Comparison

Wisp vs Own Shelf

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

Head to head
About

Wisp

Features
Read full description

Wisp is a calm auto-scroll reader: the text rises at exactly the pace you set while your eyes stay near the centre of the screen. No page turns, no tapping, no losing your place. Bring your own books and PDFs โ€” or send Wisp any web article and let that flow too. This is not word-flashing (RSVP). It is a continuous, natural flow โ€” so you keep comprehension and the rhythm of real sentences. WHY WISP โ€ข Auto-scroll that respects your reading โ€” one smooth, continuous stream. โ€ข Set your speed in words per minute; change it live with a slide. โ€ข Tap to pause or resume. Drag to jump anywhere, then flow on. โ€ข Focused mode spotlights the active line โ€” tune the focus strength to your eyes (Pro). โ€ข Your speed and your place are remembered for every book. โ€ข Four paper tones (white, warm, dim and true black) and a choice of typeface, previewed live as you set them. โ€ข Pause and look away: when you resume, the text eases back to your pace instead of jumping to full speed. โ€ข Set an optional session goal, and see time left at your own pace instead of percentages. READ ANYTHING โ€” ARTICLES FROM THE WEB โ€ข Share a page from Safari, or paste a link, and Wisp strips it down to clean reading text. โ€ข Filter your library to just articles, each with the time it takes at your pace, so you know what a five-minute gap can hold. โ€ข Once saved, an article reads offline โ€” no connection, no tracking, no clutter. YOUR LIBRARY โ€ข Import your own TXT, EPUB and PDF files. โ€ข Bookmark any spot, add a note about the thought that pulled you away, and return to it exactly. โ€ข Local-first: everything stays on your device. No account, no sign-up. LISTEN (Pro) โ€ข Have any book or article read aloud, right on your device and fully offline. โ€ข The page follows the voice and the spoken sentence is highlighted, so you never lose your place. โ€ข Set the narration pace from 0.5ร— to 2ร—. Natural on-device voices for English and Turkish; system voices cover many more languages. FREE & PRO โ€ข Your first 5 books are free, plus 5 web articles every month. โ€ข Go Pro for unlimited books and articles, Listen, focus-strength tuning, and more โ€” as a yearly or monthly subscription. Made for ADHD and focus reading, dyslexia, studying, and anyone who reads better when the words come to them. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://wisp.ozersubasi.com/privacy Wisp Pro is offered as an auto-renewable Yearly or Monthly subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the period; manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings

About

Own Shelf

Read full description

Welcome to your Own Shelf. Import any EPUB you own and press play. The text rolls like a teleprompter or the credits at the end of a film, so you can sit back and read hands free. SET YOUR OWN PACE Set the roll anywhere from 60 to 450 words per minute. Tap to pause, tap to resume. A floating HUD shows your progress, time remaining, and words per minute, then tucks away so you can focus. YOUR LIBRARY, ORGANISED Import EPUBs you own, including public-domain books from libraries such as Project Gutenberg, and they appear in a clean grid with real cover art extracted from each file. Press and hold to remove a title. Pull down to refresh. Every book remembers exactly where you left off. CHAPTER NAVIGATION Open the chapter sheet to see the full table of contents, grouped into Front Matter and Story. Tap any chapter to jump straight there. A "Skip to start of book" button appears automatically when you're in a preface or copyright page. BOOKMARKS Tap the bookmark icon to save your spot. View all bookmarks with percentage and age, jump back instantly, or delete ones you no longer need. Bookmarks are stored by character offset so they survive changes to font size. READING STREAKS Build a daily reading habit. Own Shelf tracks your streak with milestone badges at 3, 7, 14, 30, 100, and 365 days. A weekly chart shows your reading activity at a glance, and a warning style nudges you when your streak is about to break. MAKE IT YOURS Choose from Light, Sepia, or Dark themes. Pick Sans, Serif, or Mono fonts. Step text size from 14 to 56 px. All preferences persist across your entire library. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything stays on your device. EPUBs are opened and parsed entirely on your iPhone. Own Shelf has no server and makes no network requests, so your files and reading never leave your device. Your library, bookmarks, reading position, and preferences are all stored locally. No accounts, no cloud sync, no tracking. Your reading is your own.

Screenshots

Wisp4 screens
Own Shelf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Own Shelf at none against Wisp's 3. Own Shelf also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Wisp sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Own Shelf asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Wisp ships an update weekly, Own Shelf every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Wisp versus Own Shelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWispOwn Shelf
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 2 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better15.1
Further details โ€” not scored
Size89 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOZER SUBASIDANIELLA TOPPLE

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Wisp

Subscriptions2
  • Wisp Pro โ€” Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Wisp Pro โ€” Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Wisp Pro โ€” Lifetime$49.99
None

Own Shelf

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Wisp free?
Wisp is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Own Shelf free?
Own Shelf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Wisp or Own Shelf have ads?
Neither Wisp nor Own Shelf shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Wisp or Own Shelf?
Wisp ships an update weekly, and Own Shelf every 2 days. Most recently, Wisp was updated on September 27, 2026 and Own Shelf on September 28, 2026.

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