Comparison

Upcyclist vs Shelf

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

Head to head
About

Upcyclist

This app helps resellers track inventory and sales, calculating profit, ROI, and other key metrics. It features smart lot tracking, buyer management, and data export for accounting purposes. Start for free with limited items or upgrade to Pro for unlimited use.

Highlights
  • Inventory and sales tracking
  • Profit and ROI calculation
  • Smart lot grouping
  • Buyer management and analytics
  • Data export (CSV, QuickBooks)
  • Item photo uploads
Features
Read full description

Upcyclist — Reseller Inventory & Sales Tracker Running a resale business is exciting. Keeping track of it shouldn't slow you down. Upcyclist is the inventory and sales ledger built specifically for resellers — whether you flip thrift store finds, source liquidation pallets, sell on eBay, Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace, or anywhere else. Know your numbers at a glance Every item you buy gets logged with its purchase price, unit count, source, and photos. Upcyclist automatically calculates your cost per unit, tracks how many units you've sold versus how many are still available, and shows your profit, ROI, annualized return, and net present value — all on a single dashboard. Year-over-year comparisons let you see exactly how your business is trending. Smart lot tracking Bought the same type of item across multiple hauls? Upcyclist groups them automatically. Each purchase becomes its own lot under a shared item name, and the app uses FIFO (first in, first out) cost allocation to ensure your profit calculations stay accurate as you work through your inventory. No spreadsheet formulas required. Sales and listings in one place Log every sale with the buyer, platform, sale price, listing URL, and date. Mark items as listed while they're active on a marketplace, then close them out when they sell. Profit, margin, and days-to-sell for each transaction are calculated automatically — no manual math. Item photos Add front and back photos to any inventory item directly from your camera or photo library. Photos follow the item everywhere in the app — inventory list, sale records, and inline when editing a sale — so you always know exactly what you're looking at. Buyer management Build a record of your repeat buyers over time. The Buyers section includes a personal analytics dashboard, a reorder planner, and a full contact list linked directly to your sale history. Import contacts straight from your phone and know who your best customers are at a glance. Built for export When tax season arrives or you want to analyze your business in detail, export your data as a CSV or in QuickBooks-compatible format (QB Online journal entries or QB Desktop IIF). Everything you've logged in Upcyclist can move seamlessly into the tools your accountant already uses. Works the way you work Upcyclist runs on iPhone and iPad — so your inventory is accessible whether you're at a garage sale, a liquidation warehouse, or your home office. The app supports 5 languages: English, Spanish, French (Canadian), German, and Italian. An in-app help center answers common questions without ever leaving the app. Free to start, Pro when you're ready The free plan gives you room to get started with up to 10 inventory items, 10 sales records, and 10 buyers. When your business grows, a single one-time Pro purchase removes all limits, unlocks backup and export, and never charges you again. No subscriptions, no ads, no recurring fees. Who is Upcyclist for? eBay, Poshmark, Mercari, and Facebook Marketplace sellers Liquidation and pallet resellers Thrift flippers and vintage sellers Anyone buying wholesale and selling retail Side hustlers tracking their first resale profit Stop managing your resale business in notes apps and spreadsheets. Upcyclist gives you a clean, purpose-built ledger that grows with your operation — from your first flip to a full-time business.

About

Shelf

Manage your inventory quickly and efficiently without complex spreadsheets. Track stock levels, scan barcodes, and visualize your stockroom layout. Get low-stock alerts and generate reorder lists to keep your business running smoothly.

Highlights
  • Fast inventory updates via swipe or barcode scan
  • Stockroom floor plan visualization
  • Inventory value and sales reporting
  • Low-stock alerts and reorder lists
  • Offline functionality
  • Staff Mode for controlled access
  • CSV export of item list
Features
Read full description

Shelf is inventory tracking that takes seconds, not spreadsheets. Built for small shops, market traders, and online sellers who need to know what's on hand right now, not after an evening of data entry. FAST BY DESIGN • Swipe a row to sell or receive one • Scan a barcode to jump straight to adjusting stock • Every change is logged, so your history stays honest • Undo the last change when you fat-finger it KNOW WHERE IT IS, NOT JUST HOW MANY Draw your stockroom's floor plan, or scan the room with your iPhone, and put your racking, pallets, shelving and cages where they actually stand. Search for a product and the shelf holding it lights up on the map. Shelf will even work out how many pallets fit in the space you have, allowing for aisles and stacking height. KNOW YOUR NUMBERS • Inventory value at cost and retail • Units sold, received, and lost to damage • Top movers over 7, 30, or 90 days • Low-stock alerts before you run out • A reorder list grouped by supplier, priced and ready to send MORE THAN ONE ROOM Keep a shop floor and a lock-up counted apart, and move stock between them in two taps. Hand the phone to staff in Staff Mode and they can count and adjust without seeing what the business paid or made. YOUR DATA, YOUR DEVICE Shelf works offline, because stockrooms have bad wifi. Everything is stored on your iPhone and synced privately through your own iCloud account. No servers of ours, no account to create, no email required. EXPORT ANY TIME Your item list exports to CSV free, always. Shelf Pro adds full stock-movement history and a PDF summary. SHELF PRO Free covers 50 items. Pro removes the cap and unlocks reports, movement export, and unlimited low-stock alerts. • $4.99/month • $39.99/year, a saving of 33%, which is four months free Start with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan. It renews automatically until you cancel, and you can cancel any time in your Apple account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://croftware.io/shelf-privacy

Screenshots

Upcyclist4 screens
Shelf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Upcyclist at weekly against Shelf's every 3 weeks. Upcyclist also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, rating, 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. Upcyclist sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Shelf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Upcyclist against 5.0 for Shelf. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Upcyclist ships an update weekly, Shelf every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Upcyclist versus Shelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUpcyclistShelf
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJonathan SireciCroftware LLC

Customer experience

Upcyclist

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Shelf

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Upcyclist

One-time2
  • Upcyclist Pro - Discount$7.99
  • Upcyclist Pro$9.99
2 purchases

Shelf

Subscriptions2
  • Shelf Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Shelf Pro Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Upcyclist free?
Upcyclist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shelf free?
Shelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Upcyclist or Shelf?
Upcyclist and Shelf are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Upcyclist or Shelf have ads?
Neither Upcyclist nor Shelf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Upcyclist or Shelf?
Upcyclist ships an update weekly, and Shelf every 3 weeks. Most recently, Upcyclist was updated on October 31, 2026 and Shelf on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons