NetGalley Shelf vs Libraries Online
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NetGalley Shelf
Access and review digital books and audiobooks provided by publishers and authors. Discover new titles, download them for offline reading, or stream audiobooks directly within the app. This platform is designed for book advocates and industry professionals to provide valuable feedback.
- Access digital review copies
- Listen to audiobooks
- Download books for offline reading
- Stream audiobooks
- Discover new titles
- Request and review books
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NetGalley Shelf is a reading and listening app for NetGalley members. NetGalley helps publishers and authors promote digital review copies and audiobooks to book advocates and industry professionals. Publishers make digital review copies and audiobooks available for the NetGalley community to discover, request, read, and review. NetGalley does not sell any content, including books or audiobooks. Each book on NetGalley is provided to specific members by the publisher directly, at no cost to the NetGalley member. Books on the NetGalley site are used for review and promotional purposes only. Users of the NetGalley Shelf app will need to register as NetGalley members on NetGalley.com or NetGalley.co.uk, then all your approved NetGalley books and audiobooks will automatically appear in this app. No need to press Download on the NetGalley website! Reading is easy and convenient using the NetGalley Shelf app. Download approved books for access on the go, or start listening right away with streaming for audiobooks.
Libraries Online
Access your local library's catalog from anywhere. Search for books, reserve items, and manage your account on the go. Explore a wealth of online resources with this convenient mobile tool.
- Search library catalog
- Reserve items
- Manage library account
- Access online resources
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Take Libraries Online everywhere you go! -Search the catalog and reserve items -Manage your library account -Access online resources and much more!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Libraries Online at 100% against NetGalley Shelf's 20%. Libraries Online also leads on rating (4.9 vs 2.1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months). NetGalley Shelf's advantage is chart position (#184 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Libraries Online holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 87 and 147 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 20% of NetGalley Shelf's written reviews are positive against 100% of Libraries Online's.
NetGalley Shelf ships an update every 6 months, Libraries Online every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NetGalley Shelf | Libraries Online |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.1 (87 ratings) | 4.9 (147 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 19.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 87 | 147 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #184 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NetGalley, LLC | Capira Technologies |
Customer experience
NetGalley Shelf
Libraries Online
Bugs and requests
NetGalley Shelf
Reported bugs
5 issues- Login issues
- Downloading issues with audiobooks
- Books disappearing from shelf
- Inability to remove expired books
- Inconsistent behavior when opening books
Requested features
7 requests- Add ability to write reviews within the app
- Improve audiobook playback controls
- Add font size adjustment
- Implement dark mode
- Sync reading progress across devices
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- Add highlighting and note-taking features
- Improve organization and sorting of books
Libraries Online
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
NetGalley Shelf
No in-app purchases
Libraries Online
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is NetGalley Shelf free?
Is Libraries Online free?
Which has better reviews, NetGalley Shelf or Libraries Online?
Do NetGalley Shelf or Libraries Online have ads?
Which is updated more often, NetGalley Shelf or Libraries Online?
Other comparisons
