# ShelfPlayer vs Tonspur

The clearest difference is rating: Tonspur at 4.7 against ShelfPlayer's 4.1. Tonspur also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (83% vs 55%). ShelfPlayer's advantage is ratings volume (243 vs 6). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. ShelfPlayer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Tonspur sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Tonspur holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ShelfPlayer has 243 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of ShelfPlayer's written reviews are positive against 83% of Tonspur's.

ShelfPlayer ships an update every 4 weeks, Tonspur every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ShelfPlayer | Tonspur |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.1 (243 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelfplayer-audio-book-shelf/id6475221163/reviews) | **[4.7 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tonspur/id6739758347/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **243** | 6 |
| Positive reviews | 55.2% of reviews | **83.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Size | 62 MB | 32 MB |
| Requires iOS | **26.0** | 26.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [AI Tools Apps SRL](https://appshunter.io/developer/1854689122) | [Tim Olbrich](https://appshunter.io/developer/1623192062) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Tonspur

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tonspur/id6739758347)

Listen to your personal audiobook collection with this companion app. Enjoy features like adjustable playback speed, a sleep timer, and easy chapter navigation. Download books for offline listening and sync your progress across devices.

**Highlights:** Variable playback speed, Sleep timer, Offline listening, Chapter navigation, Progress syncing, CarPlay support, Multi-library support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Downloads | $8.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ShelfPlayer free?

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

### Is Tonspur free?

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

### Which has better reviews, ShelfPlayer or Tonspur?

Tonspur is rated higher. ShelfPlayer averages 4.1 out of 5 from 243 ratings, while Tonspur averages 4.7 from 6 ratings.

### Do ShelfPlayer or Tonspur have ads?

ShelfPlayer shows ads; Tonspur does not.

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

ShelfPlayer ships an update every 4 weeks, and Tonspur every 3 weeks. Most recently, ShelfPlayer was updated on November 8, 2026 and Tonspur on November 4, 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.*