Bookshelf vs McGraw Hill Express Library
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bookshelf
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.
- Offline reading
- Customizable highlighters and notes
- Flashcard creation
- Personalized reading settings
- Read Aloud feature
- Cross-device syncing
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With Bookshelf, you can enjoy a digital-first, comprehensive study experience from the convenience of your iPad or iPhone. Access all of your VitalSource textbooks and study anytime, anywhere. Bookshelf Features: • Download books to your iOS device for 100% offline reading. • Customize highlighters and add notes for a rich study experience. • Create flashcards with text and images to learn concepts faster. • Personalize font, font size, and background colors to make reading easier. • Listen to your books and learn on the go with Read Aloud. • Sync your current reading position and all your work across devices so you can easily pick up where you left off. • Built with accessibility in mind. Requirements: • VitalSource Bookshelf account • Access to one or more VitalSource textbooks • iOS 17+
McGraw Hill Express Library
Access and read McGraw Hill textbooks on your iOS device. Download books for offline access, search your library, and create notes and highlights to enhance your studies. Sync your progress across devices.
- Download books for offline reading
- Search entire library
- Create notes and highlights
- Sync across devices
- User-friendly navigation
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Use McGraw Hill Express Library to download and access McGraw Hill textbooks on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. Read your books online or offline, search across your full library, and create notes and highlights to help you study. Features: • Download books to your iOS device for easy online or offline reading. • Simple, user-friendly navigation and a clean reading experience. • Search inside your current book or across your full library. • Select text to create notes or highlights from your mobile device. • Sync your bookmarks, last page read, and all your notes and highlights between your iOS device and our desktop or web-based McGraw Hill India Bookshelf apps. Requirements: • McGraw Hill India Bookshelf account • Access to one or more McGraw Hill textbooks • iOS 15+
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Bookshelf at 4.7 against McGraw Hill Express Library's 2.7. Bookshelf also leads on ratings volume (80K vs 156) and review sentiment (21% vs 3%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
Bookshelf holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bookshelf has 80K ratings behind it against 156, 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 McGraw Hill Express Library's.
Bookshelf ships an update every 6 weeks, McGraw Hill Express Library every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bookshelf | McGraw Hill Express Library |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (80K ratings) — better | 2.7 (156 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 21.3% of reviews — better | 3.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 80K — better | 156 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #129 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 185 MB | 183 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | VitalSource Technologies, Inc. | McGraw-Hill |
Customer experience
Bookshelf
McGraw Hill Express Library
User reviews
Bookshelf
From 80K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📚 Convenient access to textbooks
- 🔍 Useful search functionality
- 📚 Offline reading capability
- 🔖 Bookmark and note-taking features
- 🔊 Text-to-speech option
Room to improve
- 🐛 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
McGraw Hill Express Library
From 156 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Makes studying easier
- 👍 Love the audio option
Room to improve
- 🐛 App does not work
- 🐛 Won't let me login
- 🐛 Cannot access ebooks
- 🐛 Account doesn't exist
- 🐛 Incorrect password/email
Bugs and requests
Bookshelf
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Issues with page loading and scrolling
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between devices
- Unreliable text-to-speech functionality
Requested features
5 requests- 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
McGraw Hill Express Library
Reported bugs
16 issues- Cannot log in
- App does not recognize school account
- App does not recognize user account
- Cannot create a new account
- Cannot access ebooks
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Sign in button does not work
- QR code feature does not work
- No QR code on website
- App does not work on iPad
- Incorrect password or email error
- No books show up in app
- App no longer works
- Message to account not received
- Cannot create an account
- Account doesn't exist error
- Customer service hung up
Requested features
7 requests- Fix the app
- Make app work on iPad
- Allow access to ebooks
- Resolve login issues
- Provide FAQ for book access
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Ensure app has McGraw Hill logo
- Make QR code feature functional
In-app purchases
Bookshelf
No in-app purchases
McGraw Hill Express Library
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Bookshelf free?
Is McGraw Hill Express Library free?
Which has better reviews, Bookshelf or McGraw Hill Express Library?
Do Bookshelf or McGraw Hill Express Library have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bookshelf or McGraw Hill Express Library?
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