# Book End vs The Bookish Shelf

Book End and The Bookish Shelf are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Both are free to download. Book End sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and The Bookish Shelf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Book End | The Bookish Shelf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (22 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/book-end-reading-tracker/id6447303933/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **22** | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 16 MB | 47 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Benjamin Wheeler](https://appshunter.io/developer/1680902050) | [Kelly Dunn](https://appshunter.io/developer/1892234004) |

## What reviewers say

### Book End

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/book-end-reading-tracker/id6447303933)

Easily track your reading progress with this app. Scan or import books, log reading sessions, and receive personalized statistics like reading speed and time remaining predictions. Develop your reading habit with helpful insights.

**Highlights:** Scan, search, and import books, Log reading sessions with a timer, Generate personalized reading statistics, Predict time remaining for books, Track reading speed and pages per hour, Develop reading habits

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Tip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Medium tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $9.99 | one-time |


### The Bookish Shelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-bookish-shelf/id6781497547)

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full Shelf Monthly | $6.99 | per month |
| Full Shelf Annual | $39.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Book End free?

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

### Is The Bookish Shelf free?

The Bookish Shelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Book End or The Bookish Shelf have ads?

Neither Book End nor The Bookish Shelf shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Book End or The Bookish Shelf?

Book End ships an update fortnightly, and The Bookish Shelf fortnightly. Most recently, Book End was updated on November 3, 2026 and The Bookish Shelf on October 25, 2026.

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