Comparison

Thorium Reader vs BookShelves eBook Reader

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

Head to head
About

Thorium Reader

Organize all your ebooks, comics, and manga in a single app. Customize your reading experience with adjustable text, fonts, and themes. Listen to audiobooks and zoom into visual content with ease.

Highlights
  • Unified bookshelf for all content
  • Adjustable text size and spacing
  • Multiple font options
  • Text-to-speech audio playback
  • Zoom for comics and manga
  • Offline dictionary and translation
  • Import EPUB, PDF, CBZ files
Features
Read full description

Looking for an app where you can bring all your ebooks, comics and manga in one place? That’s what we built Thorium Reader for. Read it your way Everyone’s different, that’s why we want you to be fully in control: • Adjust text size, switch between color schemes with themes and control spacing. • 10+ fonts available, including specialized ones. • You prefer audio? Listen to any ebook, whenever you want. We’ll remember your preference. • Zoom into comics, manga and magazines. • Add bookmarks with notes. • Use the built-in iOS dictionary and translation features, even offline. • Tweak your reading experience with reading options. Bring your own books A single bookshelf and reading application where you can bring all your content: • Download free books, borrow from your library or buy from your favorite retailer. • Support for ebooks, documents, comics and manga. • Import EPUB, PDF and CBZ files. • Support for Readium LCP, used by thousands of libraries and retailers. Thorium Reader is built by EDRLab, a non-profit dedicated to open standards, reading and accessibility.

About

BookShelves eBook Reader

This app allows you to read EPUB, PDF, and comic books with access to over 1.5 million free public domain books. Organize your library, customize your reading experience with multiple themes and fonts, and sync your progress across devices.

Highlights
  • 1.5 million+ free books
  • EPUB, PDF, and comic reader
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Smart library management
  • Highlighting and note-taking
  • Export highlights
Features
Read full description

BookShelves is an EPUB, PDF, and comic book reader with a built-in catalog of 1.5 million free books. Discover public domain classics, organize your digital library, and sync seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud (Pro). WHAT READERS SAY "Phenomenal book reading and management app, 'just works'." "My everlasting search for the perfect ePub reader might be coming to an end." "Among the best and actively developed." DISCOVER 1.5 MILLION+ FREE BOOKS • 1.5 million+ classic works — Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick, more • 1,100+ premium editions from Standard Ebooks • Internet Archive — millions of historical texts and rare books • 1,200+ Spanish classics from the Biblioteca Nacional de España • 16,000+ Japanese classics from Aozora Bunko • Browse OPDS catalogs from external libraries and servers One tap to download. No account required. POWERFUL READING EXPERIENCE • Paginated or continuous scroll — read your way • 10 themes including Sepia, Dark Academia, Night Sky, and more • 10 bundled fonts including OpenDyslexic for accessible reading • Adjustable line spacing, margins, text justification, and font weight • Highlight in 5 colors and add notes to any passage • Export highlights to Markdown, JSON, or CSV • Dictionary look-up with language detection • Full-text search across chapters • Nested table of contents navigation • Bookmarks (iCloud sync with Pro) • Vertical text (tategaki) for Japanese and CJK books • Right-to-left reading for Arabic, Hebrew, and CJK texts • Full keyboard and trackpad support • Multi-window reading on Mac COMIC BOOKS AND MANGA • CBZ, CBR, and CB7 format support • Two-page spreads for landscape reading • Right-to-left mode for manga with reversed tap zones and swipes • Auto-detected from metadata or toggled manually SEAMLESS ICLOUD SYNC (Pro) • Books and cover images • Reading progress and current page • Shelves, tags, and ratings • Highlights, notes, and bookmarks • Reader preferences (font, theme, layout) Start reading on your iPhone, continue on your iPad, finish on your Mac. SMART LIBRARY MANAGEMENT • Edit metadata -- title, author, series, publisher, ISBN, and cover image • Automatic metadata and cover art fetching • System shelves: All Books, Recently Added, Reading, Finished, Favorites • Custom shelves for any collection • Color-coded tags for categorization • Search and filter by title, author, or tag • Grid and list views • 5-star ratings • Drag-and-drop import, Files app sharing, or OPDS catalogs • EPUB repair — auto-fixes broken navigation and missing metadata • Import from Calibre libraries with best-format selection FORMAT SUPPORT • EPUB — professional rendering with beautiful typography • PDF — native viewer with smooth scrolling and search • CBZ / CBR / CB7 — comic book archives • FB2 — FictionBook 2 format (auto-converts to EPUB) • MOBI / AZW3 / KF8 / KEPUB — auto-converts to EPUB for reading • TXT / Markdown — plain text and Markdown files (auto-converts to EPUB) MAC EXTRAS • Calibre wireless sync — connect KOReader or other devices over Wi-Fi • OPDS server — share your library on your local network PRIVACY FIRST • Your data stays on your devices • No personal data collected • No ads — clean, distraction-free reading • iCloud keeps your library private and secure FREE AND PRO Free: 10 books with all reading features. Pro unlocks unlimited books, iCloud sync, email to Kindle/Kobo/reMarkable, highlight export, and OPDS server. Pro is available as a one-time purchase or subscription (monthly/annual, select regions). Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage subscriptions in Apple ID account settings. Privacy Policy: https://getbookshelves.app/privacy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://getbookshelves.app/terms/ All books from discovery sources are public domain or openly licensed.

Screenshots

Thorium Reader4 screens
BookShelves eBook Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Thorium Reader at none against BookShelves eBook Reader's 4. BookShelves eBook Reader's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (69% vs 60%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. BookShelves eBook Reader sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Thorium Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.9 for Thorium Reader against 3.9 for BookShelves eBook Reader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 15 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of Thorium Reader's written reviews are positive against 69% of BookShelves eBook Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thorium Reader ships an update every 2 months, BookShelves eBook Reader weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Thorium Reader versus BookShelves eBook Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThorium ReaderBookShelves eBook Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (9 ratings)3.9 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews69.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings915 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.117.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB55 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperReadiumCPE Verm. GmbH

Customer experience

Thorium Reader

All ratings9 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%

BookShelves eBook Reader

All ratings15 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral13.3%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive69.0%
Neutral6.9%
Negative24.1%

In-app purchases

None

Thorium Reader

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

BookShelves eBook Reader

One-time4
  • Small Tip$2.99
  • Medium Tip$3.99
  • Large Tip$8.99
Show 1 more
  • Unlock Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Thorium Reader free?
Thorium Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BookShelves eBook Reader free?
BookShelves eBook Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Thorium Reader or BookShelves eBook Reader?
Thorium Reader and BookShelves eBook Reader are both rated 3.9 out of 5 on the App Store, from 9 and 15 ratings respectively.
Do Thorium Reader or BookShelves eBook Reader have ads?
Neither Thorium Reader nor BookShelves eBook Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thorium Reader or BookShelves eBook Reader?
Thorium Reader ships an update every 2 months, and BookShelves eBook Reader weekly. Most recently, Thorium Reader was updated on September 10, 2026 and BookShelves eBook Reader on September 23, 2026.

Other comparisons