Comparison

BookShelves eBook Reader vs noter

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

Head to head
About

BookShelves eBook Reader

This app allows you to read EPUB, PDF, and comic books with access to over 1.5 million free public domain books. Organize your library, customize your reading experience with multiple themes and fonts, and sync your progress across devices.

Highlights
  • 1.5 million+ free books
  • EPUB, PDF, and comic reader
  • Customizable themes and fonts
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Smart library management
  • Highlighting and note-taking
  • Export highlights
Features
Read full description

BookShelves is an EPUB, PDF, and comic book reader with a built-in catalog of 1.5 million free books. Discover public domain classics, organize your digital library, and sync seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud (Pro). WHAT READERS SAY "Phenomenal book reading and management app, 'just works'." "My everlasting search for the perfect ePub reader might be coming to an end." "Among the best and actively developed." DISCOVER 1.5 MILLION+ FREE BOOKS • 1.5 million+ classic works — Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick, more • 1,100+ premium editions from Standard Ebooks • Internet Archive — millions of historical texts and rare books • 1,200+ Spanish classics from the Biblioteca Nacional de España • 16,000+ Japanese classics from Aozora Bunko • Browse OPDS catalogs from external libraries and servers One tap to download. No account required. POWERFUL READING EXPERIENCE • Paginated or continuous scroll — read your way • 10 themes including Sepia, Dark Academia, Night Sky, and more • 10 bundled fonts including OpenDyslexic for accessible reading • Adjustable line spacing, margins, text justification, and font weight • Highlight in 5 colors and add notes to any passage • Export highlights to Markdown, JSON, or CSV • Dictionary look-up with language detection • Full-text search across chapters • Nested table of contents navigation • Bookmarks (iCloud sync with Pro) • Vertical text (tategaki) for Japanese and CJK books • Right-to-left reading for Arabic, Hebrew, and CJK texts • Full keyboard and trackpad support • Multi-window reading on Mac COMIC BOOKS AND MANGA • CBZ, CBR, and CB7 format support • Two-page spreads for landscape reading • Right-to-left mode for manga with reversed tap zones and swipes • Auto-detected from metadata or toggled manually SEAMLESS ICLOUD SYNC (Pro) • Books and cover images • Reading progress and current page • Shelves, tags, and ratings • Highlights, notes, and bookmarks • Reader preferences (font, theme, layout) Start reading on your iPhone, continue on your iPad, finish on your Mac. SMART LIBRARY MANAGEMENT • Edit metadata -- title, author, series, publisher, ISBN, and cover image • Automatic metadata and cover art fetching • System shelves: All Books, Recently Added, Reading, Finished, Favorites • Custom shelves for any collection • Color-coded tags for categorization • Search and filter by title, author, or tag • Grid and list views • 5-star ratings • Drag-and-drop import, Files app sharing, or OPDS catalogs • EPUB repair — auto-fixes broken navigation and missing metadata • Import from Calibre libraries with best-format selection FORMAT SUPPORT • EPUB — professional rendering with beautiful typography • PDF — native viewer with smooth scrolling and search • CBZ / CBR / CB7 — comic book archives • FB2 — FictionBook 2 format (auto-converts to EPUB) • MOBI / AZW3 / KF8 / KEPUB — auto-converts to EPUB for reading • TXT / Markdown — plain text and Markdown files (auto-converts to EPUB) MAC EXTRAS • Calibre wireless sync — connect KOReader or other devices over Wi-Fi • OPDS server — share your library on your local network PRIVACY FIRST • Your data stays on your devices • No personal data collected • No ads — clean, distraction-free reading • iCloud keeps your library private and secure FREE AND PRO Free: 10 books with all reading features. Pro unlocks unlimited books, iCloud sync, email to Kindle/reMarkable, highlight export, and OPDS server. Pro is available as a one-time purchase or subscription (monthly/annual, select regions). Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage subscriptions in Apple ID account settings. Privacy Policy: https://getbookshelves.app/privacy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://getbookshelves.app/terms/ All books from discovery sources are public domain or openly licensed.

About

noter

This app allows users to read EPUB and PDF files, offering extensive annotation features with Apple Pencil support. Users can highlight, draw, and add margin notes, then export their annotations. It also supports Calibre integration and customizable reading themes.

Highlights
  • Apple Pencil annotation
  • Highlight and markup text
  • Add margin notes
  • Export annotations as PDF
  • Calibre library integration
  • Customizable reading themes
  • Browse online catalogs
Features
Read full description

noter is the reading app for people who think with a pencil. With full Apple Pencil support for EPUBs, you can highlight, annotate, and draw directly on the pages. Full Apple Pencil Support - noter fully supports the Apple Pencil, so you can write directly on EPUBs. Highlight, draw, circle, and doodle all over your favourite books. - Highlight and annotate passages so you can add your thoughts as you read. - Add notes in the margin of a page, so you can take notes in a larger canvas for your biggest ideas. - PDF support, so you can draw on those in addition to EPUBs. Export Your Notes - Easily export all your highlights, notes, and write-on-page ink. Just a few taps and you get a PDF with all your annotations. Calibre Support - noter can connect right to Calibre, making it easy to import your entire library. Customize Your Reading - Choose from built-in themes or create your own. - Set custom background and text colours. Notebooks - Create your own notebooks. Rapidly switching between a notebook and a book is easy, so you can quickly take long form notes while you read. Additional Features - PDF support - Edit book metadata for easy library management and filtering - No account required. No ads. Privacy focused. - Sync between your Apple devices using Apple's secure iCloud - Folder support - Browse and search books from online catalogs (OPDS), such as Project Gutenberg, directly within the app. These books are provided by third-party sources and are typically in the public domain in the United States. Availability may vary depending on your country’s copyright laws. noter uses Apple's standard End User License Agreement. A copy of it can be found here: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

BookShelves eBook Reader4 screens
noter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: BookShelves eBook Reader at 64% against noter's 0%. BookShelves eBook Reader also leads on rating (3.8 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (19 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. BookShelves eBook Reader sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and noter sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BookShelves eBook Reader holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BookShelves eBook Reader has 19 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of BookShelves eBook Reader's written reviews are positive against 0% of noter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
BookShelves eBook Reader versus noter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookShelves eBook Readernoter
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (19 ratings) — better3.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews63.6% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings19 — better2
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.4 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB21 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCPE Verm. GmbHRajiv Green

Customer experience

BookShelves eBook Reader

All ratings19 ratings
Positive57.9%
Neutral21.1%
Negative21.1%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral12.1%
Negative24.2%

noter

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

BookShelves eBook Reader

One-time4
  • Small Tip$2.99
  • Medium Tip$3.99
  • Large Tip$8.99
Show 1 more
  • Unlock Pro$9.99
3 purchases

noter

Subscriptions3
  • noter Premium Weekly3 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • noter Premium Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • noter Premium Annual3 Days trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is BookShelves eBook Reader free?
BookShelves eBook Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is noter free?
noter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, BookShelves eBook Reader or noter?
BookShelves eBook Reader is rated higher. BookShelves eBook Reader averages 3.8 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while noter averages 3.5 from 2 ratings.
Do BookShelves eBook Reader or noter have ads?
Neither BookShelves eBook Reader nor noter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BookShelves eBook Reader or noter?
BookShelves eBook Reader ships an update weekly, and noter weekly. Most recently, BookShelves eBook Reader was updated on October 25, 2026 and noter on October 24, 2026.

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