ShelfBuddy vs Book Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ShelfBuddy
Manage your physical book collection digitally with virtual shelves, wishlists, and reading timelines. Track borrowed books with return reminders and view reading statistics. Easily add books by scanning, searching, or manual entry.
- Virtual shelves and wishlists
- ISBN barcode scanning
- Reading progress tracking
- Borrowed book management
- Customizable notes and genres
- Multilingual interface
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ShelfBuddy is your digital bookshelf: beautiful, calm and built entirely around reading. Keep track of every book and audiobook you own, are reading, have lent out or still want. Your whole library, neatly organized, and your data always stays in your hands. Freshly redesigned in the new "Paper & Ink" look. YOUR LIBRARY, ORGANIZED Manage your books the way you want. Create as many shelves as you like, for example Fantasy, Thrillers or Classics, keep a wishlist of books you still want, and plan what to read next with a reading list. The "Continue reading" card puts your current book right on the home screen. Make the overview your own: drag its sections into your order and hide the ones you don't use. BOOK SERIES AT A GLANCE See for every series which volumes you own and which are still missing. Search for a book series or an author under "Series" and browse every volume in reading order, even before you own one. Add missing volumes to your wishlist or a shelf with one tap and get notified when a new volume is released. YOUR DATA, YOUR CHOICE Your library belongs to you, and you decide where it is stored. Keep everything 100% local on your device for full privacy, or turn on optional cloud sync to back up your books and use them on all your devices. On iPhone and iPad you can sync via iCloud or Google Drive, and nothing leaves your device unless you want it to. You can also export a complete backup of your library at any time, so your books are never tied to one platform. TRACK YOUR READING ShelfBuddy is a reading tracker and reading journal in one. Mark each book as unread, reading or read, add start and finish dates, rate your books and see detailed reading statistics by month and year. Share your personal reading recap as an image. READING SESSIONS WITH A READING TIMER Start a reading session and the built-in reading timer starts automatically. When you're done, simply enter your current page and ShelfBuddy updates your reading progress and reading pace. See how long you've read per book, log past reading time after the fact, and start your next session straight from the home screen, the app icon or a widget. INSIGHTS: GET TO KNOW YOUR READING HABITS ShelfBuddy turns your reading sessions into a picture of how you read. A reading calendar shows which days you read and how much. See the time of day and the weekdays you read most, which genres get most of your reading time, your personal records, and how you read each book, devoured in a weekend or savoured in small steps. A short written summary puts your reading year into words. Insights are part of ShelfBuddy Premium. YOUR READING JOURNAL AND BOOK COLLECTION Record every book you've read and make reading a habit. Manage your entire book collection, keep a reading journal, and stay on track with reading goals and a reading challenge. ADD BOOKS IN SECONDS Scan the ISBN barcode, search millions of books, or add books by hand. Imports from Goodreads, StoryGraph, Reado and other apps are supported. AUTHORS AND LENDING Follow your favorite authors and get notified about new titles. The lending feature remembers who has which book, with a reminder to get it back. ALL YOURS Dark mode, selectable accent colors and available in four languages.
Book Tracker
Easily track your reading journey with this beautifully designed app. Log books, add start/finish dates, organize your library, and reflect on your reading habits. Add notes, ratings, and custom tags to personalize your experience.
- Track read and currently reading books
- Organize books into series
- Add custom tags and notes
- Rate finished books
- View reading timeline and history
- Add books by title or author
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BookStack – Your Reading Tracker BookStack is a simple and beautifully designed book tracker that helps you build a clear picture of your reading journey. A space for your books — without clutter, distractions, or noise. SIMPLE BOOK TRACKING • Track books you’ve read and are currently reading • Add start and finish dates to build your reading timeline • Keep a clear, structured reading log • Revisit your reading history anytime ORGANIZE YOUR LIBRARY • Browse your books in a smooth, swipeable carousel • Group books into series and track your progress • Follow reading order and never lose your place • Add custom tags (e.g. BookTok, favorites, genres) REFLECT ON YOUR READING • View your books in a timeline • See how your reading evolves over time • Discover patterns in what and when you read • Remember the books that stayed with you NOTES, RATINGS & TAGS • Rate books you’ve finished • Add personal notes and thoughts • Save meaningful insights from your reading • Organize everything your way with tags ADD BOOKS IN SECONDS • Search by title or author • Quickly rebuild your reading history • Simple and fast book adding experience DESIGNED FOR FOCUS • Clean, minimal interface • Smooth animations and gestures • No ads, no distractions • No social pressure PRIVACY FIRST • No account required • No tracking • Your data stays on your device BOOKSTACK PREMIUM Unlock more powerful features: • Add books by scanning ISBN • Unlimited books in your carousel • Advanced reading stats & insights • Custom covers and extended tagging Premium is optional — BookStack works beautifully without it. FOR EVERY READER Whether you read 5 books a year or 50, BookStack helps you remember your reading journey. Start building your reading story today. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Book Tracker at none against ShelfBuddy's shown. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. ShelfBuddy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Book Tracker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for ShelfBuddy against 5.0 for Book Tracker. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively.
ShelfBuddy ships an update every 3 days, Book Tracker every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ShelfBuddy | Book Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 5 days |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 87 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | JAN-HENNING BUNS | Jozef Grec |
Customer experience
ShelfBuddy
Book Tracker
In-app purchases
ShelfBuddy
- ShelfBuddy Freischaltung$5.99
Book Tracker
- Premium Monthly$2.991 Month
- Premium Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
- BookStack Premium (Lifetime)$59.99







