# Leviathan vs ShelfPlayer

The clearest difference is price: ShelfPlayer at Free against Leviathan's $3.99. ShelfPlayer also leads on update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 11 months). Leviathan's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On device support there is nothing between them.

ShelfPlayer is free to download; Leviathan costs $3.99 up front. ShelfPlayer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Leviathan asks for nothing beyond the download.

Leviathan ships an update every 11 months, ShelfPlayer every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Leviathan | ShelfPlayer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $3.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | — | **[3.8 (134 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelfplayer-audio-book-shelf/id6475221163/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **134** |
| Positive reviews | — | 55.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | **Every 4 weeks** |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Size | 49 MB | 62 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Zarfhome Software Consulting](https://appshunter.io/developer/457956106) | [AI Tools Apps SRL](https://appshunter.io/developer/1854689122) |

## What reviewers say

### Leviathan

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/leviathan-interactive-comic/id6444325089)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### ShelfPlayer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelfplayer-audio-book-shelf/id6475221163)

This app provides a native iOS experience for managing and listening to audiobooks and podcasts from your self-hosted Audiobookshelf library. It offers robust playback controls, offline access, and seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem.

**Highlights:** Unified audiobook and podcast management, Multi-server support, Flexible authentication options, Global and library search, Playback queues and chapter navigation, Configurable playback speed and skip intervals, Offline mode and automatic downloads

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Siri integration, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly premium | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly premium | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Yearly premium | $29.99 | per year |
| Yearly premium | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Runs on all Apple platforms
- 👍 Provides better UI experience
- 💡 Potential for great features
- 🚀 Smooth playback
- 👍 Beautiful and intuitive UI

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Critical bugs preventing usage
- 🐛 Constantly losing book progress
- 🐛 Crashes and instability issues
- 🐛 Offline mode not working
- 🐛 Slow startup and loading times

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to present all books from an author
- Keeps resetting book progress
- Offline mode broken, can't play downloaded books
- Crashes after recent update
- Widgets not updating with last played book

**Requested features**

- Option to load fully downloaded books without server handshake
- Ability to filter library view to only downloaded books
- Add support for ebooks and PDF files
- Customizable playback speed options beyond 2x
- Implement a static reading queue/playlist


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Leviathan free?

Leviathan costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is ShelfPlayer free?

ShelfPlayer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Leviathan or ShelfPlayer have ads?

ShelfPlayer shows ads; Leviathan does not.

### Which is updated more often, Leviathan or ShelfPlayer?

Leviathan ships an update every 11 months, and ShelfPlayer every 4 weeks. Most recently, Leviathan was updated on October 1, 2026 and ShelfPlayer on October 14, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*