bookshelf shows ads; PCL Mobile does not.
Which is updated more often, Bookshelf or PCL Mobile?
Bookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, and PCL Mobile every 6 months. Most recently, Bookshelf was updated on October 29, 2026 and PCL Mobile on October 24, 2026.

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