Comparison

ReadNotes vs BookShelf

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

Head to head
About

ReadNotes

This app helps you remember what you read by taking notes while you read, cleaning them with AI, and generating key takeaways. It tracks your reading progress, builds a personal knowledge library, and offers spaced repetition flashcards.

Highlights
  • AI-powered note cleaning
  • Key takeaway generation
  • Reading progress tracking
  • Spaced repetition flashcards
  • Personal knowledge library
  • Reading statistics and streaks
  • Goodreads library import
Features
Read full description

ReadNotes is the reading tracker and AI note-taking app for people who want to remember what they read, not just finish books. Take notes while you read, clean them up instantly with AI, and generate a single key takeaway from each idea. Over time, ReadNotes builds your personal knowledge library from every book you finish. What you can do: • Write or record voice notes while reading • AI cleans up messy notes into clear, concise text • Generate one key takeaway per note — no rewriting needed • Track books across Reading, Finished, and Want to Read • Review what you learned with spaced repetition flashcards • See your reading stats, streaks, and knowledge by genre • Share insights with friends and see what they're reading • Import your Goodreads library in seconds • Export your notes as PDF Free users get limited AI usage per week. Upgrade to ReadNotes+ for Unlimited AI takeaways and PDF export. Got ideas or questions? Reach out to us at readnotesapp@gmail.com. TERMS: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ PRIVACY POLICY: https://readnotes.vercel.app/privacy

About

BookShelf

Read full description

BookShelf is an editorial reading tracker for people who treat books like company. Every shelf you keep is private, every detail is yours, every screen is laid out in serif type on cream paper. — What you can do • Add books fast: scan an ISBN with your camera, or search by title or author. Covers, descriptions, page counts and publication dates land in your library automatically. • Track sessions: tap a button when you sit down to read. BookShelf times you, you log the pages, you tag the mood. Watch your rhythm emerge. • Rate, review, remember: a five-star rating with quarter-star precision, an open review field that doesn't impose a character limit, and a clean editorial layout that makes you want to come back and finish the thought. • Mood, pace, content warnings: eighteen mood tags, four pace tags, eighteen content warning categories — the same vocabulary the literary community already uses. • See your year: charts of pages per month, minutes per month, your current reading streak, top moods, books finished this year. Numbers framed the way a literary supplement would. • Carry it everywhere with iCloud: your shelf syncs to your private iCloud — same Apple ID on a new device and your library is already there. No accounts, no servers, no email signup. • Share what you're reading: tap the share button on any book to send an editorial poster — cover, your rating, your favourite line — to Messages, WhatsApp, Mail, AirDrop, or Instagram Stories. — The promise BookShelf is built around a quiet idea: your reading is yours. There is no account to create. There is no profile to fill in. There is no feed, no recommendation engine, no advertising. The app never tracks you and never asks to. Book searches are sent only to Google Books for the lookup itself — never with your identity attached. Everything else lives on your device, in your iCloud, full stop. — Made for the way books deserve The typography is serif. The palette is paper, walnut and ochre. The buttons feel like deckle-edged bookmarks. If you have ever wanted a reading log that looks like it belongs next to your real shelves rather than next to your social apps, BookShelf is built for you. Read well. Keep notes. Stay private. — What's free, what's Pro BookShelf is free to download and use for tracking and rating books, scanning ISBNs, and writing reviews. BookShelf Pro unlocks reading sessions, mood and pace tagging, content warnings, advanced statistics, unlimited ISBN scans, share cards, and iCloud sync — for a one-time $24.99 in-app purchase. Yours forever, no subscription.

Screenshots

ReadNotes4 screens
BookShelf4 screens

Verdict

The call

ReadNotes and BookShelf are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. ReadNotes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and BookShelf sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
ReadNotes versus BookShelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadNotesBookShelf
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAKSHAT ROHELLASinan Dogan

In-app purchases

2 purchases

ReadNotes

Subscriptions2
  • ReadNotes+ Monthly$4.991 Month
  • ReadNotes+ Annual$19.991 Year
1 purchases

BookShelf

One-time1
  • BookShelf Pro$24.99

Questions

Is ReadNotes free?
ReadNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BookShelf free?
BookShelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ReadNotes or BookShelf have ads?
Neither ReadNotes nor BookShelf shows ads.

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