Comparison

ShelfBuddy vs BookStreak

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Virtual shelves and wishlists
  • ISBN barcode scanning
  • Reading progress tracking
  • Borrowed book management
  • Customizable notes and genres
  • Multilingual interface
Features
Read full description

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. ALSO ON YOUR COMPUTER With ShelfBuddy Premium you can open your library in the browser on your computer too, at app.shelfbuddy.de. Link it to your phone once with a QR code, no account needed. Everything is encrypted on your phone before it syncs, so the server cannot read it. 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.

About

BookStreak

This app helps you build a consistent reading habit with flexible goals and tracking tools. Log reading sessions quickly, save notes and quotes, and organize your entire library. It offers insights into your reading patterns and allows for sharing your progress.

Highlights
  • Flexible reading goals
  • Quick reading session logging
  • Save quotes and notes
  • Organize book library
  • Reading insights and statistics
  • Share reading progress
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Track your reading. Capture what moves you. See it compound. BookStreak is the reading tracker that works the way you actually read. Build a habit on your terms, bring your highlights from Kindle and your sessions from KOReader, Apple Books and watch your reading life take shape over time. No ads. No data selling. Unlimited books. Free forever. FLEXIBLE STREAKS — READ ON YOUR TERMS - Set your own target: read 3, 5, or 7 days per week - Miss a day? Your streak doesn't reset — it flexes with your life ALL YOUR READING, ONE PLACE - Sync with Goodreads — shelves sync automatically - KOReader live sync — read on your e-reader, see it in BookStreak - Import from StoryGraph, LibraryThing, CSV - Kindle highlights via My Clippings.txt - Kobo annotations from your device READING JOURNAL — CAPTURE WHAT MATTERS - Save quotes, reflections, and mood per session - Photos and location of where you're reading - Voice dictation for quick thoughts INSIGHTS THAT COMPOUND OVER TIME - Heat map showing your reading rhythm across the year - Reading velocity trends — are you speeding up or slowing down? - Personal records: most pages in a day, fastest finish, longest streak - Top authors, genres, and format breakdown - Mood patterns across your reading sessions HOME SCREEN WIDGET & DYNAMIC ISLAND - Streak widget on your Home Screen — see your progress at a glance - Start a reading timer from the Dynamic Island - Lock Screen Live Activity — stop and log without unlocking WORKS COMPLETELY OFFLINE - All data stored locally on your device first - Free cloud sync when you're online - No account required — full app works as a guest - Export as CSV or JSON anytime, free PRIVACY FIRST Your reading data belongs to you. BOOKSTREAK PRO (optional upgrade) - Shareable Monthly Reading Wrap and reading cards - Time-of-day reading patterns + session duration history - Year-over-year comparison - Custom themes + alternate app icons - 17-day free trial after your first finished book Privacy Policy: https://bookstreak.quest/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Read more. Remember what matters. Download BookStreak.

Screenshots

ShelfBuddy4 screens
BookStreak4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ShelfBuddy at 5.0 against BookStreak's 3.5. BookStreak's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. ShelfBuddy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and BookStreak sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ShelfBuddy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShelfBuddy ships an update every 2 days, BookStreak every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
ShelfBuddy versus BookStreak: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShelfBuddyBookStreak
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better3.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 3 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB81 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJAN-HENNING BUNSKien Nguyen

Customer experience

ShelfBuddy

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

BookStreak

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ShelfBuddy

One-time1
  • ShelfBuddy Freischaltung$5.99
4 purchases

BookStreak

Subscriptions3
  • Pro Monthly14 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Pro 6 Months14 Days trial$16.996 Months
  • Pro Annual14 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is ShelfBuddy free?
ShelfBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BookStreak free?
BookStreak is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ShelfBuddy or BookStreak?
ShelfBuddy is rated higher. ShelfBuddy averages 5.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while BookStreak averages 3.5 from 2 ratings.
Do ShelfBuddy or BookStreak have ads?
ShelfBuddy shows ads; BookStreak does not.
Which is updated more often, ShelfBuddy or BookStreak?
ShelfBuddy ships an update every 2 days, and BookStreak every 3 days. Most recently, ShelfBuddy was updated on October 7, 2026 and BookStreak on October 5, 2026.

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