Comparison

My Book List vs ARC Bookshelf

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

My Book List

Effortlessly catalog your personal book collection with this library organizer. Easily add books by scanning barcodes or searching online, and view your library with customizable sorting and filters. Keep track of reading status, ratings, and notes for each title.

Highlights
  • ISBN barcode scanning
  • Online book search
  • Customizable library views
  • Read status and ratings
  • Multi-device syncing
  • Import/export library data
Features
Read full description

Catalog your entire home library in an afternoon. Snap a photo of any shelf and the AI adds every title. No typing, no spreadsheets, no scattered notes. Trusted by 600+ readers and rated 4.1 stars on the App Store since 2011. • Catalog a 200-book shelf in five minutes. Point your camera. AI reads the spines and adds the books. • Add a single book in seconds by scanning the barcode on the back cover. • Bring your Kindle library across in one tap. No CSV juggling. • Find anything in plain English. "That biography about the architect" works. • AI sorts your shelves by genre, mood, and theme so you stop tagging by hand. • Read on iPhone, edit on iPad, look something up offline at the bookstore. Sync handles the rest. How it works: 1. Point your camera at a shelf and let AI populate your library. 2. Sort, tag, and mark books as Read, Reading, or To Read. 3. Pick up on any device. Share with friends, join a club, ask for a recommendation when you want one. Coming from another app or a spreadsheet? Import CSV, TSV, JSON, XLSX, BibTeX, or RIS files. Field mapping is built in. Real review: "I had a bunch of books I needed to inventory and the barcode scanner made it incredibly easy. Great app." BuckeyeCityCates, App Store review, 2024 Free to start with twenty books and three barcode scans. Open the app and add your first shelf. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions in your Account Settings on the App Store after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when purchasing a subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://BigBalli.com/privacy

About

ARC Bookshelf

This eReader app provides access to award-winning books designed for young learners. It supports children in Kindergarten and first grade as they develop reading confidence and independence through teacher-vetted content.

Highlights
  • Access to American Reading at Home books
  • Designed for Kindergarten and first-grade levels
  • Gradual removal of reading support
  • Builds reading confidence
  • Independent learning
Read full description

This easy-to-use app gives children the ability to read books from American Reading at Home, the award-winning, school-based program that has been teacher-vetted, parent-approved, and kid-tested in thousands of schools and homes across America. PLEASE NOTE: Requires an American Reading at Home account (for individuals) or SchoolPace subscription (for schools). Our books are specially designed for children learning to read at the Kindergarten and first-grade reading levels. The books work just like training wheels on a bicycle. A child will gain confidence by using books at the “just right” level of challenge; as he/she develops new skills, the “training wheels” are gradually removed. Because so much of the reading support is provided by the actual books, children can do much of the learning on their own. This provides the child with tremendous confidence and a sense of ownership of their own learning. It also makes learning to read fun and enjoyable!

Screenshots

My Book List4 screens
ARC Bookshelf3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: My Book List at 4.1 against ARC Bookshelf's 3.6. My Book List also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (639 vs 36). ARC Bookshelf's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 14) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. My Book List sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. ARC Bookshelf asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

My Book List holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: My Book List has 639 ratings behind it against 36, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of My Book List's written reviews are positive against 34% of ARC Bookshelf's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

My Book List ships an update every 4 days, ARC Bookshelf every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
My Book List versus ARC Bookshelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMy Book ListARC Bookshelf
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (639 ratings) — better3.6 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews48.7% of reviews — better34.0% of reviews
Number of ratings639 — better36
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBigBalli Consulting llcAmerican Reading Company

Customer experience

My Book List

All ratings639 ratings
Positive78.1%
Neutral6.9%
Negative15.0%
Written reviews339 reviews
Positive48.7%
Neutral10.9%
Negative40.4%

ARC Bookshelf

All ratings36 ratings
Positive63.9%
Neutral8.3%
Negative27.8%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive34.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative56.0%

User reviews

My Book List

From 639 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 📚 Helpful for tracking books
  • 💻 Convenient virtual bookshelf
  • 🔍 Useful barcode scanning feature

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent glitches and bugs
  • 💰 Excessive in-app purchases required
  • 🔍 Barcode scanner not always reliable
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns with mandatory Facebook login
  • 🤔 Confusing pricing and feature structure

ARC Bookshelf

From 36 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for early readers
  • 👍 Helps with reading skills
  • 👍 Engaging for children
  • 👍 Realistic page turning effect
  • 👍 Useful for sight words

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Login issues frequent
  • 🐛 Server always down
  • 🐛 Crashing after first use
  • 🐛 App crashes on iPhone 5S
  • 🐛 Crashing after first use

Bugs and requests

My Book List

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Books disappearing from user libraries
  • Scanning and importing issues
  • Crashes and freezes when using certain features
  • Inconsistent behavior across iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to sort books by series or genre
  • Option to manually add book details
  • Offline access to book lists
  • Improved search and filtering capabilities
  • Sync across multiple devices

ARC Bookshelf

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Cannot make an account
  • Keeps asking to log in
  • Page stuck in two-page model
  • Books do not load
  • App closes and goes home
Show 9 more
  • Login problems occur frequently
  • Server is always down
  • Crashes after first use
  • Keeps crashing
  • Crashing after first use
  • Cannot resize to display full pages
  • Cannot log in
  • Incorrect password messages
  • Cannot contact servers

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more books
  • Add more reading levels
  • Add option to zoom
  • Add themes
  • Add bookmarks
Show 1 more
  • Allow resizing for full pages

In-app purchases

14 purchases

My Book List

Subscriptions3
  • Full unlock$4.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly Offer$14.991 Year
  • Full unlock$24.991 Year
One-time11
  • extra details for all books$0.99
  • Barcode scanner$0.99
  • remote database & device sync$1.99
Show 8 more
  • CSV Import$3.99
  • Amazon Kindle eBook import$3.99
  • BibTeX and Zotero export$4.99
  • 500 Tokens$4.99
  • 1000 Tokens$9.99
  • 10000 Tokens$49.99
  • Lifetime Full Unlock$49.99
  • 20000 Tokens$79.99
None

ARC Bookshelf

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is My Book List free?
My Book List is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ARC Bookshelf free?
ARC Bookshelf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, My Book List or ARC Bookshelf?
My Book List is rated higher. My Book List averages 4.1 out of 5 from 639 ratings, while ARC Bookshelf averages 3.6 from 36 ratings.
Do My Book List or ARC Bookshelf have ads?
Neither My Book List nor ARC Bookshelf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, My Book List or ARC Bookshelf?
My Book List ships an update every 4 days, and ARC Bookshelf every 2 months. Most recently, My Book List was updated on October 17, 2026 and ARC Bookshelf on October 16, 2026.

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