Comparison

Bookshelf vs Honor Library

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

Honor Library

This app creates a private book-sharing network among your trusted contacts. Easily add books to your digital shelf and discover titles your friends are willing to lend. Request books with a tap and arrange in-person exchanges.

Highlights
  • Build digital book shelf
  • Share books with trusted contacts
  • Discover books from your circle
  • Request and hand off books
  • Maintain a wishlist
  • Private by design
Features
Read full description

Honor Library turns the books you already own into a sharing circle with the people you trust. No public marketplace. No strangers. Just your own circle, matched automatically from your contacts, passing along the books they love. HOW IT WORKS - Build your shelf in seconds. Scan a barcode, search by title, or paste a link from almost any bookstore. Choose which books you are happy to pass along. - Your circle finds itself. Honor Library connects you with people already in your contacts who use the app. No friend requests, no hunting for strangers. - Discover what is around you. A personalized feed shows the books your circle is ready to share, grouped into quick reads, long-form deep dives, and hidden gems. - Request and hand off. Found something you want? Request it in one tap. The owner gets a message, you meet up, and the book finds its next reader in person. - Keep a wishlist. Add the books you are hoping to read. When someone in your circle has one, you both know. WHY HONOR LIBRARY Books are meant to be passed on. Most of us have shelves full of titles we have already finished, while a friend nearby is looking for exactly that book. Honor Library closes that gap inside a circle you already trust, so sharing feels personal. PRIVATE BY DESIGN - Your shelf and activity are visible only to your circle, never to the public. - We use the contacts on your device only to match you with friends who already use Honor Library. - Sign in with your phone number. No passwords to remember. Honor Library is a project of V2C Inc, a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Questions or feedback? Reach us at contact@honorlibrary.org.

Screenshots

Bookshelf4 screens
Honor Library4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Honor Library at none against Bookshelf's 4. Honor Library also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). Bookshelf's advantage is ratings volume (3.1K vs 1) and chart position (#169 vs unranked). On price, rating 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. Honor Library asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Honor Library 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 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, Honor Library every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Bookshelf versus Honor Library: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookshelfHonor Library
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.1K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.1K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#169 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSquidBit d.o.o.V2C Inc

Customer experience

Bookshelf

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

Honor Library

All ratings1 ratings
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

Honor Library

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

Honor Library

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bookshelf free?
Bookshelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Honor Library free?
Honor Library is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bookshelf or Honor Library?
Honor Library is rated higher. Bookshelf averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.1K ratings, while Honor Library averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Bookshelf or Honor Library have ads?
Bookshelf shows ads; Honor Library does not.
Which is updated more often, Bookshelf or Honor Library?
Bookshelf ships an update every 2 weeks, and Honor Library every 2 days. Most recently, Bookshelf was updated on October 21, 2026 and Honor Library on October 7, 2026.

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