Comparison

Circulate Book Swap vs Shelfd

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

Head to head
About

Circulate Book Swap

Features
Read full description

Welcome to Circulate Book Swap—the simplest way for readers to lend, borrow, and discover books in their community. Build your library, list titles you’re willing to share, and request books from nearby readers. Chat to coordinate swaps, track each book’s journey across members, and get notified at every step. Safety features include in-app reporting, blocking, and active moderation, so you can swap with confidence. Start sharing stories, earn points for every swap, and watch your books travel

About

Shelfd

Organize your reading life with a charming book tracker. Log what you're reading, discover your next book with a spin of a wheel, and visualize your reading habits with personalized stats and achievements. Enjoy a cozy, ad-free experience with optional premium features for advanced tracking.

Highlights
  • Track current, finished, and to-be-read books
  • Spin a wheel to pick your next read
  • Organize books by genre with custom colors
  • Set reading goals and view yearly stats
  • Earn achievements narrated by an Archivist
  • Import libraries from other apps (CSV)
  • Backup and restore your library
Features
Read full description

A warm, unhurried home for your reading life. Shelfd keeps a quiet record of everything you've read and everything still waiting — without turning your hobby into a job. No leaderboards. No guilt for the week you didn't finish anything. HOWEVER YOU READ IT Paper, ebook, or audiobook — track them side by side on the same shelf. Audiobooks count down in hours and minutes remaining, the way your listening app shows them, so there's no maths to do when you log your progress. YOUR SHELF, ACTUALLY SHELVED Finished books stand as real spines, coloured from their own covers. Browse them as a shelf or a list, and build your own collections for classics, comfort rereads, or whatever you're hoarding this month. SPIN THE WHEEL Too many books, not enough decisions. Load up your TBR, give it a spin, and let fate choose your next read. A GOAL WORTH HITTING Set a books-per-year target and watch the arrow move toward the bullseye. Miss it and nothing bad happens. Hit it and something rather nice does. THE SHAPE OF YOUR TASTE See which genres you actually gravitate to, how you read — paper, screen, or headphones — and the quiet trends across your year. ACHIEVEMENTS, STAMPED Every finished book earns a mark from the Archivist, who keeps your records in impeccable order and is quietly more invested than he lets on. BRING YOUR LIBRARY Coming from Goodreads or StoryGraph? Import your whole history from a single file and pick up where you left off. Back up your shelf whenever you like — your library is yours, and it stays on your device. SCAN AND GO Point the camera at a barcode and the book is on your shelf, page count and cover included. SHELFD PREMIUM Read up to three books at once, unlock the Ratings Card with half-stars and emoji vibes for how a book actually felt, get the deeper genre breakdown, and build unlimited shelves and lists. "Keep reading. That's all I ask." — The Archivist SHELFD PREMIUM — SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Shelfd Premium is available as a monthly or annual auto-renewing subscription, or as a one-time Founders Group purchase. A 7-day free trial is included with the subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://joinshelfd.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Circulate Book Swap4 screens
Shelfd4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Circulate Book Swap at none against Shelfd's 3. Circulate Book Swap also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.2). Shelfd's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 10 days). On price 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. Shelfd sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Circulate Book Swap asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Circulate Book Swap ships an update every 10 days, Shelfd daily. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Circulate Book Swap versus Shelfd: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCirculate Book SwapShelfd
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerfusionelle consultZachary Selburg

In-app purchases

None

Circulate Book Swap

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Shelfd

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Premium Annual7 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Shelfd Founders Group$59.99

Questions

Is Circulate Book Swap free?
Circulate Book Swap is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shelfd free?
Shelfd is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Circulate Book Swap or Shelfd have ads?
Neither Circulate Book Swap nor Shelfd shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Circulate Book Swap or Shelfd?
Circulate Book Swap ships an update every 10 days, and Shelfd daily. Most recently, Circulate Book Swap was updated on October 28, 2026 and Shelfd on October 24, 2026.

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