Comparison

ARC Bookshelf vs BookWish

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

Head to head
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!

About

BookWish

Easily manage your reading list and connect with other readers. Discover books you want to read, get notified when they're available from other users, and pass on books you've finished to keep them circulating.

Highlights
  • Build and manage book wishlists
  • Discover books from other readers
  • Get notified when wishlist books are available
  • Pass on finished books to others
  • Add books via search, barcode, or friend's list
  • Share wishlists for gift-giving
Features
Read full description

BookWish is like a wedding registry, for books. Keep a list of the books you want. Share it with anyone — for a birthday, a holiday, or no reason at all. They give you the ones you'd have bought yourself. No duplicates. No guessing. The book you wanted. Wish. Share. Read. Privacy Policy: https://bookwish.io/privacy Terms of Use: https://bookwish.io/terms

Screenshots

ARC Bookshelf3 screens
BookWish3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BookWish at 5.0 against ARC Bookshelf's 3.6. BookWish also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). ARC Bookshelf's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ratings volume (38 vs 2). 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. BookWish sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. ARC Bookshelf asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BookWish holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ARC Bookshelf has 38 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ARC Bookshelf ships an update every 2 months, BookWish every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ARC Bookshelf versus BookWish: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterARC BookshelfBookWish
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (38 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings38 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB95 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAmerican Reading CompanyTerry Heath

Customer experience

ARC Bookshelf

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

BookWish

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

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

BookWish

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

ARC Bookshelf

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

BookWish

Subscriptions2
  • BookWish Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • BookWish Premium Yearly$49.991 Year
One-time2
  • BookWish Premium$9.99
  • BookWish Premium Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is ARC Bookshelf free?
ARC Bookshelf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BookWish free?
BookWish is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ARC Bookshelf or BookWish?
BookWish is rated higher. ARC Bookshelf averages 3.6 out of 5 from 38 ratings, while BookWish averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do ARC Bookshelf or BookWish have ads?
Neither ARC Bookshelf nor BookWish shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ARC Bookshelf or BookWish?
ARC Bookshelf ships an update every 2 months, and BookWish every 3 weeks. Most recently, ARC Bookshelf was updated on October 23, 2026 and BookWish on October 28, 2026.

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