Book Progress vs The Shelf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Book Progress
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Book Progress is your complete reading companion — track every book, log every session, capture every thought, and watch your reading life come to life. Whether you read paperbacks, eBooks, or listen to audiobooks, Book Progress keeps everything in one beautiful library. —————————————————— YOUR PERSONAL LIBRARY —————————————————— Search for any book and import it instantly with cover art, author, and page count. Add books manually or scan your shelf. Track what you're Reading, what you've Completed, and what's waiting on your list. —————————————————— READING SESSIONS —————————————————— Log reading sessions with start and end pages. See exactly how many pages you read each day, build streaks, and watch your daily pace improve over time. —————————————————— AUDIOBOOK SUPPORT —————————————————— Track audiobooks by hours and minutes, not pages. Log listening sessions the same way you log reading — Book Progress handles both seamlessly. —————————————————— NOTES & JOURNAL —————————————————— Capture what moves you as you read. Save Quotes, Thoughts, Questions, and general notes — each linked to a specific page or timestamp. Your reading journal, always close at hand. —————————————————— RATINGS & REVIEWS —————————————————— Rate every book you finish with a 5-star rating and write your own personal review. Your thoughts, privately yours. —————————————————— COLLECTIONS —————————————————— Organize your library into custom collections. Group by series, genre, mood, or reading challenge — however your mind works. —————————————————— DISCOVER —————————————————— Browse this week's NYT Fiction and Non-Fiction bestsellers right inside the app, complete with cover art and descriptions. Add any book to your library with a single tap. —————————————————— STATS & INSIGHTS —————————————————— Your reading at a glance — total books read, pages turned, longest streak, average reading pace, and a full visual calendar of your reading history. —————————————————— HOME SCREEN WIDGETS —————————————————— 5 widgets to keep your reading life front and center: • Currently Reading — your book and progress at a glance • Reading Streak — keep the momentum going • Recent Notes — your latest captures • Quick Stats — pages read and books completed • Last Session — pick up right where you left off —————————————————— TAGS & FORMATS —————————————————— Tag books with custom labels and track every format — Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, EPUB, Audiobook, and 20+ more. —————————————————— EXPORT & IMPORT —————————————————— Export your full library as JSON or CSV. Import collections shared by friends. Your data is always yours. Book Progress respects your privacy. No account required. Just you and your books.
The Shelf
Organize your entire book collection, track reading progress, and capture notes and quotes. This app offers a private, customizable space to manage your reading life, from adding new books to reviewing past sessions.
- Build and organize your book library
- Track reading progress and focus sessions
- Save notes, quotes, and journal entries
- View detailed reading statistics
- Customize app appearance
- Sync and export library data
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The Shelf is a private reading tracker for stories you love, books you study, and everything in between. Search or scan a book, choose the edition that matches yours, then track only what feels useful. BUILD YOUR LIBRARY • Search by title, author, or ISBN, explore author pages, or scan one book or a whole stack. • Keep each edition or physical copy as its own book with its own details, progress, sessions, and history. • Mark books as Owned, add to Wishlist, or Track borrowed books. • Organize books with reading status, your own Lists, shelf locations, and Subjects. • Import Goodreads or StoryGraph CSV files and export a complete backup whenever you want. TRACK READING WITHOUT FRICTION • Update pages, percentage, audiobook position, chapters, or study problems. • Start a focused Reading, Listening, or Study session from any book. • Record starting and ending pages, then see pace, pages read, records, session patterns, and estimated time to finish after your first session. • Keep every re-read separate, with its own dates, rating, mood, and notes. REMEMBER WHAT YOU READ • Save Book notes, dated notes, favorite quotes, page references, scanned text, and photographs. • Search across your Library and jump directly to a Book note or annotation, with the matching text brought into view. • Make chapters, study problems, and annotations easier to discover through gentle, dismissible suggestions on each Book. BORROW AND LEND WITH CLARITY • Keep editable borrowing and lending histories for each book. • Record people, dates, due dates, shelf locations, and optional notes. • Reuse recent people and locations while keeping every field free-form. SEE YOUR READING LIFE • Explore daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and recent activity. • See goals, streaks, totals, records, and finished books on a reading calendar. • Compare progress by Subject and view your library as a prerequisite map. • Revisit books, notes, and quotes from this day in earlier years. MAKE IT FEEL LIKE YOURS • Choose your own background and accent colors, or start with an included Look. • Pair a Solid or Gradient background with System, Glass, Soft Depth, Lined Paper, Dot Grid, or Dog-eared Page cards. • Invite Dewey into Book and Focus views, then choose his hat, accessory, prop, and colors. • Celebrate the moments you choose with Confetti, Sparkles, or Stars. MADE FOR IPHONE AND IPAD • Use widgets, Spotlight, Siri, Live Activities, Split View, and Stage Manager. • Sync with iCloud when you choose and keep a complete JSON backup. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No accounts, ads, tracking, analytics, or subscriptions. • Optional book lookup sends only a title, author, or ISBN after you ask the app to search or fetch. • Camera images and recognized text stay on your device or in your own optional private iCloud library. • Use the optional system privacy lock and outside-app redaction when you want them. • Turn Online Lookup off for a fully offline library. Pay once, own it forever.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Book Progress at Free against The Shelf's $4.99. The Shelf's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 6 weeks). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Book Progress is free to download; The Shelf costs $4.99 up front. Book Progress sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. The Shelf asks for nothing beyond the download.
Book Progress ships an update every 6 weeks, The Shelf every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 2, 2026.
| Parameter | Book Progress | The Shelf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.4 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chelsea Hannah | Antonio Gordillo Toledo |
In-app purchases
Book Progress
- Goodreads Export$2.99
The Shelf
No in-app purchases








