Shelfmate vs Commonplace
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shelfmate
Organize your personal library, track reading progress, and receive personalized book suggestions. This app prioritizes user privacy with secure iCloud storage and no analytics.
- Organize physical, eBook, and audiobook libraries
- Track reading progress
- AI-powered book recommendations
- Goodreads import
- Privacy-first data storage
- iCloud synchronization
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Track your books and discover your next favorite read. Shelfmate is the ultimate companion for book lovers. Keep your library organized, track your reading progress and uncover tailored book recommendations. Why Shelfmate? • Privacy first: Your data stays yours, stored securely on iCloud with absolutely no analytics or tracking. • Smart recommendations (Alpha): Powered by advanced AI, discover books you’ll love based on your reading history and preferences. Fine-tune recommendations for a personal touch. • Effortless Organization: Manage physical books, eBooks, and audiobooks in your digital bookshelf. • Goodreads import: Already have a Goodreads library? You can import it and continue where you left off Download Shelfmate and elevate your reading journey today!
Commonplace
Log books, magazines, and short fiction, track your reading progress, and capture notes. Visualize your reading year with stats and a timeline. Your library is private and syncs via iCloud.
- Log books, magazines, and short fiction
- Track reading progress (To Read, Started, Finished)
- Record start/finish dates and ratings
- Capture notes before, during, and after reading
- Yearly reading statistics and timeline
- Private iCloud sync, no account needed
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Commonplace is a personal reading tracker for books, science fiction/fantasy magazines, and short fiction. Log what you're reading, keep notes as you go, and look back on your reading year. BOOKS • Add books instantly by search, or share a link from Safari, Libby, or any bookstore page. • Track your pile: To Read, Started, Finished, Did Not Finish. • Record start and finish dates, rate books, and tag them print, audio, or digital. • Track the books you re-read. Commonplace can count and log multiple readings. MAGAZINES & SHORT FICTION • Import issues from Clarkesworld, Uncanny Magazine, Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. • Track every story you read with its own rating and notes. • Add stories by hand or from an EPUB. NOTES • Capture thoughts during each phase of reading: before, during, and after. Commonplace will tag and sort them. • Search and filter notes across your whole library, and export them all as Markdown. YOUR READING YEAR • Yearly stats: books, stories, pages, ratings, and month-by-month charts. • A Reading Timeline that lays your whole year out visually. YOURS, PRIVATELY • No account. No ads. No tracking. Your library lives on your device and syncs privately through your own iCloud. • Import your history from Goodreads or Libby CSV exports; back up everything to JSON anytime. • Optionally connect micro.blog to share your bookshelves. Commonplace is for readers who want to remember what they read and how they felt about it.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Commonplace at every 3 days against Shelfmate's every 3 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Shelfmate ships an update every 3 weeks, Commonplace every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shelfmate | Commonplace |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.1 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mario Mouris | Tim Lockridge |
Customer experience
Shelfmate
Commonplace
In-app purchases
Shelfmate
No in-app purchases
Commonplace
No in-app purchases
