Bookshelf vs Micro Reading
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bookshelf
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.
- 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
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Bookshelf helps you track your books, build a lasting reading habit, and better remember what you read—now with powerful AI-powered discovery tools to help you find your next great read! Add books you’ve read, books you’re reading, and books you want to read. Improve your reading habits with insightful stats and trend reports. Stay motivated with reading goals, streaks, and reminders. Remember what you read by writing and reviewing notes and quotes. BUILD YOUR LIBRARY • Import & Sync – Import your existing libraries from Goodreads, Kindle, StoryGraph, or Reading List with a tap. • Quick Add – Build your library by searching millions of books, scanning any book's barcode, or adding your own. • Book Recommendations* – Discover trending books, find books based on your mood or any prompt, and browse curated collections to find your next read. • Everything Tracker – Easily manage book collections, reading status, star ratings, reading dates, and more for all your books. • Reading Sessions* – Pick up a book, start a session, and we’ll track everything so you can focus on reading. IMPROVE YOUR READING HABITS • Book Chat – Chat with our AI librarian to generate summaries and flash cards, discuss key ideas, and much more! • Reading Stats – Visualize your reading habits over time with charts and reading stats. • Reading Goals – Create a reading goal for the year to motivate yourself to read more or challenge your friends! • Estimated Completion Time – See how long it will take to finish any book with your average reading speed. • Reading Streaks* – Stay motivated by keeping up your streak! REMEMBER WHAT YOU READ • Smart Notes* – Use cards to jot down notes or vocab, write a summary, or prepare study questions. Scan text directly from books or add rich text of your own. • Knowledge Quizzes* – Spaced-repetition quizzes on your note cards that will significantly increase your retention, guaranteed. • Reading Reminders* – Never forget to read or test your knowledge with timely notifications. OTHER FEATURES • Cloud Sync* & Daily Backups – Sync between your iOS devices so your library is always up-to-date, or restore from previous backups. • App Icons – Make Bookshelf your own with beautiful custom home-screen icons. • Library Export* – Never fear losing your books or notes with CSV library exports. • Dark Mode – Beautiful during the day, gorgeous and eye-saving at night. *Some features require Bookshelf Gold for access or unlimited use Gold Lifetime charges your Apple ID once for permanent Gold status. Gold Yearly charges your Apple ID for 12 months of Gold status after a 7-day free trial unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the trial ends. Gold Monthly charges your Apple ID for 1 month of Gold status on purchase confirmation. Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel anytime in your iTunes account settings. For more information, see our Terms and Conditions at bit.ly/2NNm93Z and Privacy Policy at bit.ly/31Mad8s.
Micro Reading
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Micro Reading OS turns the spare minutes in your day into real reading progress. Paste an article, import a book, or scan a page, then read it one word at a time with RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation) — a focused format designed to cut down on wasted eye movement and help you stay with the text, whether you have two minutes or twenty. This isn't a speed-reading gimmick. It's built around realistic, comprehension-first pace (roughly 300–500 words per minute), so you make steady progress without losing the thread. FOCUSED RSVP READING • One word at a time, with ORP (Optimal Recognition Point) highlighting to guide your eye • Adjustable reading speed • Customizable text size and reader themes • Simple gestures: tap to pause, double-tap to resume, swipe to rewind, long-press to bookmark • Prefer pages? Switch to page view and turn pages with a swipe • Progress tracking for every document KEEP READING IN OTHER APPS On iPhone, pop your reading into a floating Picture-in-Picture window and keep going while you check a message or switch apps. BRING YOUR OWN CONTENT • Paste text straight from your clipboard • Import EPUB, PDF, and plain text files • Search your library and jump back into anything you've saved • Bookmark key passages and return to them later • Organize your library into custom Reading Lists • Everything you import is available offline MADE FOR IPHONE AND IPAD Every screen adapts to iPad, with a comfortable reading width in portrait and landscape. READ ON APPLE WATCH Continue an RSVP session right on your wrist — your place stays in step between iPhone and Apple Watch, even for long books. Control playback with simple gestures or the Digital Crown and feel haptic feedback as you read. Your reader colors and theme carry over automatically from iPhone. A HOME SCREEN WIDGET THAT KEEPS YOU MOVING See your current book at a glance and control playback — pause, resume, skip, adjust speed — without unlocking your phone. ALSO ON MAC Read and manage your library on Mac, with a menu bar companion for quick playback control. UNDERSTAND YOUR READING • Daily reading goal • Reading streaks • Stats on time read, words read, and sessions completed BUILT FOR REAL-LIFE READING Micro Reading OS isn't about turning every session into a race. It's about making use of the small moments already in your day — a few minutes in line, a chapter on the commute, a paragraph before bed. One spare moment at a time. MICRO READING OS PREMIUM (OPTIONAL) The core reading experience — RSVP and page view, clipboard paste, EPUB/PDF/text import, bookmarks, Reading Lists, search, Picture-in-Picture, the Watch app, widget, and reading stats — is free, with your library capped at 20 documents. Premium removes the cap and adds: • Unlimited library • Save web articles by pasting a link • Scan printed pages or photos into text with on-device text recognition • Import more file types, including documents, ebooks, and subtitles • Discover free public-domain books and encyclopedia articles • Every reader theme, plus fine-tuned custom colors Premium is available as a monthly or annual subscription, or as a one-time Lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at purchase confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID account settings. Prices may vary by region. Privacy Policy: https://funpixel.ca/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Micro Reading OS — your reading, wherever you are.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Bookshelf at fortnightly against Micro Reading's monthly. Bookshelf also leads on chart position (#183 vs unranked). Micro Reading's advantage is device support (5 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Bookshelf sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Micro Reading sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Bookshelf ships an update fortnightly, Micro Reading monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bookshelf | Micro Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (4.2K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 52.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4.2K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Best chart rank | #183 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 283 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alexander Gerrese | Fun Pixel Inc. |
Bugs and requests
Bookshelf
Reported bugs
4 issues- 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
5 requests- 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
Micro Reading
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Bookshelf
- Bookshelf Gold (Monthly)2 variants$6.991 Month
- Bookshelf Gold (Yearly)7 Days trial2 variants$29.991 Year
- Tokens Refill (Small)$0.99
- Tokens Refill (Medium)$4.99
- 250 Tokens$9.99
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- Tokens Refill (Large)$9.99
- Bookshelf Gold (Lifetime)2 variants$79.99
Micro Reading
- Micro Reading Premium Monthly$1.991 Month
- Micro Reading Premium Annual$19.991 Year









