EPUB Reader vs Bookshelf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
EPUB Reader
Customize your reading experience with extensive font and layout options. Effortlessly manage your library, track reading habits, and enjoy eye-care features. Sync your books across devices via cloud storage without proprietary lock-in.
- 200+ built-in fonts and custom font import
- Adjustable text and layout settings
- Smart dark mode with intelligent image inversion
- 20-20-20 eye health reminders
- Library management for 5,000+ books
- Cloud sync via iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive
- Highlighting, notes, and bookmarking
- Reading progress tracking and goal setting
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EPUB, PDF, comics, and audiobooks in one native iOS reader. Fast, deeply customizable, and built to disappear so you can simply read. FOUR FORMATS, ONE SHELF Read EPUB 3 and PDF. Read CBZ and CBR comics and manga, with two-page spreads, double-tap zoom, and a reading direction you set per book. Listen to audiobooks with chapters, a sleep timer, Car Mode, and CarPlay. Or follow along with EPUB 3 narration, where the text highlights in time with the voice. READ ALOUD Any book can be read to you, by any Apple voice on your device or by natural neural voices in 31 languages that you download once and then run offline. The sentence highlights as it is spoken and the pages turn on their own, with speed presets, sentence skips, a sleep timer, and Lock Screen controls. Prepare a book in advance and keep listening with the screen off. TYPOGRAPHY YOU CONTROL 200+ fonts, or import your own. Tune size, weight, line and paragraph spacing, alignment, hyphenation, and separate margins for portrait and landscape. Save settings per book so a novel, a textbook, and poetry each look right. Build your own color themes and let them switch at sunset. Choose which buttons the reader toolbar shows and where a tap opens it, and give links their own color and style. Smart dark mode keeps images natural, and in-reader brightness, Line Focus, and eye-care break reminders protect your eyes. NO LOCK-IN, EVER Your books stay ordinary files in an ordinary folder, never a proprietary database. Point justread at any folder: on device, iCloud Drive, or one your cloud app syncs through Files. Import from a Calibre server or any OPDS catalog. Email a book to your Kindle or PocketBook. IN SYNC WITH YOUR E-READER Your reading position follows you to any e-reader running KOReader, a Kobo included, in both directions. Connect a self-hosted Grimmory server to browse and download its books, send books to it, and keep status, ratings, highlights, notes, and bookmarks in step both ways. A LIBRARY THAT SCALES Thousands of books with no lag, and a book opens in about a second. Instant search by title, author, or series. Automatic metadata and series detection, 11 sort modes, saved filters, collections, and tags. Edit any book's details by hand, description included. Spotlight opens any book from your home screen. HIGHLIGHTS, NOTES, BOOKMARKS Highlight, underline, and attach a note. Browse every highlight across your whole library in one place, share a quote as a card, or export to Markdown, PDF, or Readwise. YOUR READING, IN NUMBERS Daily goals, a yearly books goal, streaks, and milestone badges. An hourly heatmap shows when you read best. Monthly and yearly recaps, plus a story-style Reading Wrap that turns your year into cards worth sharing. AND THE REST Home screen and lock screen widgets. Dictionary and translation. Full-text search and a nested table of contents. iCloud sync, so you resume on the exact line on any device. Right-to-left and Japanese vertical text. A page curl, if you want one. Free for 14 days, then a subscription or a lifetime purchase, both with Family Sharing. Available in 18 languages. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://justread.app/en/privacy_policy
Bookshelf
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Bookshelf is the ultimate companion app for your XTEINK X4 & X3 e-reader. Sync your reading progress wirelessly via WiFi and never lose track of where you left off. SEAMLESS WIFI SYNC Connect to your XTEINK X4 & X3 e-reader over WiFi and automatically sync your entire library, current book, and reading progress. Works with both the original XTEINK firmware (from XT 3.1.1 to 5.X) and Crosspoint/CrossInk Reader (from 0.16 to 1.3 and more). No cables needed, just tap and sync. STUNNING HOME AND LOCK SCREEN WIDGETS Track your reading progress without even opening the app. Add beautiful widgets to your home screen showing your current book, cover art, and how far you've read. Multiple sizes available for iPhone and iPad. SHARE YOUR READING JOURNEY Finished a great chapter? Share your progress with friends on social media using beautifully designed cards that showcase your current read. BOOKSHELF PREMIUM Take your reading experience to the next level: • Unlimited book synchronization - sync your entire library • Custom widget themes - personalize colors, fonts, and styles • Social sharing cards - create stunning progress updates for Instagram, Twitter, and more Whether you're a casual reader or a bookworm tracking dozens of titles, Bookshelf makes it easy to stay on top of your reading goals. Download Bookshelf today and transform how you track your reading! Subscriptions Bookshelf offers auto-renewable subscriptions to unlock premium features. Purchase options: Monthly, Yearly, and Lifetime. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase Subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings Lifetime Purchase: Bookshelf may offer a non-consumable Lifetime purchase. This is a one-time payment that unlocks the Premium features available in the purchased version and subsequent compatible updates for as long as the application remains available and supported. Lifetime purchases do not renew automatically and can be restored using the Apple ID used for the original purchase. Privacy Policy: https://bookshelfprogress.netlify.app/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: EPUB Reader at every 5 days against Bookshelf's monthly. On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. EPUB Reader sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Bookshelf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
EPUB Reader ships an update every 5 days, Bookshelf monthly. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.
| Parameter | EPUB Reader | Bookshelf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (36 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 88.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 36 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.1 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 124 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PETR JAHODA | Jorge Marco |
In-app purchases
EPUB Reader
- Monthly Premium14 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Monthly Premium$4.991 Month
- Yearly – Launch Price7 Days trial$12.491 Year
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- Yearly Premium14 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Yearly Premium$29.991 Year
- Lifetime – Launch Price$29.99
- Lifetime Premium$79.99
Bookshelf
- Bookshelf Monthly$4.991 Month
- Bookshelf Yearly$34.991 Year





