Comparison

Softcover vs Shelvd

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

Head to head
About

Softcover

This app helps you track your reading progress for books and audiobooks. You can manage your reading lists, follow friends, discover new titles, and engage in discussions within a community of readers. It also offers detailed statistics and home screen widgets for easy access to your reading goals.

Highlights
  • Track reading progress by page or percentage
  • Manage Currently Reading, Want to Read, Finished lists
  • Follow friends and explore trending titles
  • Engage in book discussions
  • Detailed reading statistics and annual goals
  • Home screen widgets for reading progress
  • Release notifications for anticipated titles
Features
Read full description

Your favorite book tracking companion is here! Softcover brings the power of Hardcover to your iPhone with a beautifully designed, native iOS experience. Track Everything You Read Manage your Currently Reading, Want to Read, and Finished lists with ease. Update your progress by page, percentage, or time—perfect for both books and audiobooks. Stay Connected Follow friends, explore trending titles, discover curated community lists, and engage with book discussions. Join a vibrant community of passionate readers. Beautiful Home Screen Widgets Keep your reading progress at your fingertips with elegant widgets showing your current books and reading goals. Smart Features • Detailed reading statistics and annual goals • Release notifications for anticipated titles • Comprehensive book search with ratings and reviews • Edition selection Seamlessly Syncs with Hardcover All your reading data stays perfectly in sync with your Hardcover.app account across all your devices. Requires a free Hardcover.app account.

About

Shelvd

Effortlessly log your reading progress by simply taking a photo of any page. This app organizes your library visually, tracks detailed reading statistics, and syncs with Goodreads. It also facilitates book club participation and helps manage your to-read list.

Highlights
  • Photo-based page logging
  • Visual book shelves
  • Goodreads synchronization
  • Import entire reading history
  • Detailed reading statistics
  • Book club features
  • Add books via cover photo
Features
Read full description

Log your reading from a photo, not a keyboard. SHELVD is a book tracker that keeps up with how much you read, and keeps your Goodreads library and friends right where they are. FEATURES • Bookmark: Point your camera at any page or Kindle screen and SHELVD marks your place. It reads the page number and updates your progress in about two seconds. No typing. • Visual shelves: Your library lives as real, browsable shelves with spine art, not a list of rows. • Keep your Goodreads updated (Pro): Track everything in SHELVD and your Goodreads profile stays current on its own. Your progress, ratings, and finished books show up there automatically, so the friends you already have keep seeing what you're reading. No other reading app does this. • Bring your whole library: One upload imports your full Goodreads or StoryGraph history: ratings, read dates, and shelves included. • Reading stats: A heatmap of every day you've read, your reading pace, time-to-finish predictions, genre breakdowns, streaks, and progress toward your reading goals. • Book clubs: Read alongside friends, follow live progress on leaderboards, and share what you're into. Create and run your own clubs on Pro. • Snap a cover: Spot a book you want? Photograph the cover and SHELVD adds it to your want-to-read shelf (your TBR). • Hands-free Kindle tracking (Founders): Connect your Amazon account once and your Kindle reading logs itself, no photos needed. Your reading data stays yours. SHELVD never sells or shares your information with third parties. Terms of Use (EULA): https://shelvd.io/legal/terms Privacy Policy: https://shelvd.io/legal/privacy

Screenshots

Softcover4 screens
Shelvd4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Shelvd at 67% against Softcover's 33%. Shelvd also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks) and ratings volume (11 vs 3). Softcover's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.9) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). 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. Softcover sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Shelvd sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $6.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Softcover holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 11 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 33% of Softcover's written reviews are positive against 67% of Shelvd's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Softcover ships an update every 5 weeks, Shelvd fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Softcover versus Shelvd: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSoftcoverShelvd
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3 ratings) — better3.9 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings311 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.516.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB43 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperRobin BolinssonPlatform Thirteen

Customer experience

Softcover

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Shelvd

All ratings11 ratings
Positive72.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative27.3%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Softcover

One-time5
  • Liten dricks$0.49
  • Mellanstor dricks$1.99
  • Stor dricks$4.99
Show 2 more
  • Softcover Supporter Pack$7.99
  • Generous Supporter Pack$11.99
7 purchases

Shelvd

Subscriptions7
  • Plus (Monthly)1 Month trial$6.001 Month
  • Pro (Monthly)1 Month trial$12.001 Month
  • Full Shelfie (Monthly)$18.001 Month
Show 4 more
  • Plus (Annual)1 Month trial$58.001 Year
  • Pro (Annual)1 Month trial$114.991 Year
  • Full Shelfie (Annual)$172.991 Year
  • Founders (Annual)$299.991 Year

Questions

Is Softcover free?
Softcover is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shelvd free?
Shelvd is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Softcover or Shelvd?
Softcover is rated higher. Softcover averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Shelvd averages 3.9 from 11 ratings.
Do Softcover or Shelvd have ads?
Neither Softcover nor Shelvd shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Softcover or Shelvd?
Softcover ships an update every 5 weeks, and Shelvd fortnightly. Most recently, Softcover was updated on October 30, 2026 and Shelvd on October 31, 2026.

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