Readtivity vs BookShelves eBook Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Readtivity
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Readtivity is a reading tracker that helps you build better reading habits, follow your progress, and understand your reading over time. Log a session from your Lock Screen, ask Siri to record the pages you've read, or start a timer straight from a widget. Then watch your streaks, goals and insights build up over months and years. Your data stays private, stored on your devices and synced through your own iCloud account. BUILD YOUR LIBRARY • Add books by searching online • Track multiple books at once • Organise books with custom shelves • Mark books as Loved and add personal notes • Import your Goodreads library TRACK READING PROGRESS • Log pages manually or with a timer • Control your reading timer from widgets, the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island • Track time spent reading • See progress by page and percentage • Review, edit and delete past sessions • Add ratings, notes, and book details READING GOALS & MOTIVATION • Set monthly page or book goals • Monitor streaks and milestones • View progress with activity rings • Get gentle reading reminders INSIGHTS & ANALYTICS • Track pages read by day, week, and month • Measure reading speed in pages per hour • Explore genre trends over time • View charts of your reading activity • See detailed statistics for each book WIDGETS, SIRI & LIVE ACTIVITIES • Home Screen widgets in every size, with Quick Actions and shelf picking • Ask Siri to log pages, start a session, open a shelf or find a book • Track live sessions on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • Check goal progress at a glance DESIGNED FOR EVERYONE • VoiceOver support • Works beautifully at large text sizes • Clear confirmations before anything is deleted, with Undo when you change your mind READTIVITY+ • In-Depth Analytics: monthly books and pages, daily charts, top genres, session length and total time read • Re-Read Tracking: log every read of a book you love • Extra Shelf Icons: more icon sets for your custom shelves • Export to CSV and PDF: take your reading history anywhere Privacy Policy https://gist.github.com/patrickmfsd/b05530435c821c40f059d3e7b34d6394 License Agreement http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula
BookShelves eBook Reader
This app allows you to read EPUB, PDF, and comic books with access to over 1.5 million free public domain books. Organize your library, customize your reading experience with multiple themes and fonts, and sync your progress across devices.
- 1.5 million+ free books
- EPUB, PDF, and comic reader
- Customizable themes and fonts
- iCloud sync across devices
- Smart library management
- Highlighting and note-taking
- Export highlights
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BookShelves is an EPUB, PDF, and comic book reader with a built-in catalog of 1.5 million free books. Discover public domain classics, organize your digital library, and sync seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud (Pro). WHAT READERS SAY "Phenomenal book reading and management app, 'just works'." "My everlasting search for the perfect ePub reader might be coming to an end." "Among the best and actively developed." DISCOVER 1.5 MILLION+ FREE BOOKS • 1.5 million+ classic works — Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick, more • 1,100+ premium editions from Standard Ebooks • Internet Archive — millions of historical texts and rare books • 1,200+ Spanish classics from the Biblioteca Nacional de España • 16,000+ Japanese classics from Aozora Bunko • Browse OPDS catalogs from external libraries and servers One tap to download. No account required. POWERFUL READING EXPERIENCE • Paginated or continuous scroll — read your way • 10 themes including Sepia, Dark Academia, Night Sky, and more • 10 bundled fonts including OpenDyslexic for accessible reading • Adjustable line spacing, margins, text justification, and font weight • Highlight in 5 colors and add notes to any passage • Export highlights to Markdown, JSON, or CSV • Dictionary look-up with language detection • Full-text search across chapters • Nested table of contents navigation • Bookmarks (iCloud sync with Pro) • Vertical text (tategaki) for Japanese and CJK books • Right-to-left reading for Arabic, Hebrew, and CJK texts • Full keyboard and trackpad support • Multi-window reading on Mac COMIC BOOKS AND MANGA • CBZ, CBR, and CB7 format support • Two-page spreads for landscape reading • Right-to-left mode for manga with reversed tap zones and swipes • Auto-detected from metadata or toggled manually SEAMLESS ICLOUD SYNC (Pro) • Books and cover images • Reading progress and current page • Shelves, tags, and ratings • Highlights, notes, and bookmarks • Reader preferences (font, theme, layout) Start reading on your iPhone, continue on your iPad, finish on your Mac. SMART LIBRARY MANAGEMENT • Edit metadata -- title, author, series, publisher, ISBN, and cover image • Automatic metadata and cover art fetching • System shelves: All Books, Recently Added, Reading, Finished, Favorites • Custom shelves for any collection • Color-coded tags for categorization • Search and filter by title, author, or tag • Grid and list views • 5-star ratings • Drag-and-drop import, Files app sharing, or OPDS catalogs • EPUB repair — auto-fixes broken navigation and missing metadata • Import from Calibre libraries with best-format selection FORMAT SUPPORT • EPUB — professional rendering with beautiful typography • PDF — native viewer with smooth scrolling and search • CBZ / CBR / CB7 — comic book archives • FB2 — FictionBook 2 format (auto-converts to EPUB) • MOBI / AZW3 / KF8 / KEPUB — auto-converts to EPUB for reading • TXT / Markdown — plain text and Markdown files (auto-converts to EPUB) MAC EXTRAS • Calibre wireless sync — connect KOReader or other devices over Wi-Fi • OPDS server — share your library on your local network PRIVACY FIRST • Your data stays on your devices • No personal data collected • No ads — clean, distraction-free reading • iCloud keeps your library private and secure FREE AND PRO Free: 10 books with all reading features. Pro unlocks unlimited books, iCloud sync, email to Kindle/reMarkable, highlight export, and OPDS server. Pro is available as a one-time purchase or subscription (monthly/annual, select regions). Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage subscriptions in Apple ID account settings. Privacy Policy: https://getbookshelves.app/privacy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://getbookshelves.app/terms/ All books from discovery sources are public domain or openly licensed.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: BookShelves eBook Reader at every 8 days against Readtivity's every 3 weeks. BookShelves eBook Reader also leads on iOS requirement (17.4 vs 26.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Readtivity sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and BookShelves eBook Reader sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Readtivity ships an update every 3 weeks, BookShelves eBook Reader every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Readtivity | BookShelves eBook Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 3.8 (20 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 61.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 20 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | 17.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Patrick Mifsud | CPE Verm. GmbH |
In-app purchases
Readtivity
- Monthly$1.991 Month
- Yearly1 Month trial$14.991 Year
BookShelves eBook Reader
- Small Tip$2.99
- Medium Tip$3.99
- Large Tip$8.99
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- Unlock Pro$9.99
Questions
Is Readtivity free?
Is BookShelves eBook Reader free?
Do Readtivity or BookShelves eBook Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Readtivity or BookShelves eBook Reader?
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