Leaf vs Shelf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Leaf
This app helps you build a consistent reading habit by tracking your progress, setting daily goals, and offering reading challenges. It provides visual progress indicators and smart book management features, including barcode scanning and Goodreads import. Advanced features like AI assistant integration are available with a Pro subscription.
- Daily reading streak tracking
- Flexible and fixed date goal setting
- Reading challenges with progress calculation
- Visual progress indicators
- Barcode scanning for book lookup
- Goodreads library import
- AI assistant integration (Pro)
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Stop starting books you never finish. Leaf turns reading into a daily habit. Without the guilt. Track progress page by page, set a daily goal, and build the streak that keeps you reading. Or set a reading challenge: pick a few books, pick a finish date, and Leaf tells you how many pages to read each day. The first reading tracker connected to your AI assistant (Pro). READING STREAKS Build a consistent reading habit: - Daily streak counter with a weekly reading calendar - 3-hour grace period for late-night reading sessions - Missed a day? One tap to backdate yesterday's reading. No guilt, no penalty - Nine milestone levels from Sprout to Ancient, earned permanently even if your streak resets DUAL GOAL-SETTING MODES Choose the approach that fits your style: - Flexible Mode - set pages per day, Leaf calculates your finish date "I want to read 20 pages daily" - Fixed Date Mode - set a target date, Leaf calculates daily pages "I want to finish by March 15" READING CHALLENGES "5 books in 3 months." Leaf does the math. - Pick your books, pick a finish date - Leaf tells you how many pages to read today - Read extra today, and tomorrow's number goes down - Fall behind, and the number just updates. No penalty - Every week, an email and a notification with how you're doing - Finish, and get a recap you can share Reading challenges come with the Challenge Pass (3 months) or Leaf Pro. It's private. Just you and your books, no leaderboard. VISUAL PROGRESS TRACKING See exactly where you are and how far to go: - Circular progress indicator for each book - Quick-adjust buttons (−5, −1, +1, +5, +10) to log pages in seconds - Updates in one tap, not minutes ASK YOUR AI ASSISTANT (PRO) Your reading data is available via an MCP server: - "What am I reading?" Get your current book and progress - "Log 30 pages of my current book" updates without opening the app - "Add Atomic Habits, 320 pages" adds new books by voice or chat - Works with any MCP-compatible AI assistant Requires Leaf Pro. Set up at readwithleaf.app/integrations. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Your reading at a glance, without opening the app: - Progress ring widget with today's streak and page goal - Book widget showing your current read and progress - Lock screen widget for quick check-ins SMART BOOK MANAGEMENT Add books in seconds: - Scan a barcode for instant lookup - no typing required - Search by title or ISBN - title, author, page count, and cover auto-filled - Import your Goodreads library in one step - bring your reading history with you - Manual entry for any book not in the database - Finish a book in a series? Leaf finds the next volume for you - Share a completion card when you finish a book - Bookshelf organized by currently reading, TBR, finished, and dropped READING JOURNAL Your complete reading history: - Current streak and all-time longest streak - Total pages read and books completed - Full stats for every book you finish: days taken, pages per day, best reading day - Book notes and quotes, saved by page - Export your book list to CSV anytime WHY READERS LOVE LEAF Free to use - tracking, streaks, goals, stats and import, no strings attached Works fully offline - no account required Dark-first design - comfortable for evening reading Available in 16 languages Works on iPhone and iPad LEAF PRO An optional upgrade for readers who want more: - Reading challenges (also sold on their own as a 3-month Challenge Pass) - Cloud sync across all your devices - Automatic backup - never lose your reading data - Ad-free experience - AI assistant integration (MCP server) - Cancel anytime PERFECT FOR - Readers who start more books than they finish - Anyone building a reading habit, one page at a time - Anyone building a reading journal and TBR list - Busy people fitting reading into a packed schedule - Goodreads users looking for a focused, offline-first alternative One page at a time.
Shelf
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For the collectors. Take your shelf with you everywhere. Know what you own. Remember what you've read. Decide what's next. Shelf is a cataloguing app for your physical book collection. Your books, beautifully organised, always with you. Scan your books. Shelf identifies them instantly, building a visual library that looks just like the real thing - every cover, every spine just like your shelf at home. See what your friends are reading. Follow other collectors, explore their shelves, and share your own. What you can do: * Scan spines and covers to build your collection * Visual shelf that looks just like the real thing * Track reading status across your library * Add personal notes and ratings * Follow friends and explore their shelves * Feature your favourite books on your profile
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shelf at none against Leaf's 7. Shelf also leads on ads (none vs shown). Leaf's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Leaf sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Shelf asks for nothing beyond the download.
Leaf ships an update weekly, Shelf every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Leaf | Shelf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (10 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 10 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 86 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vincent Ballut | SAMUEL JOSEPH BEARDSLEY |
In-app purchases
Leaf
- Leaf Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
- Leaf Pro Annual7 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Leaf Pro Annual1 Year trial$24.991 Year
- Small$1.99
- Medium$4.99
- 3-Month Challenge Pass$9.99
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- Large$9.99
Shelf
No in-app purchases









