Shelfy vs Actually Read
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shelfy
Organize your personal library with a beautiful 3D shelf, track reading progress with a focused timer and ambient soundscapes, and capture memorable quotes. Discover new books with personalized recommendations and track your reading habits with insightful statistics.
- Customizable 3D virtual bookshelf
- Focused reading timer with soundscapes
- Quote and bookmark capture
- Personalized book recommendations
- Reading statistics and achievements
- Import from Goodreads/StoryGraph
- Book discussion and information
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Build the bookshelf you've always wanted. Shelfy turns reading into a cozy daily ritual — a beautiful private library, a focused reading timer with soundscapes, and the quotes and ideas you'll actually keep. "It just feels good to use. I catch myself opening the app instead of Instagram." — Kim T. "The shelves are so cute and customizable. Worth the annual fee." — MamaMaestraKP — YOUR PRIVATE LIBRARY — Add books by search, barcode, or photo of the cover. Watch them appear on a stunning 3D shelf you can customize end-to-end: wood textures, picture frames, statues, even the way your spines look. It's a bookshelf that finally feels like yours. — A READING RITUAL, NOT A CHORE — Start a focused reading session with ambient soundscapes — rain, cafe, fireplace, forest. Track time and pages without breaking flow. Pause when life happens, pick up where you left off. — CAPTURE WHAT YOU LOVE — Snap a page and Shelfy turns it into a clean text quote. Save bookmarks with a tap, search across every book you've read, and stop losing the lines that mattered. — DISCOVER WHAT TO READ NEXT — Swipe through personalized recommendations tuned to your taste. Build a TBR pile that actually excites you instead of one you keep avoiding. — STATS THAT MOTIVATE, NOT GUILT-TRIP — Daily, monthly, and yearly reading stats. Reading speed, longest streaks, favorite genres. A Year in Review that's actually fun to share. Earn achievements as you go. — A SMART READING COMPANION — Ask questions about any book as you read. Get a plot recap when a side character returns 200 pages later. Discuss themes, explore ideas, and remember more. — IMPORT YOUR BOOKS — Coming from Goodreads or StoryGraph? Bring your entire library, ratings, and shelves in one tap. We even auto-detect series and add the missing volumes. — READS LIKE A PHYSICAL BOOK SHOULD FEEL — Saw a book on TikTok or Reels? Share the video to Shelfy and we'll add it to your shelf. iCloud sync keeps your library identical on every device. Widgets, Siri shortcuts, and a yearly challenge keep reading top of mind. Shelfy is a subscription-first reading app, built and supported by a tiny indie team who reply to every email. We don't sell your data, we don't run ads, and we don't gamify reading into a chore. We just want you to fall back in love with books. Start your shelf today. — Shelfy Pro subscription unlocks all features. TERMS: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Actually Read
Enhance your reading experience by tracking books, blocking distractions, and engaging with content using AI. This app helps you focus on your current read, whether it's an EPUB, PDF, or physical book, and offers AI-powered summaries and context.
- Book tracking and progress logging
- Deep Focus app and website blocking
- EPUB and PDF import
- AI-powered book engagement and summaries
- Customizable reading space
- On-device AI processing
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Actually Read helps you track your books, protect your reading time, and actually read—whether you’re reading an EPUB, a PDF, or a physical book. • Focus on the book you chose. Start a reading session, set a timer, and use Deep Focus to block the apps, categories, and websites you choose with Screen Time. • See your reading add up. Track books and focus sessions, create custom reading lists, review your reading history, and return to a calm, customizable reading space built around your current book. • Read your way. Import EPUBs and PDFs, discover free public-domain books, search within books, save bookmarks, highlight passages, and pick up where you left off. • Ask better questions with grounded AI. Actually Read uses retrieval-based AI to help you engage with a book, not replace it with an AI digest. Ask about a theme, scene, or passage, get a Story So Far recap, or request a chapter summary when you’re ready. • Stay grounded in the text. Actually Read retrieves relevant passages from your book and uses them as context for each answer. Responses prioritize cited supporting passages you can open directly in the reader and can respect your reading progress to help avoid spoilers. • Keep your content close. Book indexing, embeddings, and retrieval happen on-device. On devices with Apple Intelligence enabled, on-device AI can answer questions without sending your questions or book content to the cloud. • Choose Advanced AI when you want it. Only your question and the relevant excerpts retrieved to answer it are sent to the cloud—never the full book. Actually Read is for reading with more attention, more context, and fewer distractions. Some features require compatible hardware, Apple Intelligence, Screen Time permission, or an internet connection. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Actually Read at 83% against Shelfy's 29%. Actually Read also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.6) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 days). Shelfy's advantage is ratings volume (1.4K vs 60) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Shelfy sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Actually Read sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Actually Read holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shelfy has 1.4K ratings behind it against 60, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of Shelfy's written reviews are positive against 83% of Actually Read's.
Shelfy ships an update every 6 days, Actually Read every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shelfy | Actually Read |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.4K ratings) | 4.9 (60 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 28.6% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.4K — better | 60 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #45 — better | #113 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 26.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 194 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Murakhovskyi | Prism32 LLC |
Customer experience
Shelfy
Actually Read
In-app purchases
Shelfy
- Weekly subscription3 Days trial$4.997 Days
- Monthly subscription$9.991 Month
- Monthly subscription$14.991 Month
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- Yearly subscription with 30% off$24.991 Year
- Yearly subscription3 Days trial2 variants$38.991 Year
- Yearly subscription$38.991 Year
- 10 Spines$2.99
- Lifetime access to Shelfy$99.99
- Lifetime access to Shelfy$149.99
Actually Read
- Actually Read Plus$3.997 Days
- Actually Read Plus3 Days trial$9.991 Month









