# Page Surfer vs The Shelf

The clearest difference is price: Page Surfer at Free against The Shelf's $4.99. The Shelf's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Page Surfer is free to download; The Shelf costs $4.99 up front. Page Surfer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. The Shelf asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Page Surfer against 5.0 for The Shelf. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

Page Surfer ships an update every 2 months, The Shelf every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Page Surfer | The Shelf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | [5.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/page-surfer/id1596576525/reviews) | [5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-shelf-reading-tracker/id6790276638/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **4** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Paid** |
| Size | 50 MB | 20 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Parakeet Software LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/443980756) | [Antonio Gordillo Toledo](https://appshunter.io/developer/6790276640) |

## What reviewers say

### Page Surfer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/page-surfer/id1596576525)

Organize your reading life with this intuitive book management app. Track progress, set goals, and capture notes and quotes. Sync across devices and share your literary journey with friends.

**Highlights:** Personal book library, Custom reading lists, Reading goal setting, Page progress tracking, Note and quote capture, Reading statistics, Cross-device sync

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $1.99 | per month |
| Annual Subscription | $19.99 | per year |


### The Shelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-shelf-reading-tracker/id6790276638)

Organize your entire book collection, track reading progress, and capture notes and quotes. This app offers a private, customizable space to manage your reading life, from adding new books to reviewing past sessions.

**Highlights:** Build and organize your book library, Track reading progress and focus sessions, Save notes, quotes, and journal entries, View detailed reading statistics, Customize app appearance, Sync and export library data

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Page Surfer free?

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

### Is The Shelf free?

The Shelf costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Page Surfer or The Shelf?

Page Surfer and The Shelf are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 3 ratings respectively.

### Do Page Surfer or The Shelf have ads?

Neither Page Surfer nor The Shelf shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Page Surfer or The Shelf?

Page Surfer ships an update every 2 months, and The Shelf every 3 days. Most recently, Page Surfer was updated on October 14, 2026 and The Shelf on October 19, 2026.

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