Bookcase by Astropad vs ShelfBee
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bookcase by Astropad
This app helps create an ideal reading environment by automatically adjusting phone settings and opening preferred reading apps when connected to a specific accessory. Customize your reading experience for seamless immersion.
- Customizable reading environment
- Automatic app launching
- Phone setting toggles (Do Not Disturb, Reading Mode)
- Triggered by accessory connection
- Personalized reading experience
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CUSTOMIZE YOUR BOOKCASE READING EXPERIENCE Use the Bookcase companion app to build the perfect reading environment Bookcase can be programmed to create an ideal reading environment whenever you connect your phone. Use the companion app to tell Bookcase which of your favorite reading apps to open and which phone settings to toggle (Do Not Disturb, Reading Mode, etc.) when your phone is connected. The next time you place your phone into Bookcase, your settings will trigger automatically.
ShelfBee
Instantly check ebook and audiobook availability in your local libraries directly from book pages on popular retail and review sites. Save desired titles to a list and get notified when they become available. Includes barcode scanning for quick lookups.
- Check availability on Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, etc.
- See wait times and number of holds
- Filter by ebook or audiobook
- Save books to a Buzz List
- Barcode scanning for book lookups
- Syncs across iPhone, iPad, and Mac
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See whether a book is available in your library's Libby/Overdrive collection — without leaving the page you're already on. ShelfBee adds a small button to book pages on Amazon, Goodreads, TheStoryGraph, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Hardcover, and Book of the Month, showing whether that title is available to borrow right now from the libraries you care about, how many people are waiting, and roughly how long a hold would take. A companion app adds barcode scanning and a Buzz List for books you want to check on later. HOW IT WORKS 1. Turn on the ShelfBee extension in Safari. The app walks you through it with a screenshot for every step. 2. Open the bee menu and search for your library by name. Add as many as you like. 3. Browse as usual. When you land on a book page, ShelfBee checks your libraries and shows you what it found. WHAT YOU SEE • Available now — ready to borrow immediately • On hold — with the number of people waiting and an estimated wait • Not available — so you can stop wondering Results are grouped by library and split by format, so you can tell at a glance which of your libraries has the ebook and which has the audiobook. BUZZ LIST & SCANNING Save a title to your Buzz List right from the button on any book page, then check back anytime to see if it's become available. On iPhone and iPad, the app can also scan a book's barcode to look it up on the spot — handy in a bookstore or browsing your own shelves. FEATURES • Works on Amazon (21 storefronts), Goodreads, TheStoryGraph, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Hardcover, and Book of the Month • Add as many libraries as you like — public, county, consortium, or university • Reorder your libraries so the one you borrow from most sits at the top • Filter by ebook or audiobook • Save books to a Buzz List and revisit them anytime • Scan a barcode to look up a book on iPhone and iPad • Your library list and Buzz List sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac through iCloud • Setup Guide and Troubleshooting built into the app NO ACCOUNT NEEDED No sign-up, no library card, no sign-in — not even for setup. ShelfBee reads public availability data, the same catalog information Libby shows, and never asks who you are. ONE-TIME PURCHASE Buy ShelfBee once and it's yours. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads, and nothing to unlock later. PRIVACY ShelfBee collects nothing. Your library choices and Buzz List live on your device and in your own iCloud account. Availability lookups go straight to OverDrive's public API, and scanned or searched books are looked up via Open Library and Google Books for title, author, and cover art — none of it linked to you. There's no ShelfBee server, no analytics, and no tracking of any kind. Questions or ideas: support@shelfbee.app ShelfBee is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by OverDrive, Libby, Amazon, Goodreads, TheStoryGraph, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Hardcover, or Book of the Month.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Bookcase by Astropad at Free against ShelfBee's $1.99. Bookcase by Astropad also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly) and ratings volume (6 vs 2). ShelfBee's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 80%). On ads and in-app purchases 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
Bookcase by Astropad is free to download; ShelfBee costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ShelfBee holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Bookcase by Astropad's written reviews are positive against 100% of ShelfBee's.
Bookcase by Astropad ships an update every 5 days, ShelfBee fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bookcase by Astropad | ShelfBee |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (6 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Astro HQ | SCOTT TIMOTHY DENNIS |
Customer experience
Bookcase by Astropad
ShelfBee
In-app purchases
Bookcase by Astropad
No in-app purchases
ShelfBee
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Bookcase by Astropad free?
Is ShelfBee free?
Which has better reviews, Bookcase by Astropad or ShelfBee?
Do Bookcase by Astropad or ShelfBee have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bookcase by Astropad or ShelfBee?
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