Comparison

Bookshelf Scanner vs Spine

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

Head to head
About

Bookshelf Scanner

Effortlessly scan entire bookshelves to identify valuable books based on your personal preferences. This tool helps you discover hidden gems in second-hand shops and track books you want, love, or have acquired. It integrates with Goodreads and StoryGraph for tailored recommendations.

Highlights
  • Scan entire bookshelves at once
  • Discover hidden gems in second-hand shops
  • Spot books matching your reading taste
  • Track books you want, love, or have grabbed
  • Import from Goodreads or StoryGraph
  • Personalized recommendations
Features
Read full description

Your next great read is hiding on a $2 shelf somewhere. Spines helps you find it. Point your camera at a shelf in a thrift store, used bookstore, garage sale, or library sale. Spines identifies the books in seconds and highlights the ones worth grabbing — including award winners, bestsellers, highly rated books, and titles matched to your personal taste. No more standing in the aisle Googling every title. No more leaving a Pulitzer winner behind because you didn't recognize the author. Spines turns a chaotic bookshelf into a personalized shortlist. HOW IT WORKS 1. Scan — Point your camera at a bookshelf and snap a photo 2. Identify — AI reads the spines and identifies the books automatically 3. Discover — See awards, ratings, and personalized recommendations WHAT SPINES SPOTS • Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists • National Book Award winners • Booker Prize winners and finalists • Women's Prize for Fiction winners • New York Times Bestsellers • Highly rated reader favorites • Books matched to the genres, authors, and publishers you love BUILT FOR BOOK HUNTING • AI Bookshelf Scanner — Identify dozens of books from a single shelf photo • For You — Personalized picks based on your reading taste • Goodreads & StoryGraph Import — Bring your reading history into Spines • Hunt List — Save books you want to find, love, or have already grabbed • Scan History — Revisit shelves you've scanned • Spot Books Nearby — See where interesting books have been spotted • Book Details — Ratings, descriptions, awards, and more PERFECT FOR • Thrift stores and garage sales • Used and antiquarian bookstores • Library book sales • Little Free Libraries and community book exchanges • Browsing a friend's bookshelf • Building your reading list from books you find in the real world FREE TO USE Scan up to 3 shelves per month for free. Upgrade to Premium for unlimited scans, full scan history, award and bestseller signals, Hunt List, Goodreads import, and smarter personalized recommendations — with a 14-day free trial. Your next favorite book is already on a shelf somewhere. Spines helps you find it first. --- Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://spinesapp.com/privacy

About

Spine

Log your reading progress, create custom tier lists of your favorite books, and discover new reads. Connect with friends to see their reading activity and share recommendations. Easily import your existing library.

Highlights
  • Track reading progress
  • Create book tier lists
  • Follow friends' reading activity
  • Share book recommendations
  • Personalized book discovery
  • Import Goodreads library
Features
Read full description

Track what you've read, what you're reading, and what you want to read next. Build tier lists of your favorites. Reach your reading goals. Follow your friends and see what they're reading, create a blend, share books that mattered, recommend books. [ READING LOG ] Mark books read, currently reading, or queued. Note when you started, when you finished, and what you thought. [ TIER LISTS ] S, A, B, C, D. Easily drag-and-drop your favorites into a tier list. [ FRIENDS ] See what your people have read. Let them know what you've read and what you think about it. [ DISCOVER ] Personalized recommendations based on what you’ve read, rated, and exactly what you're specifically looking for. [ IMPORT ] Easily bring your Goodreads library over. Mr. Bezos won't miss you.

Screenshots

Bookshelf Scanner4 screens
Spine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Spine at 100% against Bookshelf Scanner's 36%. Spine also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 4). Bookshelf Scanner's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence 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. Bookshelf Scanner sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Spine asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spine holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spine has 85 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of Bookshelf Scanner's written reviews are positive against 100% of Spine's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bookshelf Scanner ships an update every 5 days, Spine every 8 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Bookshelf Scanner versus Spine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookshelf ScannerSpine
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (85 ratings) — better
Positive reviews36.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings285 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 8 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTrue Story LimitedTanner Flake

Customer experience

Bookshelf Scanner

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive36.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative63.6%

Spine

All ratings82 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Bookshelf Scanner

Subscriptions4
  • Spines Premium$6.991 Month
  • Spines Hunter$19.991 Month
  • Spines Premium14 Days trial$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Spines Hunter$149.991 Year
None

Spine

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bookshelf Scanner free?
Bookshelf Scanner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Spine free?
Spine is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Bookshelf Scanner or Spine?
Spine is rated higher. Bookshelf Scanner averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Spine averages 5.0 from 85 ratings.
Do Bookshelf Scanner or Spine have ads?
Bookshelf Scanner shows ads; Spine does not.
Which is updated more often, Bookshelf Scanner or Spine?
Bookshelf Scanner ships an update every 5 days, and Spine every 8 days. Most recently, Bookshelf Scanner was updated on November 5, 2026 and Spine on November 5, 2026.

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