Bookshelf+ vs Papyrus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bookshelf+
This app helps you organize your book library, track your reading progress, and build consistent reading habits. Set goals, monitor streaks, and receive reminders to stay motivated. Designed for focused readers with a clean interface and accessibility support.
- Organize library with custom collections
- Track reading progress by pages and sessions
- Set reading goals and monitor streaks
- View calendar and rolling stats
- Clean and fast user interface
- Accessibility support
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Bookshelf is your personal reading companion for tracking books, building habits, and understanding your progress over time. Organize your library your way: - Add books manually, search online, or scan barcodes. - Sort and filter by reading status, author, category, format, publisher, and custom collections. - Keep your reading life tidy with flexible lists and stacks. Track your progress with clarity: - Log pages and sessions as you read. - Update status across Wishlist, To Read, Currently Reading, Read, and Did Not Finish. - Keep your history in one place and quickly review what you’ve completed. Set goals and stay consistent: - Create reading goals and monitor streaks. - View calendar and rolling stats to see your habits over time. - Get alerts and reminders that help you stay on track. Built for focused readers: - Clean, fast interface designed for daily use. - Works great whether you read one book a month or several at once. - Helpful accessibility support for a better experience with VoiceOver and assistive features. Designed to support your full reading workflow: - Keep all your books in one place. - Capture progress quickly. - Review trends and milestones. - Stay motivated with meaningful feedback. If you want a smarter, calmer way to manage your reading life, Bookshelf helps you read with intention.
Papyrus
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Papyrus turns everything you've read into a warm, real bookshelf — right on your iPhone home screen. A cozy private library you actually want to look at. BRING YOUR LIBRARY HOME Every book you've read, standing on a beautiful shelf you can glance at without opening anything. As you finish books, the newest ones slide to the front — so your home screen quietly tells the story of what you've been reading, all year long. Still fully customizable, move the books around how you want, make changes to the shelf and background. THE WIDGET One of our premium paid features is to add the Papyrus widget in small, medium, or large. Your shelf lives on your home screen, gorgeous and glanceable. If you aren't interested in seeing the books then you can see your reading statistics - how many books and pages you've read this year. IMPORT IN SECONDS Bring your reading history over from Goodreads, StoryGraph, or any CSV in a single tap. Your past library fills your shelf instantly. No problem if you don't have any accounts - you can add books individually from our massive library. THREE WAYS TO SEE YOUR SHELF - Spine view with procedurally illustrated, cover-matched spines - Cover view to show off your front covers - A 3/4 perspective "crate" mode that feels like a real shelf Press and scrub to browse, and drag to reorder your books exactly how you like them. STATS THAT FEEL LIKE A FOLIO, NOT A DASHBOARD See how you rate, your fiction vs. nonfiction split, the decades you read across, and your favorite authors and genres — all rendered in big serif numerals with room to breathe. Look back on your year with Reading Wrapped. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS Export your whole library any time — as a spreadsheet (CSV/XLSX) or a self-contained offline webpage. Free or Pro, your library is always yours to take with you. FREE TO START Try everything with up to 10 books in your collection — a real, full-fidelity trial, not a locked demo. Your wishlist is always unlimited and free. Upgrade to Pro to remove the collection cap and unlock your full library. Upgrade to Pro to unlock the full experience: - Unlimited collection — shelve every book you've ever read, no cap - Your complete library on every widget size and display mode - Full reading stats and Reading Wrapped across your entire history - Export your whole library any time — CSV, XLSX, or a self-contained offline webpage - No ads, no tracking, and your data is never sold — free or Pro Built by one person who wanted their bookshelf on their home screen. No ads. Your data is not sold. Just a beautiful place to keep the books you love. Bring your library home. Terms of Use (EULA): https://papyrus-b03fd.web.app/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://papyrus-b03fd.web.app/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
Bookshelf+ and Papyrus are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Bookshelf+ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Papyrus sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Bookshelf+ | Papyrus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bart Beemsterboer | Tyler Nam |
In-app purchases
Bookshelf+
- Bookshelf+$2.99
Papyrus
- Papyrus_monthly$1.991 Month
- papyrus yearly$14.991 Year
- papyrus lifetime$39.99









