Comparison

BookShelves eBook Reader vs Reader Alive

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

Reader Alive

Features
Read full description

Reader Alive is an AI-powered ebook reader for iPhone and iPad. Import EPUB, PDF, AZW3, and MOBI books from Files, Finder, AirDrop, Wi-Fi transfer, or iCloud Drive. Read in paged or continuous scrolling modes, tune fonts and themes, adjust size and spacing, and keep your library and reading position in sync with iCloud. Reader Alive helps books feel alive: • Translate selected text or full chapters • Listen with natural text-to-speech • Chat with a book and ask questions grounded in its content • Generate chapter summaries • Explore key ideas, characters, timelines, arguments, and action lists • Sync your library and reading progress across devices with iCloud Full translation, listening, and AI chat features require a subscription. Reader Alive is built for deep reading, foreign-language reading, study, research, and faster understanding of long books. Privacy Policy: https://readeralive.pages.dev/privacy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

BookShelves eBook Reader4 screens
Reader Alive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: BookShelves eBook Reader at none against Reader Alive's shown. On price, update cadence, 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. BookShelves eBook Reader sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Reader Alive sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookShelves eBook Reader ships an update weekly, Reader Alive every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
BookShelves eBook Reader versus Reader Alive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookShelves eBook ReaderReader Alive
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (15 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews65.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings15 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.417.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB289 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCPE Verm. GmbHNocoly.com

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

Reader Alive

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$59.991 Year

Questions

Is BookShelves eBook Reader free?
BookShelves eBook Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Reader Alive free?
Reader Alive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BookShelves eBook Reader or Reader Alive have ads?
Reader Alive shows ads; BookShelves eBook Reader does not.
Which is updated more often, BookShelves eBook Reader or Reader Alive?
BookShelves eBook Reader ships an update weekly, and Reader Alive every 5 days. Most recently, BookShelves eBook Reader was updated on October 14, 2026 and Reader Alive on September 26, 2026.

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