Comparison

Margins vs ShelfTime

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Margins

This app helps you discover, track, and share your reading journey. It offers detailed tracking options, customizable features, and powerful search capabilities. Stay focused on your reading goals with built-in tools to minimize distractions.

Highlights
  • Half-star ratings
  • Track recommendations
  • Customizable book covers
  • Fuzzy date tracking
  • Advanced book search
  • Reading goals
  • Reading timer
  • Distraction blocking
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Margins is a beautifully designed app for people who love books. - App of the Day in 20+ countries - 4.9 rating (40,000+ reviews) - Featured in USA Today, BookRiot, and more TRACK YOUR READING - Log books, series, authors, recommendations, and more - Track Strava-style goals, stats, and streaks - Curate lists of books you care about SEARCH BOOKS BY VIBES - Search books by mood, plot, setting, vibe, and more - Try things like “books like 1920s Paris,” “thriller with a love triangle,” or “indie romantasy” - You can even turn images from Pinterest or your camera roll into book recommendations BLOCK DISTRACTING APPS - Block social media, notifications, and other apps while you read - Use meditation reading timer for soothing rain sounds CHOOSE YOUR COVERS - Pick the cover that matches your version of the book - Curate covers to fit your aesthetic - Sort your library by color CUSTOMIZE YOUR PROFILE - Turn your picture into a sketched portrait you’d see in a book - Show off your favorite books SEE WHAT FRIENDS ARE READING - Find and follow other book lovers - See what they’re reading in Stories - Enjoy gorgeous, hand-illustrated monthly recaps INVITE YOUR BOOK CLUB - Schedule gatherings - Suggest and vote on books - Log your club’s history LEAVE GOODREADS FOR GOOD - Import from Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Fable - Half-star ratings - Support a small, indie team WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING “LOVE this app! so easy to import data from goodreads. it excels where others fail. like letterboxd for books. Really glad there’s finally a good book app out there, i’ve been waiting for something like this!” — scruffythejanitor01 “I love the UI of this app, easy to use and aesthetically pleasing. Also, I've been struggling getting back into reading and the screentime feature has helped me loads. I haven't been able to read this much since 4 years ago. Thank you Margins” — mitakaluvr “The search by vibes is so cool. I am a WWII buff, but this search popped up a two-book WWII saga I had never even heard of, much less read. It ended up being my top read of 2025.” —Michigancolt FREE TO USE Almost all features are free to use. An optional subscription unlocks premium features and priority support. FOLLOW US Instagram: @readwithmargins TikTok: @margins TERMS OF USE Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Margins Terms of Service: https://margins.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://margins.app/privacy “Without the margins, writing is just words on a page. But with them, each of us is invited to leave our mark in the endless conversation between books and the people that love them.” — Excerpt from the Margins manifesto

About

ShelfTime

Features
Read full description

ShelfTime keeps your reading life in one quiet place. YOUR SHELF, YOUR PACE - Add books in seconds: title, author, pages - The "reading now" card starts a session timer with one tap - Update your page when you stop - progress fills in automatically REMEMBER WHAT MATTERED - Save quotes and thoughts per book - Finish dates, ratings and collections SEE YOUR READING YEAR - Monthly reading time and books finished (Pro) - Unlimited shelf and quotes, CSV export (Pro) PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no cloud, no ads. 100% offline. HONEST PRICING ShelfTime Pro is $1.99/month or $9.99/year with a 7-day free trial. Free tier: 5 books with full timer and quotes. Privacy Policy: https://goonobu-dot.github.io/batch21-pages/shelftime/privacy.html Support: https://goonobu-dot.github.io/batch21-pages/shelftime/support.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Margins4 screens
ShelfTime4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Margins at #95 against ShelfTime's unranked. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Margins sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and ShelfTime sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference · 10 level
Margins versus ShelfTime: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMarginsShelfTime
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (20K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews95.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings20K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#95 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size115 MB1 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperParatext Inc.SHINOBU MIYAHIRA

Bugs and requests

Margins

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Reading time not saving correctly
  • Inability to delete or edit books from lists
  • Inconsistent behavior when importing data from Goodreads

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to track page progress and percentage read
  • Implement a profile system with custom avatars and bios
  • Introduce a social feed to share reading activity with friends
  • Add more advanced statistics and reading analytics

ShelfTime

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Margins

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Annual$59.991 Year
2 purchases

ShelfTime

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Margins free?
Margins is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ShelfTime free?
ShelfTime is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Margins or ShelfTime have ads?
Neither Margins nor ShelfTime shows ads.

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