BookShelves eBook Reader vs LibriLink for Calibre
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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/Kobo/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.
LibriLink for Calibre
Manage your existing ebook, comic, and audiobook collections from Calibre libraries on your iPhone or iPad. Browse, download, and open files in your preferred reading apps without proprietary clouds or locked-in readers. Offers extensive customization for a comfortable reading experience.
- Connects to Calibre libraries via cloud, servers, or local files
- Supports ebooks, comics, and audiobooks in various formats
- Download titles for offline access
- Open files in any preferred reading app
- View Calibre metadata including tags and covers
- Customizable reading themes, fonts, and sizes
- Access Project Gutenberg and OPDS catalogs
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Your books, comics, and audiobooks — from your Calibre libraries, on iPhone and iPad. LibriLink is a dedicated library manager, not another reader. It connects to the Calibre libraries you already have, wherever you keep them, so you can browse your whole collection, download exactly what you want, and open it in whatever app you prefer. CONNECT YOUR LIBRARIES Cloud storage: Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, and Google Drive Your own servers: a Calibre Content Server, or any WebDAV service (Nextcloud, ownCloud, pCloud, a home NAS, and more) On your device: your own folders and files See your real Calibre metadata — titles, authors, series, tags, and covers EVERY FORMAT YOU ALREADY HAVE Ebooks (EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, PDF), comics (CBZ, CBR), and audiobooks (M4B, MP3) Whatever formats your library holds, LibriLink can download DOWNLOAD AND OPEN ANYWHERE Save any title to your device for offline access Open it in your favorite reading, comic, or audiobook app Organized downloads with covers — no duplicates, no clutter No proprietary cloud, no locked-in reader. Your files, your apps, your choice. BUILT FOR COMFORTABLE READING High-contrast light and dark themes 5 themes, 5 font sizes, and 4 fonts, including OpenDyslexic Turn off automatic sync and save specific libraries to specific folders, if you prefer FREE — NO ACCOUNT, NO ADS 70,000+ Project Gutenberg books in dozens of languages — browse and download instantly Connect any OPDS catalog free — Calibre-Web, Komga, Kavita, or a Calibre server's built-in OPDS feed The free tier has no time limit and is fully usable on its own SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGE Fully translated into 10 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Japanese PAY ONCE, OR NOT AT ALL Free forever: Project Gutenberg plus unlimited OPDS catalogs (Komga, Kavita, Calibre-Web) Single Library: connect one of your own cloud Calibre libraries Unlimited Libraries: connect as many as you like, across every provider One-time purchases. No subscriptions. No ads. No tracking. Your books live in your cloud or on your device. LibriLink gives you a clean way to manage them and take them anywhere. PRIVACY LibriLink does not collect personal data. Your cloud credentials stay securely on your device. Read our full privacy policy at sahollen.com/privacy. LibriLink is not affiliated with or endorsed by Calibre, Komga, Kavita, Dropbox, Microsoft, or Google. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
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Verdict
BookShelves eBook Reader and LibriLink for Calibre both sit at 3.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 69% of BookShelves eBook Reader's written reviews are positive against 50% of LibriLink for Calibre's. BookShelves eBook Reader also leads on ratings volume (15 vs 3). LibriLink for Calibre's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.4). On price, rating, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. BookShelves eBook Reader sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and LibriLink for Calibre sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
BookShelves eBook Reader holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BookShelves eBook Reader has 15 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of BookShelves eBook Reader's written reviews are positive against 50% of LibriLink for Calibre's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BookShelves eBook Reader | LibriLink for Calibre |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (15 ratings) — better | 3.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 69.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.4 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 55 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | CPE Verm. GmbH | SETH AARON HOLLEN |
Customer experience
BookShelves eBook Reader
LibriLink for Calibre
In-app purchases
BookShelves eBook Reader
- Small Tip$2.99
- Medium Tip$3.99
- Large Tip$8.99
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- Unlock Pro$9.99
LibriLink for Calibre
- Single Library$2.99
- Unlimited Libraries$4.99
Questions
Is BookShelves eBook Reader free?
Is LibriLink for Calibre free?
Which has better reviews, BookShelves eBook Reader or LibriLink for Calibre?
Do BookShelves eBook Reader or LibriLink for Calibre have ads?
Which is updated more often, BookShelves eBook Reader or LibriLink for Calibre?
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