Comparison

ShelfWorth vs Nous

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

Head to head
About

ShelfWorth

Features
Read full description

ShelfWorth keeps your home library in one place: every book you own on a shelf, what the collection is worth, what you're reading, and who has borrowed what. SCAN OR SEARCH Scan a barcode, or search by title, author or ISBN, and ShelfWorth fills in the title, author, pages and cover. Moving from Goodreads? Import your library from a Goodreads or CSV export. YOUR SHELF Your physical books stand as spines, thick or thin by page count, under a bookplate that totals your library. Digital books and audiobooks are kept on the list too. WHAT IT'S WORTH Record what you paid and what each book is worth, and see the total in any of 10 currencies. The Value tab shows where the worth sits, by genre and by condition. READING Time your reading sessions, keep your page, and see every book you've finished. LENDING Note who borrowed a book and when it's due back, and get a reminder before the date. ALSO - NYT Best Sellers, updated weekly - Light and dark appearance - Sign in with Apple to bring your library to a new phone - Export your library to CSV at any time - Delete your account and everything in it from Settings

About

Nous

This app helps you actively track your reading by taking notes, capturing highlights, and organizing your library. It offers features for reflection, goal setting, and seamless integration with other services to enhance your reading experience.

Highlights
  • Real-time reading notes and thoughts
  • Book library organization
  • Highlight capture via typing or OCR
  • Reading session reflection and summary
  • Goal setting and streak tracking
  • Sync with Obsidian and Kindle
  • Homescreen widgets
Features
Read full description

TRACK READING THOUGHTS IN REAL TIME • Read actively by taking notes and thoughts during a session • Type or dictate your session book notes, and capture mid-session thoughts without breaking flow • Add highlights and book quotes by typing or scanning the book with OCR • Struggle to remember what you read? Actively recall previous reading sessions to enhance memory YOUR LIBRARY • Organize your books: includes TBR, Next, Reading, Finished, Paused, and Did Not Finish (DNF) • Search by title or author, scan an ISBN, or library import from other apps • Track print by pages, ebooks by percentage location, audiobooks by listening time • Categorize books with personal tags • Sync your library on iCloud — access on all your devices • Connect to Kindle for seamless highlight capture DON'T JUST RECORD — REFLECT • Each book has a session history so you can see progress over time • Finishing a book opens a reflection: rate it, write a summary or book review, and see your reading pace charted over time • Half-star ratings supported • Weekly, monthly, and yearly views show what you've actually read • Search highlights and session notes to look back on your thinking ENHANCE MOTIVATION AND REACH YOUR READING GOALS • Keep your daily streak going — or don't — streaks are optional • Set daily or yearly reading goals: build a consistent habit and hit yearly book challenges • Track your focus and energy levels over time • Homescreen widgets: streaks, yearly reading, and reading goal INTEGRATE AND EXPORT YOUR NOTES • Sync with Obsidian to upload book notes, session summaries, and highlights to your vault • Export sessions immediately after they occur • Save all your sessions and export as a whole book, all your notes and reflections • Backup and restore: make sure your notes are always safe. Includes optional iCloud backup Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ShelfWorth4 screens
Nous4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ShelfWorth at none against Nous's 2. ShelfWorth also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). Nous's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 11 months). On price, ads 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. Nous sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. ShelfWorth asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShelfWorth ships an update every 11 months, Nous weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
ShelfWorth versus Nous: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShelfWorthNous
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB31 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperSkivelane LimitedCaelan Mitchell

In-app purchases

None

ShelfWorth

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Nous

Subscriptions2
  • Nous Plus — Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Nous Plus — Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is ShelfWorth free?
ShelfWorth is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nous free?
Nous is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ShelfWorth or Nous have ads?
Neither ShelfWorth nor Nous shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ShelfWorth or Nous?
ShelfWorth ships an update every 11 months, and Nous weekly. Most recently, ShelfWorth was updated on October 30, 2026 and Nous on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons