Comparison

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.

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/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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

Screenshots

BookShelves eBook Reader4 screens
LibriLink for Calibre4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
BookShelves eBook Reader versus LibriLink for Calibre: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookShelves eBook ReaderLibriLink for Calibre
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (15 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews69.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings15 — better3
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB33 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCPE Verm. GmbHSETH AARON HOLLEN

Customer experience

BookShelves eBook Reader

All ratings15 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral13.3%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive69.0%
Neutral6.9%
Negative24.1%

LibriLink for Calibre

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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
2 purchases

LibriLink for Calibre

One-time2
  • Single Library$2.99
  • Unlimited Libraries$4.99

Questions

Is BookShelves eBook Reader free?
BookShelves eBook Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LibriLink for Calibre free?
LibriLink for Calibre is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, BookShelves eBook Reader or LibriLink for Calibre?
BookShelves eBook Reader is rated higher. BookShelves eBook Reader averages 3.9 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while LibriLink for Calibre averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do BookShelves eBook Reader or LibriLink for Calibre have ads?
Neither BookShelves eBook Reader nor LibriLink for Calibre shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BookShelves eBook Reader or LibriLink for Calibre?
BookShelves eBook Reader ships an update weekly, and LibriLink for Calibre weekly. Most recently, BookShelves eBook Reader was updated on September 23, 2026 and LibriLink for Calibre on September 10, 2026.

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