Comparison

BookShelves eBook Reader vs Boundless Reader

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

Boundless Reader

This app allows you to read manga, comics, and novels from your own files or connected servers. Customize your reading experience with various fonts, themes, and reading modes. It offers optional account syncing and robust family controls for content management.

Highlights
  • Browse, track, and read across your library
  • Supports CBZ, PDF, text, and Markdown files
  • Connect to self-hosted Komga servers
  • Customizable reading modes (paged, vertical, webtoon)
  • Font and spacing controls, including dyslexia-friendly options
  • Family controls to blur or hide content
  • Optional account sync for cross-device progress
Features
Read full description

Boundless is a manga, manhwa, comic, and novel reader built to browse, track, and read across your own library, all in one continuous interface. Bring in your own files (CBZ, PDF, text, Markdown) or connect a self-hosted Komga server, and plug in user-built sources to extend your library further. Everything can be read as; paged, vertical, or webtoon, with automatic chapter loading and prefetch so the next one is ready before you get there. An account is optional. Sign in to sync your library, history, and progress across devices, or skip it and read fully offline with local files. READING, YOUR WAY • System, Serif, Rounded, Monospaced, or a dyslexia-friendly font, with full spacing control • Auto-scroll, custom tap zones, and tap cooldowns • Nine accent colors, a true black Void theme for AMOLED, and animated backgrounds BUILT FOR APPLE Genuinely native on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Silicon Mac, not one layout stretched across all three. FAMILY CONTROLS Blur or hide covers by rating or genre, and lock restricted content behind a PIN. Full backup and restore, offline downloads, and reading history grouped by day. Boundless doesn't host or supply content itself: what you read comes from your own files, your own server, or the sources you choose to plug in.

Screenshots

BookShelves eBook Reader4 screens
Boundless Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: BookShelves eBook Reader at 66% against Boundless Reader's 0%. BookShelves eBook Reader also leads on rating (3.9 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (15 vs 1). Boundless Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (every 3 days vs weekly). 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. BookShelves eBook Reader sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Boundless Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BookShelves eBook Reader holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BookShelves eBook Reader has 15 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of BookShelves eBook Reader's written reviews are positive against 0% of Boundless Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookShelves eBook Reader ships an update weekly, Boundless Reader every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
BookShelves eBook Reader versus Boundless Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookShelves eBook ReaderBoundless Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (15 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews65.6% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings15 — better1
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB65 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperCPE Verm. GmbHMuhammad Sarfraz

Customer experience

BookShelves eBook Reader

All ratings15 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive65.6%
Neutral12.5%
Negative21.9%

Boundless Reader

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
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
None

Boundless Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BookShelves eBook Reader free?
BookShelves eBook Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Boundless Reader free?
Boundless Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BookShelves eBook Reader or Boundless Reader?
BookShelves eBook Reader is rated higher. BookShelves eBook Reader averages 3.9 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Boundless Reader averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do BookShelves eBook Reader or Boundless Reader have ads?
Neither BookShelves eBook Reader nor Boundless Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BookShelves eBook Reader or Boundless Reader?
BookShelves eBook Reader ships an update weekly, and Boundless Reader every 3 days. Most recently, BookShelves eBook Reader was updated on October 14, 2026 and Boundless Reader on October 7, 2026.

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