Comparison

Booktail vs Shelvd

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

Head to head
About

Booktail

Organize your personal library, track reading progress, and save memorable quotes. This app helps you manage your book collection, log reading sessions, and create shareable reading recaps. It also features a series organizer and a 'Book of the Year' selection tool.

Highlights
  • Add books via search or ISBN
  • Organize books by status and custom shelves
  • Track reading time and pages
  • Save quotes, thoughts, and photos
  • Create monthly reading recaps
  • Manage book series
  • Set reading goals and wishlists
Features
Read full description

Booktail is a book tracker that helps you keep your library organized, follow your reading progress and save the parts you want to remember. Add books, log time and pages, save quotes and plan your next reads — and a little buddy will be there whenever you return to your books. YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR SHELVES Add books by search or ISBN barcode. Organize them by reading status and create your own shelves to group books by genre, mood or reading plans. Choose colors, icons and patterns to make each shelf your own. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR READING Start the reading timer, settle into your book and log the pages you finish. See your progress and an estimate of the time left. If you forget the timer, add or edit a session later. SHARE YOUR READING RECAP Turn your reading into a monthly recap with covers and stats. Choose the colors, title and details you want to show, then save the image or share it with friends. You can also share your calendar, a series card or your Book of the Year bracket. KEEP A SERIES TOGETHER See which volumes you've read and which are still ahead. Compare your collection with the series catalog to find missing books. FIND YOUR BOOK OF THE YEAR Choose your favorite read from each month, compare the winners through the rounds and pick the one book that stays with you. REMEMBER MORE OF WHAT YOU READ Save quotes, thoughts and photos alongside your books. Add page numbers and find your notes again with search. LOOK BACK AND PLAN AHEAD See your reading days on a calendar and explore your pages, books and reading time in the statistics. Set monthly or yearly goals, plan upcoming reads and keep a wishlist of books you'd like to buy. A BUDDY FOR YOUR BOOKS Choose a character who greets you, celebrates finished books and comments on your progress. Pick an app theme that feels right for you. Booktail is free to download and has no ads. Optional Premium adds more themes and buddies, all-time statistics and series rankings. Add the book you're reading and take it from there. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

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

Booktail4 screens
Shelvd4 screens

Verdict

The call

Booktail and Shelvd both sit at 4.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Booktail's written reviews are positive against 67% of Shelvd's. Shelvd's advantage is ratings volume (11 vs 1). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Booktail sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for Booktail against 3.9 for Shelvd. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shelvd has 11 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Booktail's written reviews are positive against 67% of Shelvd's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Booktail versus Shelvd: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBooktailShelvd
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better3.9 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings111 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.416.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB43 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperVasyl KhatsiurPlatform Thirteen

Customer experience

Booktail

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Shelvd

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

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Booktail

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$39.991 Year
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 Booktail free?
Booktail 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, Booktail or Shelvd?
Booktail is rated higher. Booktail averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Shelvd averages 3.9 from 11 ratings.
Do Booktail or Shelvd have ads?
Neither Booktail nor Shelvd shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Booktail or Shelvd?
Booktail ships an update fortnightly, and Shelvd fortnightly. Most recently, Booktail was updated on October 25, 2026 and Shelvd on October 28, 2026.

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