# Bookshelf vs Reading Journal

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Bookshelf at 15.5 against Reading Journal's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bookshelf sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month and Reading Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Bookshelf ships an update fortnightly, Reading Journal every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 18, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bookshelf | Reading Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (25 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshelf-reading-tracker/id6654913138/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **25** | — |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 152 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.5** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tiago Almeida](https://appshunter.io/developer/1764252329) | [程辉 杨](https://appshunter.io/developer/6789610048) |

## What reviewers say

### Bookshelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshelf-reading-tracker/id6654913138)

Organize your entire reading life, tracking physical books, ebooks, and audiobooks. Set reading goals, log sessions, save quotes, and visualize your progress with detailed statistics and a reading habits heat map. Discover new books and connect with friends.

**Highlights:** Smart book organization with custom shelves, Reading timer and session tracking, Save quotes and notes with OCR, Flexible reading goals and progress tracking, Detailed statistics and insights, Reading habits heat map, Monthly and yearly recaps, Purchase and borrowing logs

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

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Features | $2.49 | per month |
| Premium Features | $2.99 | per month |
| Premium Features | $22.99 | per year |
| Premium Features | $29.99 | per year |
| Lifetime (promo) | $99.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime | $199.99 | one-time |


### Reading Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reading-journal-tabmap/id6796663483)

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| TabMap Pro Annual | $6.99 | per year |
| TabMap Lifetime Pro | $14.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bookshelf free?

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

### Is Reading Journal free?

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

### Do Bookshelf or Reading Journal have ads?

Neither Bookshelf nor Reading Journal shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bookshelf or Reading Journal?

Bookshelf ships an update fortnightly, and Reading Journal every 2 weeks. Most recently, Bookshelf was updated on September 18, 2026 and Reading Journal on September 18, 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.*