# Bookshelf vs RedShelf

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bookshelf at 21% against RedShelf's 3%. Bookshelf also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (78K vs 7.1K). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Bookshelf holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookshelf has 78K ratings behind it against 7.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 21% of Bookshelf's written reviews are positive against 3% of RedShelf's.

Bookshelf ships an update every 6 weeks, RedShelf every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bookshelf | RedShelf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (78K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshelf/id389359495/reviews)** | [4.5 (7.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/redshelf/id1511013608/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **78K** | 7.1K |
| Positive reviews | **21.4% of reviews** | 3.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#74** | — |
| Size | 185 MB | 26 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [VitalSource Technologies, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/333263745) | [RedShelf](https://appshunter.io/developer/1511013606) |

## What reviewers say

### Bookshelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshelf/id389359495)

**Currently charting:** #74 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

Access and study your digital textbooks on your iPad or iPhone. This app allows for offline reading, note-taking, flashcard creation, and customizable reading settings. Sync your progress across devices for a seamless study experience.

**Highlights:** Offline reading, Customizable highlighters and notes, Flashcard creation, Personalized reading settings, Read Aloud feature, Cross-device syncing

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 📚 Convenient access to textbooks
- 🔍 Useful search functionality
- 📚 Offline reading capability
- 🔖 Bookmark and note-taking features
- 🔊 Text-to-speech option

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy highlighting and annotation tools
- 🖋️ Lack of Apple Pencil support
- 📚 Restricted functionality compared to other e-book apps
- 🔍 Inconsistent search and navigation experience
- 🔋 High battery consumption

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Issues with page loading and scrolling
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between devices
- Unreliable text-to-speech functionality

**Requested features**

- Improved highlighting and annotation tools
- Apple Pencil support for note-taking
- More customization options (e.g., font, layout, night mode)
- Seamless cross-device synchronization
- Enhanced search and navigation features


### RedShelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/redshelf/id1511013608)

Access and read your digital textbooks on any device. Highlight text, take notes, create flashcards, and have content read aloud. Your notes and highlights sync across all your devices.

**Highlights:** Access textbooks on any device, Highlight text and take notes, Create flashcards from content, Define unfamiliar words, Text-to-speech functionality, Sync notes and highlights across devices

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Convenient to access textbooks in one place
- 🚀 Decent overall performance

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
- 💤 Slow loading and page turning
- 👎 Unreliable highlighting and note-taking features
- 🤖 Poor text-to-speech functionality
- 📵 Inability to access books offline

**Reported bugs**

- Books not loading or showing blank screens
- Highlighting issues (selecting wrong text, unable to edit)
- Sync issues between devices and web version

**Requested features**

- Improve highlighting and annotation tools
- Add support for split-screen mode
- Enhance text-to-speech capabilities
- Allow offline access to downloaded books


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bookshelf free?

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

### Is RedShelf free?

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

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

Bookshelf is rated higher. Bookshelf averages 4.7 out of 5 from 78K ratings, while RedShelf averages 4.5 from 7.1K ratings.

### Do Bookshelf or RedShelf have ads?

Neither Bookshelf nor RedShelf shows ads.

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

Bookshelf ships an update every 6 weeks, and RedShelf every 5 weeks. Most recently, Bookshelf was updated on September 24, 2026 and RedShelf on September 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.*