Comparison

ShelfBuddy vs Simplreads

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

Simplreads

Organize your personal library with this minimal reading app. Track your reading progress, write reviews, save notes, and create playlists of books to read. Keep a clear record of your reading journey.

Highlights
  • Personal library building
  • Reading progress tracking
  • Write short reviews
  • Save longer notes
  • Group books into playlists
  • Track reading status
Features
Read full description

Simplreads is a minimal reading app for building your personal library and keeping your reading process organized. Add books, track progress, write short reviews, save longer notes, and group books into playlists for future reading and sharing with friends. Use Simplreads to keep a clear record of what you want to read, what you are reading now, and what you have finished.

Screenshots

ShelfBuddy4 screens
Simplreads4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Simplreads at none against ShelfBuddy's 1. Simplreads also leads on ads (none vs shown). ShelfBuddy's advantage is ratings volume (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating 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. ShelfBuddy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Simplreads asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for ShelfBuddy against 5.0 for Simplreads. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
ShelfBuddy versus Simplreads: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShelfBuddySimplreads
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 days—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJAN-HENNING BUNSVasilii Andreev

Customer experience

ShelfBuddy

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

Simplreads

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ShelfBuddy

One-time1
  • ShelfBuddy Freischaltung$5.99
None

Simplreads

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ShelfBuddy free?
ShelfBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simplreads free?
Simplreads is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ShelfBuddy or Simplreads?
ShelfBuddy and Simplreads are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do ShelfBuddy or Simplreads have ads?
ShelfBuddy shows ads; Simplreads does not.

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