Comparison

InkShelf vs Actually Read

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

Head to head
About

InkShelf

Features
Read full description

Inkshelf is your ultimate companion for managing your personal book collection and enriching your reading journey. Whether you're an avid reader, a student, or a book collector, Inkshelf helps you organize, track, and cherish every book you read. KEY FEATURES Smart Book Management Add books instantly with ISBN barcode scanning. Automatic cover art and metadata retrieval. Track reading progress with intuitive controls. Personal ratings and reviews for every book. Organize by status: Reading, Completed, or Wishlist. Intelligent Highlights System Capture book excerpts with OCR text recognition. Manual text entry for quick note-taking. Color-coded highlights for easy categorization. Chapter and page number tracking. Add personal notes to any highlight. Powerful search across all your highlights. Filter by book, color, or highlight type. Reading Analytics Visual reading progress tracking. Set and achieve monthly reading goals. Detailed statistics and insights. Track your reading habits over time. Beautiful charts and visualizations. Beautiful and Personalized Modern Material Design 3 interface. Dark and light theme support. Smooth animations and transitions. Multi-language support including English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, and French. Customizable reading goals. Clean, distraction-free interface. Share and Export Export highlights to Markdown or PDF. Create beautiful share cards. Share book information with friends. Backup and restore your data. CSV export for data portability. iCloud Sync Automatic cloud backup. Seamless sync across your devices. Your data stays private and secure. Never lose your reading history. WHY CHOOSE INKSHELF Privacy First: All your data is stored locally on your device. We don't collect or share your personal information. Offline Ready: Full functionality without internet connection. Sync when you're ready. Fast and Reliable: Built with Flutter for native performance on iOS. No Subscription: One-time purchase, lifetime access to all features. Regular Updates: We're constantly improving and adding new features based on user feedback. PERFECT FOR Book lovers who want to organize their collection. Students tracking academic reading. Book clubs managing shared reading lists. Anyone who loves capturing and revisiting book highlights. Readers who want to understand their reading habits. Download Inkshelf today and transform the way you read, remember, and reflect on books. Legal Information: • Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ • Service Terms: https://www.yoshinn.com/terms/en.html (English) | https://www.yoshinn.com/terms/ja.html (日本語) • Privacy Policy: https://www.yoshinn.com/privacy/en.html (English) | https://www.yoshinn.com/privacy/ja.html (日本語)

About

Actually Read

Enhance your reading experience by tracking books, blocking distractions with Deep Focus, and utilizing an AI companion for deeper comprehension. Import your own files or discover public domain books to build a consistent reading habit.

Highlights
  • Track reading progress
  • Deep Focus distraction blocking
  • Import EPUBs and PDFs
  • AI-powered book companion
  • Summaries and recaps
  • On-device AI processing
Features
Read full description

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

InkShelf4 screens
Actually Read3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Actually Read at every 5 days against InkShelf's monthly. InkShelf's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. InkShelf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Actually Read sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

InkShelf ships an update monthly, Actually Read every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
InkShelf versus Actually Read: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInkShelfActually Read
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—9 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYoshinn CO., LTD.Prism32 LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

InkShelf

Subscriptions2
  • Inkshelf Pro Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Inkshelf Pro Yearly14 Days trial$49.991 Year
1 purchases

Actually Read

Subscriptions1
  • Actually Read Plus3 Days trial$9.991 Month

Questions

Is InkShelf free?
InkShelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Actually Read free?
Actually Read is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do InkShelf or Actually Read have ads?
Neither InkShelf nor Actually Read shows ads.
Which is updated more often, InkShelf or Actually Read?
InkShelf ships an update monthly, and Actually Read every 5 days. Most recently, InkShelf was updated on October 21, 2026 and Actually Read on October 13, 2026.

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