# Bookshelf vs Bookworm

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bookworm at none against Bookshelf's 4. Bookworm also leads on ads (none vs shown). Bookshelf's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bookshelf sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Bookworm asks for nothing beyond the download.

Bookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, Bookworm every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bookshelf | Bookworm |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (3.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshelf-your-virtual-library/id1464032274/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **3.1K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 93.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 80 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 15.2 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [SquidBit d.o.o.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1464032273) | [Jakub Drozd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1675529057) |

## What reviewers say

### Bookshelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshelf-your-virtual-library/id1464032274)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bookshelf (1 Month) | $2.99 | per month |
| Bookshelf (1 Year) | $19.99 | per year |
| Bookshelf (Lifetime) | $59.99 | one-time |
| Bookshelf (Lifetime) | $79.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Batch scanning feature
- 📚 Excellent for organizing book collections
- 💰 Free app with no limits
- 🔍 Helpful for avoiding book duplicates

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Search function could be improved
- 🔢 Inability to add multiple copies of the same book
- 📷 Limited cover image options for some books

**Reported bugs**

- Occasional issues with scanning barcodes
- Trouble accessing app after account creation

**Requested features**

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


### Bookworm

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookworm/id6449706353)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bookshelf free?

Bookshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Bookworm free?

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

### Do Bookshelf or Bookworm have ads?

Bookshelf shows ads; Bookworm does not.

### Which is updated more often, Bookshelf or Bookworm?

Bookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, and Bookworm every 2 months. Most recently, Bookshelf was updated on October 24, 2026 and Bookworm on October 4, 2026.

---

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