# Bookshelf vs Mibrarian

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Mibrarian at 100% against Bookshelf's 52%. Mibrarian also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Bookshelf's advantage is ratings volume (4.2K vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bookshelf sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Mibrarian asks for nothing beyond the download.

Mibrarian holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookshelf has 4.2K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Bookshelf's written reviews are positive against 100% of Mibrarian's.

Bookshelf ships an update fortnightly, Mibrarian weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bookshelf | Mibrarian |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (4.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshelf-book-tracker-and-list/id1469372414/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mibrarian/id6742660921/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **4.2K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 52.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 283 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Alexander Gerrese](https://appshunter.io/developer/1025357379) | [Iron Elephant Solutions](https://appshunter.io/developer/1755444569) |

## What reviewers say

### Bookshelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshelf-book-tracker-and-list/id1469372414)

Track your reading, build a library, and improve your habits with insightful stats and AI-powered discovery. Remember what you read with notes and quizzes, and set reading goals to stay motivated. Sync across devices and export your library.

**Highlights:** Build and manage your book library, Track reading progress and habits, AI-powered book recommendations, Take notes and create quizzes, Set reading goals and reminders, Import from Goodreads and Kindle, Sync across iOS devices

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

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bookshelf Gold (Monthly) | $6.99 | per month |
| Bookshelf Gold (Yearly) | $29.99 | per year |
| Tokens Refill (Small) | $0.99 | one-time |
| Tokens Refill (Medium) | $4.99 | one-time |
| 250 Tokens | $9.99 | one-time |
| Tokens Refill (Large) | $9.99 | one-time |
| Bookshelf Gold (Lifetime) | $79.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🤩 Excellent book tracking features
- 📚 Unlimited book storage
- 💻 Clean and intuitive interface
- 🔍 Powerful search and discovery
- 📝 Detailed notes and quotes

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Limited free features, requires premium subscription
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔄 Sync issues between devices
- 📚 Incomplete book database
- 🔍 Unreliable barcode scanning

**Reported bugs**

- Books disappearing from library after updates
- Reading progress not syncing correctly
- Inconsistent behavior of reading mode and session tracking
- Search function frequently returning incorrect results

**Requested features**

- Add ability to import/export data
- Implement better sorting and filtering options
- Allow customizable book covers and collections
- Add support for audiobook tracking
- Integrate with other reading apps and services


### Mibrarian

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mibrarian/id6742660921)

Easily catalog your personal book collection, track reading progress, and manage borrowed books. Add titles by scanning, searching, or manual entry, and enrich your library with details and ratings.

**Highlights:** Catalog books via scan, search, or manual entry, Rate and review books, Track reading progress, Manage book lending to others, Fetch rich book details automatically, Organize and personalize your library, Offline access

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bookshelf free?

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

### Is Mibrarian free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Bookshelf or Mibrarian?

Mibrarian is rated higher. Bookshelf averages 4.6 out of 5 from 4.2K ratings, while Mibrarian averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Bookshelf or Mibrarian have ads?

Neither Bookshelf nor Mibrarian shows ads.

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

Bookshelf ships an update fortnightly, and Mibrarian weekly. Most recently, Bookshelf was updated on October 29, 2026 and Mibrarian on October 8, 2026.

---

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