Comparison

Level It Books vs Bookshelf Scanner

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

Head to head
About

Level It Books

Organize your personal or classroom library by scanning book ISBNs to instantly access reading level data. Track book loans, manage student rosters, and build wish lists. Sync your data across devices with cloud backup.

Highlights
  • Scan ISBNs for book level data
  • Comprehensive book database
  • Personalized library creation
  • Book loan tracking
  • Student roster management
  • Cloud sync and backup
  • Community book submissions
Features
Read full description

Visit levelitbooks.com for any questions you have about the app! A library management app that allows you to scan your books' ISBNs to view the Guided Reading, Lexile®, Grade Level Equivalent, and DRA levels for the book and store them in a personalized library. You can build your leveled library quickly by searching our comprehensive database of over 300K books spanning those 4 leveling standards. We have a passion for education and our goals are to help you organize your classroom library and to alleviate the struggles associated with finding the levels of books. This app is great for educators who need to level their classroom library and also need a way to organize those books digitally. Parents will also find this app useful in order to locate level appropriate books for their child's reading enjoyment. ◆ Features ‣ Scan or manually search by ISBN, book title or author to lookup level information where available. ‣ View a new book of the week recommended by teachers. ‣ Create and maintain libraries of your books. ‣ Loan out your books and keep track of them by utilizing the Check out and in feature. ‣ Create and maintain roster(s) of your students for checking out books and maintaining reading levels. ‣ Create and maintain wish lists of books that you don't currently have, but would like to get in the future. ‣ Cloud Syncing! Easily sync all of your data across iOS devices. ‣ Cloud Backup! We now backup your data on a daily basis so in the event of you losing your device or getting a new one, you can easily restore your data. ‣ Social - Educators can submit book levels and recommendations to benefit other users (Levels will be independently reviewed for accuracy before going live). ‣ Theme and Font customization - Adjust the theme colors and fonts of the app to customize to your liking. ‣ An active support team that is dedicated to developing new features and adding new books to our database. Join us in building the best community for educators and parents to support the on going growth of our children! We would love to hear from you! If you have any issues, questions, or suggestions, please use the Contact Us page in the app or email us at support@levelitbooks.com. You can also visit us at levelitbooks.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/LevelItBooks, and on Twitter @LevelItBooks. Notes: The ISBN scanner feature requires a device with an auto-focus camera (e.g. iPhone 3GS or newer, iPad 3 or newer) for native camera support. If you have a fixed-focus device (e.g. iPad 2) we use a companion app for scanning that will be seamless to you. We will walk you through it when you launch the scanner. This app also requires internet connectivity (e.g. WiFi, 3G, 4G, LTE) to communicate with our back end service to bring you the great features of this app.

About

Bookshelf Scanner

Effortlessly manage your classroom library by scanning book barcodes to instantly retrieve titles and covers. Track student checkouts, generate reports, and organize your collection with custom locations and statuses, all without needing an internet connection.

Highlights
  • Barcode scanning for ISBN and library labels
  • Student checkout and overdue tracking
  • Export reports to CSV and PDF
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Offline functionality
  • Customizable locations and statuses
Features
Read full description

Bookshelf Scanner makes managing your classroom library effortless. Scan book barcodes with your iPhone or iPad camera, instantly fetch titles and covers, and track which students have which books -- all without needing Wi-Fi. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad, and Mac. No subscription, ever. KEY FEATURES - Barcode Scanning -- Point your camera at any ISBN barcode and watch the book's title, author, and cover appear automatically. Bookshelf Scanner reads both standard ISBN barcodes AND the library labels already on your books -- something other classroom apps don't do. - Student Checkout Tracking -- Check books out to students with automatic due dates. See who has what at a glance, and view overdue books easily so you always know who has your books. - Export to CSV and PDF -- Generate professional reports of your library with book covers, checkout status, and student details. Share via email, AirDrop, or save to Files. - iCloud Sync -- Your library stays in sync across every device automatically. Scan books on your phone during a book fair, manage your library on your iPad in the classroom, and print reports from your Mac at home. - Works Offline -- Every feature works without an internet connection. Scanning, cataloging, checkouts, and exports all function in airplane mode. Perfect for classrooms with unreliable Wi-Fi. - Custom Organization -- Create locations that match your classroom setup (Reading Corner, Bin A, Ms. Smith's Room) and custom statuses (Damaged, Lost, At Home) to track books the way you actually work. WHY TEACHERS LOVE BOOKSHELF SCANNER - One-time purchase, not a subscription. In a market where competitors charge $36-$99 per year, you pay once and own it forever. No renewal surprises. - True offline reliability. Your library data lives on your device first, not on someone else's server. iCloud sync is a bonus, not a requirement. - Scans library labels (Code 128, Code 39, Codabar, Interleaved 2 of 5). That barcode already printed on your library books? Bookshelf Scanner reads it. Other apps only handle ISBN barcodes. - One purchase, three platforms. A single unlock works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. No separate purchases for each device. GET STARTED FREE Download and try Bookshelf Scanner with up to 10 books and 3 students -- no account required, no credit card needed. When you are ready for more, upgrade once to unlock unlimited books and students forever. Your library data is backed up automatically via iCloud and can be exported anytime. Your books, your data, your control.

Screenshots

Level It Books4 screens
Bookshelf Scanner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Bookshelf Scanner at Free against Level It Books's $4.99. Bookshelf Scanner also leads on rating (4.2 vs 1.8) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). Level It Books's advantage is review sentiment (16% vs 0%) and ratings volume (144 vs 40). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Bookshelf Scanner is free to download; Level It Books costs $4.99 up front. Level It Books sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Bookshelf Scanner sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bookshelf Scanner holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 144 and 40 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 16% of Level It Books's written reviews are positive against 0% of Bookshelf Scanner's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Level It Books ships an update every 3 months, Bookshelf Scanner monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Level It Books versus Bookshelf Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLevel It BooksBookshelf Scanner
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating1.8 (144 ratings)4.2 (40 ratings) — better
Positive reviews15.6% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings144 — better40
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS8.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKTL Mobile Apps LLCIf Then Dev, LLC

Customer experience

Level It Books

All ratings142 ratings
Positive16.9%
Neutral8.5%
Negative74.6%
Written reviews122 reviews
Positive15.6%
Neutral6.6%
Negative77.9%

Bookshelf Scanner

All ratings37 ratings
Positive81.1%
Neutral2.7%
Negative16.2%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral28.6%
Negative71.4%

Bugs and requests

Level It Books

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent app crashes
  • Scanning issues and long search times
  • Inconsistent book level information

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add reading recovery levels
  • Improve book browsing and filtering options
  • Allow exporting library data
  • Add check-out history tracking

Bookshelf Scanner

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Level It Books

One-time1
  • Font and Theme Pack$0.99
1 purchases

Bookshelf Scanner

One-time1
  • Unlimited Library$9.99

Questions

Is Level It Books free?
Level It Books costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Bookshelf Scanner free?
Bookshelf Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Level It Books or Bookshelf Scanner?
Bookshelf Scanner is rated higher. Level It Books averages 1.8 out of 5 from 144 ratings, while Bookshelf Scanner averages 4.2 from 40 ratings.
Do Level It Books or Bookshelf Scanner have ads?
Neither Level It Books nor Bookshelf Scanner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Level It Books or Bookshelf Scanner?
Level It Books ships an update every 3 months, and Bookshelf Scanner monthly. Most recently, Level It Books was updated on November 1, 2026 and Bookshelf Scanner on November 2, 2026.

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