No Shelf Control vs The ARC Library
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
No Shelf Control
Track your reading history and discover insightful statistics about your literary habits. Analyze your favorite authors, genres, and reading progress over time. This app makes monitoring your book consumption engaging and rewarding.
- Track read books
- Analyze reading habits
- Discover favorite authors
- Identify top genres
- Monitor monthly progress
- Visualize reading stats
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Your books. Your reading time. Your next chapter. No Shelf Control helps you keep track of what you read and make a little time for reading every day. Organize your library, count down to your daily goal, and see your reading story grow through time and streak stats. MAKE READING A DAILY HABIT Start with a five-minute daily goal or choose a goal that fits your day. Start the countdown, pause when you need a break, and finish early to save the time you've already read. Several shorter sessions can add up to your daily goal. KEEP YOUR STREAK RECORDS See your current streak, your best streak, total reading time, and the days you've reached your goal. Explore your daily reading history and past streaks. Changing your goal keeps the goals and achievements you've already earned. FOLLOW THE COUNTDOWN WITH LIVE ACTIVITIES Keep your reading countdown visible on the Lock Screen and, on supported iPhones, in the Dynamic Island. BUILD YOUR PERSONAL LIBRARY Search for books or add your own. Keep titles, authors, genres, page counts, reading status, and start and finish dates together. Add custom covers and record rereads without losing earlier reads. GET TO KNOW YOUR READING Explore books finished, pages read, monthly trends, most-read authors, and favorite genres. Share a summary of your reading year. TAKE YOUR HISTORY WITH YOU Export a JSON backup or import one from No Shelf Control on iOS or Android. Books, covers, reading time, daily goals, and streak records transfer together. Importing the same backup again avoids duplicate books and reading sessions. AT HOME ON IPHONE AND IPAD Enjoy a clean, book-inspired interface with support for Dark Mode. Your library is saved on your device; export a backup whenever you want to keep a copy. Make room for a good book—and a few minutes to read it.
The ARC Library
Manage your book review workflow with this comprehensive tool. Track ARCs, deadlines, reading progress, and create polished reviews. Features include detailed statistics, a content creator hub, and a public reader profile.
- Track ARCs by ISBN, title, or barcode
- Interactive reading calendar with deadlines
- Detailed reading statistics and analytics
- Rich text review editor with checklist
- Content creator hub for social media campaigns
- Public reader profile for showcasing stats
- TBR spin wheel and Bingo Challenge
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ARC Library is the all-in-one platform for ARC readers, reviewers, book content creators, and authors. Whether you're keeping an overflowing ARC list under control or running your own ARC campaigns, ARC Library brings your books, deadlines, reviews, teams, campaigns, and reader connections together in one place. FOR READERS TRACK YOUR ARCS Add books by title, ISBN, or barcode and keep track of everything from received to reviewed. Log your reading progress by pages, audio minutes, or percentage, and use reading pace calculations to stay ahead of deadlines. NEVER MISS A DEADLINE See publication dates, review deadlines, PR tasks, and other important dates in your reading calendar. Due-soon alerts help you see what needs your attention next. REVIEW EDITOR Write and save reviews directly in ARC Library. Keep notes and quotes while you read, use structured review prompts, and copy your finished review when you're ready to post. READING STATISTICS Explore detailed statistics covering your ARCs, personal books, reviews, teams, PR activity, ratings, genres, reading habits, and more. SPICE AND SWOON RATINGS Track spice and swoon levels for your books, explore your rating distributions, and filter your library by level. CONTENT CREATOR TOOLS Keep track of cover reveals, release posts, reviews, PR campaigns, and other content across your social channels. YOUR ARC READER PROFILE Create a shareable reader profile featuring your reading activity, reviews, favorite genres, social links, and more. Give authors and publishers a better picture of who you are as a reviewer. DISCOVER NEW OPPORTUNITIES Browse forms shared by authors for ARC applications, teams, campaigns, and other opportunities. TBR TOOLS Not sure what to read next? Use the TBR Spin Wheel, reading challenges, and other tools to make choosing your next book a little more fun. FOR AUTHORS MANAGE YOUR BOOKS Keep your books and their ARC information organized in one place. RUN ARC CAMPAIGNS Create and manage ARC campaigns, organize applications, work with readers, and keep track of your campaign from start to finish. FIND ARC READERS Use the Reader Database to discover readers based on genres, tropes, social platforms, activity, and other information they choose to share. CREATE AND SHARE FORMS Create forms for ARC applications, reader teams, PR campaigns, and more. Share them directly or make them discoverable through the ARC Library Form Catalog. MANAGE YOUR READERS Keep your ARC readers and campaign information organized without relying on scattered spreadsheets, forms, messages, and notes. BUILD YOUR TEAMS Create and manage reader teams and keep the people supporting your books connected to your campaigns. ONE LIBRARY, TWO SIDES OF THE ARC EXPERIENCE ARC Library brings readers and authors together while giving each side the tools they need. Readers get a home for their ARCs, reviews, deadlines, statistics, teams, and content. Authors get tools to manage books, campaigns, applications, readers, and ARC teams. FREE TO START Get started with ARC Library for free, with optional Premium plans unlocking additional tools, customization, statistics, and features. Built by a reader who wanted a better way to manage the beautifully chaotic world of ARCs. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms & Conditions: https://arc-library.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://arc-library.com/privacy
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Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: No Shelf Control at none against The ARC Library's 8. The ARC Library's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (12 vs 1). On price, rating, ads 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
Both are free to download. The ARC Library sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. No Shelf Control asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for No Shelf Control against 5.0 for The ARC Library. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The ARC Library has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
No Shelf Control ships an update every 6 weeks, The ARC Library every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | No Shelf Control | The ARC Library |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (12 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 12 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 111 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Tim Wood | Romana Adamka |
Customer experience
No Shelf Control
The ARC Library
In-app purchases
No Shelf Control
No in-app purchases
The ARC Library
- ARC Addon (Monthly)$2.991 Month
- ARC Library Premium (Monthly)7 Days trial$7.991 Month
- Authors Monthly$9.991 Month
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- Combo Plan Monthly$12.991 Month
- ARC Addon (Yearly)$29.991 Year
- ARC Library Premium (yearly)7 Days trial$79.991 Year
- Author Yearly$99.991 Year
- Combo Yearly$129.991 Year
Questions
Is No Shelf Control free?
Is The ARC Library free?
Which has better reviews, No Shelf Control or The ARC Library?
Do No Shelf Control or The ARC Library have ads?
Which is updated more often, No Shelf Control or The ARC Library?
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