TBR Book Jar vs Better Bookshelf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TBR Book Jar
This app helps you decide what to read next with over 190 prompts and a customizable digital bookshelf. Track your reading progress, view stats, and personalize your virtual library.
- 190+ reading prompts
- Customizable digital bookshelf
- Page progress tracking
- Reading timer and speed tracking
- Reading stats and goals
- Goodreads import
- Dark mode support
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Can't decide what to read next? Reach into the jar. TBR Book Jar is the reading app BookTok has been waiting for — a digital TBR jar, a gorgeous customizable bookshelf, an AI book buddy, audiobook magic… and now the biggest thing we've ever shipped: a built-in community of readers. Book clubs, forums, a used-book marketplace, and your shelf synced to the web. Built by a reader who was tired of staring at the TBR pile — now with company. NEW — TBRTALK, YOUR READING COMMUNITY · Book clubs with their own themed rooms — join one or start your own · Forums for every bookish conversation, plus direct messages · A used-book marketplace: list your finished copies, browse everyone else's — buyers and sellers arrange everything directly · Wishlist a book and get alerted when someone lists a used copy · Every book gets its own page: reviews, ratings, clubs reading it, copies for sale · Your library and wishlist sync with tbrtalk.com — your shelf, on the web NEW — YOUR HOME DASHBOARD Pick up right where you left off: a continue-reading carousel, streaks and goals at a glance, quick doors to everything. AUDIOBOOK MODE Your paperbacks just learned to talk. Snap photos of any pages — they're transcribed and read aloud with karaoke-style highlighting that follows along. Studio Voices sound remarkably human and run entirely on your iPhone: downloaded once, private, offline. Have a DRM-free EPUB? Drop it in and listen to the whole book. THE JAR 190+ creative prompts across 17 categories. Tap to pick and let fate decide — or hit Mystery Book to pull randomly from your own shelf. DISCOVER An endless deck of book suggestions dealt from the genres you actually love. Swipe right to wishlist, left to pass — it quietly learns your taste. YOUR BOOKSHELVES Not a list — real bookshelves. Books stand as spines or face-out covers on wooden shelves, sized to their true cover shape. Stack them into piles, drag to rearrange, decorate with wallpapers, stickers and animated GIFs. Unlimited shelves, smart shelves that fill themselves, and a Wishlist shelf for the books you want next. BOOK BUDDY — YOUR AI READING COMPANION Give it a name, then ask for recommendations, chat about books, describe a vibe or "books like ___" — grounded in real, current titles and tuned to what's on your shelf. READING TIMER & FOCUS SCENES The timer is free for every reader. Go Pro and read beside a crackling campfire, rain on the window, ocean waves — seven looping nature scenes plus ambient sound. ADD BOOKS IN SECONDS Search millions of titles with auto-filled covers and summaries · scan a barcode or snap the cover · import your whole Goodreads library via CSV. TRACK & CELEBRATE Page progress, reading speed, ratings and reviews, streaks, a yearly goal ring, genre charts and an activity heatmap. FREE The whole community · 10 books on your shelf · unlimited wishlist · 30 prompts · reading tracker & timer · a daily taste of Book Buddy and page scanning PRO — Monthly, Yearly or Lifetime (start with a 14-day free trial) · Unlimited books & shelves · full Audiobook Mode · All 190+ prompts + custom prompts · Unlimited Book Buddy, Discover deck & smart wishlist · Stats, focus scenes & sounds, goals & reminders · Goodreads import · every wallpaper, theme & decoration Your TBR pile just got fun — and it brought friends. Reach in and start picking. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled 24 hours before the period ends. Manage in App Store settings. Privacy: https://damobo.com/tbrbookjar/privacy Terms: https://apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Support: support@damobo.com
Better Bookshelf
Consolidate all your books from physical shelves, Kindle, and Audible into a single, private digital library. Easily add books by scanning barcodes, taking photos, or importing existing libraries. Revisit your favorite highlighted passages and track your reading progress.
- Scan barcodes or covers to add books
- Import Kindle and Audible libraries
- Consolidate books across multiple formats
- Save and revisit highlighted passages
- Track reading status and personal ratings
- Mark books as lent
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Scan an entire bookshelf. Find the book you want. Remember the book, but not where you put it? Take one clear photo of your bookshelf. Better Bookshelf uses AI to identify the books and save their positions. Add matched titles to your library, then search for a book and see it highlighted on your shelf photo. YOUR WHOLE SHELF, ONE PHOTO Build your book inventory without scanning every barcode. Photograph a bookshelf, add identified books together, and help with any uncertain matches. Search by title, scan a barcode, or link a book already in your library. KNOW WHERE YOUR BOOKS ARE Search your saved shelves by title or author. Tap a result to see the book's location, with a close-up and nearby identified books to guide you. You can also choose Find on shelf from a book in your library. KEEP UP WITH YOUR COLLECTION Give each shelf a name. When books move, take a new photo to update that shelf. Better Bookshelf checks your existing library for matches, helping you connect books you already own to their locations. YOUR READING LIFE, TOGETHER • Catalog physical books, ebooks and audiobooks. • Add individual books by barcode or title. • Import supported Kindle, Audible and Goodreads CSV files. • Track unread, reading and read books. • Keep a reading list and record ratings and reviews. • Back up your library to Google Drive. START WITH 50 BOOKS FREE Use barcode scanning or title search to catalog your first 50 books. Whole-shelf AI scanning is included with the paid Unlimited upgrade. UNLIMITED BOOKS. SIX WHOLE-SHELF AI SCANS. The one-time Unlimited purchase removes your library-size limit and includes six AI shelf scans. Already purchased Unlimited? Restore your purchase to link your included scans. The six included scans are granted once, not every month. Need more? Buy additional packs of six scans. Your local price is shown before purchase. One successfully processed shelf photo uses one scan credit, including a new photo used to update a shelf. Fixing matches, adding identified books and searching saved shelves use no scan credits. ABOUT SHELF SCANNING AI scanning requires internet access. Your selected photo is sent to OpenAI through Better Bookshelf for identification. Clear, well-lit photos with readable spines work best. Some books may need correction or manual identification. Shelf locations reflect your saved photo; update it when books move. Your saved library and shelf photos stay on your device, with optional Google Drive backup. Google Drive sign-in is not required to scan a shelf.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: TBR Book Jar at 5.0 against Better Bookshelf's 3.8. Better Bookshelf's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. TBR Book Jar sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Better Bookshelf sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
TBR Book Jar holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 6 respectively.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TBR Book Jar | Better Bookshelf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better | 3.8 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 33.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 118 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christopher Mayberry | Matthew Smith |
Customer experience
TBR Book Jar
Better Bookshelf
In-app purchases
TBR Book Jar
- Pro Monthly (One-Time Offer)$3.991 Month
- TBR Book Jar Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- TBR Book Jar Pro Annual14 Days trial$29.991 Year
- TBR Book Jar Pro Lifetime$69.99
Better Bookshelf
- Premium — Unlimited Library$9.99
- 6 Whole Shelf AI Scans$10.00
- Premium — Unlimited Library$29.99








