# Booktail vs Shelvd

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.

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Booktail | Shelvd |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/booktail-reading-tracker/id6755356749/reviews)** | [3.9 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelvd-smart-book-tracker/id6759407922/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **11** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 66.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 102 MB | 43 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Vasyl Khatsiur](https://appshunter.io/developer/1853389887) | [Platform Thirteen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1878497050) |

## What reviewers say

### Booktail

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/booktail-reading-tracker/id6755356749)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Premium Yearly | $39.99 | per year |


### Shelvd

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelvd-smart-book-tracker/id6759407922)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Plus (Monthly) | $6.00 | per month |
| Pro (Monthly) | $12.00 | per month |
| Full Shelfie (Monthly) | $18.00 | per month |
| Plus (Annual) | $58.00 | per year |
| Pro (Annual) | $114.99 | per year |
| Full Shelfie (Annual) | $172.99 | per year |
| Founders (Annual) | $299.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*