Comparison

Shelvd vs Cratelog

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

Head to head
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

About

Cratelog

Manage multiple book box subscriptions and never miss a skip deadline. Track all your subscriptions, upcoming reveals, and your book collection in one place. Avoid duplicate purchases and understand your spending.

Highlights
  • Never miss a skip deadline
  • All subscriptions in one place
  • Spoiler-safe reveals
  • Track your book collection
  • Monitor spending and savings
  • Manage preorders and sales
Features
Read full description

You're subscribed to five book boxes. Each one skips differently: one wants a form by the 5th, another an email by the 12th, a third won't let you skip at all this quarter. Miss one deadline and you've paid for a special edition you already own. Cratelog keeps it all straight: every subscription, every skip deadline, and every book you own in one place, built for special edition collectors. Keep StoryGraph or Goodreads for your reading; Cratelog tracks what they don't. NEVER MISS A SKIP DEADLINE Every box has its own skip window, limit, and way to skip. Cratelog knows them all. Get reminders 7, 3, or 1 day before each deadline, see how many skips you have left under each box's policy, and get a warning before a skip that could cancel your subscription or cost you early access. When it's time to act, Cratelog takes you to the right portal, email, or form, then records what you did so your counters stay accurate. DECIDE THE MONTH BEFORE IT CHARGES Every box with an open decision window sits on one screen: skip it, keep it, or sell it on. Filter to what you still have to decide, close a month in one tap, and when a box never ships a cycle, record that without spending a skip on it. PHOTOGRAPH YOUR OWN COPY Take seven shots of a book, jacket on and off; the app frames each face and finds the book by its edges. Turn the finished copy in 3D and look at the sprayed edges from any angle. Then stand your books on a shelf, spine out or edges out, in the order you arrange them yourself. If you have never photographed an edition, you see another reader's reviewed shots of it, credited. EVERY SUBSCRIPTION IN ONE PLACE One dashboard for all your boxes: renewal dates, next charge, skip counters, and a calendar of every billing day and deadline. Track waitlists for invite-only boxes and see how long others waited. Works with FairyLoot, Illumicrate, OwlCrate, Goldsboro, The Broken Binding, The Bookish Box, LitJoy, and dozens more through a community-maintained catalog. SEE WHAT'S COMING, SPOILER SAFE Theme and book reveals for your upcoming boxes, leaks and confirmed announcements clearly labeled, down to the sprayed edges, endpapers, and the artists behind them. Spoilers stay hidden until you choose to peek. YOUR COLLECTION, ON ONE SHELF Import your whole library from Goodreads or StoryGraph in one go, then scan a barcode for anything new. Signed, numbered, and sprayed edges badges, custom shelves, and series that show how many books you own and how many you have read. Cratelog warns you when a box book is already on your shelf, so you never buy the same edition twice. KNOW WHAT YOU SPEND (AND SAVE) Monthly and yearly spending across subscriptions and preorders, in your currency, plus a running total of the money skipping has saved you. PREORDERS, DROPS, AND SALES Track special edition preorders from any store, keep a wishlist of the ones you have not ordered yet, and follow a calendar of drops and warehouse sales in your local time, with an alert before a watched sale starts. CRATELOG PLUS, IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT IT Everything above is free and stays free. Plus is an optional membership, monthly or annual, that helps cover what the app costs to run. It adds a Subscription Review of each box on the one to three measures you pick, from cost and skips to resale and edition design, and Compare, your boxes side by side on cost per month, cost per book, skips, ratings, and reading. Terms of Use: https://getcratelog.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://getcratelog.com/privacy THE HONEST PART Cratelog never skips, cancels, or buys anything for you; you act directly with the box company. Your collection is private, and deleting your account never touches your real subscriptions. Cratelog is an independent app made by one person, not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any book box company. Brand names only describe which services you can track. Free to download and free to use. Never pay for a box you didn't want again.

Screenshots

Shelvd4 screens
Cratelog4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Cratelog at 5.0 against Shelvd's 3.9. Cratelog also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Shelvd sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $6.00 per month and Cratelog sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cratelog holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Shelvd's written reviews are positive against 100% of Cratelog's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shelvd ships an update fortnightly, Cratelog every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Shelvd versus Cratelog: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShelvdCratelog
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (11 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11 — better5
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB82 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperPlatform ThirteenMicha Przybya

Customer experience

Shelvd

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

Cratelog

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

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
2 purchases

Cratelog

Subscriptions2
  • Cratelog Plus Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Cratelog Plus Yearly$24.991 Year

Questions

Is Shelvd free?
Shelvd is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cratelog free?
Cratelog is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shelvd or Cratelog?
Cratelog is rated higher. Shelvd averages 3.9 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Cratelog averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Shelvd or Cratelog have ads?
Neither Shelvd nor Cratelog shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shelvd or Cratelog?
Shelvd ships an update fortnightly, and Cratelog every 5 days. Most recently, Shelvd was updated on October 22, 2026 and Cratelog on October 25, 2026.

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