Comparison

Bibliotheca Library vs Shelvd

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

Head to head
About

Bibliotheca Library

Organize your personal book collection, track reading progress towards goals, and monitor reading time with a built-in timer. Connect with friends through social reading features like reading circles and challenges. Enjoy a beautiful, private, and ad-free experience with cloud backup and offline functionality.

Highlights
  • Organize book collection
  • Track reading progress
  • Set reading goals
  • Built-in reading timer
  • Social reading features
  • Cloud backup
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Bibliotheca is the reading tracker and personal library for people who love books as objects, not just data. Track what you read, set goals, watch your stats grow, and find your next favorite — in an app made to be as beautiful as your shelf. COMING FROM GOODREADS? • Import your whole library in seconds — ratings, shelves, and all • Keep your reading history and pick up right where you left off • Find even obscure titles via Google Books and Open Library ORGANIZE YOUR LIBRARY • Add books by scanning a barcode or searching millions of titles • Sort into Reading, Want to Read, Finished, and DNF • Build custom shelves and collections your way • Rate, review, and remember every book SET & CRUSH READING GOALS • Annual, monthly, or custom deadline goals • Track by books, pages, or reading time • Visual progress that keeps you motivated • Daily reading streaks, with streak freezes for busy days STATS & YOUR YEAR, WRAPPED • Beautiful reading stats and trends, updated automatically • See your pace by genre and author, and when you read best • A shareable "year in books" — no spreadsheet required • Built-in reading timer; log sessions to Apple Health as mindfulness AI READING TOOLS (Premium) • Personalized recommendations grounded in your library and taste • Your Literary Profile & Reader Type — AI describes how you read • Ask Your Library — find any book you own just by describing it • Reading Wrapped — a narrated story of your reading year • Bookprint — your reading year rendered as one-of-a-kind Art Deco art READ TOGETHER (free for everyone) • Reading Circles — small groups to read alongside • Reading Buddies — find your reading partner • Challenges — friendly competition on your goals • Compare stats and TBR lists with friends • Discord integration for book clubs OWN YOUR DATA • Export your full library as a spreadsheet, a stats report, or an Obsidian vault • Cloud backup keeps everything safe — and it works offline BEAUTIFUL & PRIVATE • No ads, ever • Your data stays yours Whether you're a solo reader or part of a book club, Bibliotheca helps you read more — and remember all of it. Happy reading! Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.wolpertinger.org/products/bibliotheca-privacy.html

About

Shelvd

Effortlessly log your reading progress by simply taking a photo of any page. This app organizes your library visually, tracks detailed reading statistics, and syncs with Goodreads. It also facilitates book club participation and helps manage your to-read list.

Highlights
  • Photo-based page logging
  • Visual book shelves
  • Goodreads synchronization
  • Import entire reading history
  • Detailed reading statistics
  • Book club features
  • Add books via cover photo
Features
Read full description

Log your reading from a photo, not a keyboard. SHELVD is a book tracker that keeps up with how much you read, and keeps your Goodreads library and friends right where they are. FEATURES • Bookmark: Point your camera at any page or Kindle screen and SHELVD marks your place. It reads the page number and updates your progress in about two seconds. No typing. • Visual shelves: Your library lives as real, browsable shelves with spine art, not a list of rows. • Keep your Goodreads updated (Pro): Track everything in SHELVD and your Goodreads profile stays current on its own. Your progress, ratings, and finished books show up there automatically, so the friends you already have keep seeing what you're reading. No other reading app does this. • Bring your whole library: One upload imports your full Goodreads or StoryGraph history: ratings, read dates, and shelves included. • Reading stats: A heatmap of every day you've read, your reading pace, time-to-finish predictions, genre breakdowns, streaks, and progress toward your reading goals. • Book clubs: Read alongside friends, follow live progress on leaderboards, and share what you're into. Create and run your own clubs on Pro. • Snap a cover: Spot a book you want? Photograph the cover and SHELVD adds it to your want-to-read shelf (your TBR). • Hands-free Kindle tracking (Founders): Connect your Amazon account once and your Kindle reading logs itself, no photos needed. Your reading data stays yours. SHELVD never sells or shares your information with third parties. Terms of Use (EULA): https://shelvd.io/legal/terms Privacy Policy: https://shelvd.io/legal/privacy

Screenshots

Bibliotheca Library4 screens
Shelvd4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Bibliotheca Library at 5.0 against Shelvd's 3.9. Bibliotheca Library also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). Shelvd's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 50%) and ratings volume (11 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Bibliotheca Library sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Shelvd sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $6.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bibliotheca Library holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shelvd has 11 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Bibliotheca Library's written reviews are positive against 67% of Shelvd's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bibliotheca Library ships an update every 5 days, Shelvd fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Bibliotheca Library versus Shelvd: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBibliotheca LibraryShelvd
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better3.9 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings111 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB43 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperThe Wolpertinger CompanyPlatform Thirteen

Customer experience

Bibliotheca Library

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Shelvd

All ratings11 ratings
Positive72.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative27.3%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Bibliotheca Library

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Premium Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
7 purchases

Shelvd

Subscriptions7
  • Plus (Monthly)1 Month trial$6.001 Month
  • Pro (Monthly)1 Month trial$12.001 Month
  • Full Shelfie (Monthly)$18.001 Month
Show 4 more
  • Plus (Annual)1 Month trial$58.001 Year
  • Pro (Annual)1 Month trial$114.991 Year
  • Full Shelfie (Annual)$172.991 Year
  • Founders (Annual)$299.991 Year

Questions

Is Bibliotheca Library free?
Bibliotheca Library is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shelvd free?
Shelvd is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bibliotheca Library or Shelvd?
Bibliotheca Library is rated higher. Bibliotheca Library averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Shelvd averages 3.9 from 11 ratings.
Do Bibliotheca Library or Shelvd have ads?
Neither Bibliotheca Library nor Shelvd shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bibliotheca Library or Shelvd?
Bibliotheca Library ships an update every 5 days, and Shelvd fortnightly. Most recently, Bibliotheca Library was updated on October 31, 2026 and Shelvd on October 31, 2026.

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