# Shelfd vs Booklume

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Booklume at 100% against Shelfd's 50%. Booklume also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Shelfd sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Booklume asks for nothing beyond the download.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly daily. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shelfd | Booklume |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelfd-reading-tracker/id6792915143/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **4** | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Daily | Daily |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Size | 16 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.2 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Zachary Selburg](https://appshunter.io/developer/6792915145) | [Balaji Sivasakthi](https://appshunter.io/developer/6813617178) |

## What reviewers say

### Shelfd

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelfd-reading-tracker/id6792915143)

Organize your reading life with a charming book tracker. Log what you're reading, discover your next book with a spin of a wheel, and visualize your reading habits with personalized stats and achievements. Enjoy a cozy, ad-free experience with optional premium features for advanced tracking.

**Highlights:** Track current, finished, and to-be-read books, Spin a wheel to pick your next read, Organize books by genre with custom colors, Set reading goals and view yearly stats, Earn achievements narrated by an Archivist, Import libraries from other apps (CSV), Backup and restore your library

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Premium Annual | $24.99 | per year |
| Shelfd Founders Group | $59.99 | one-time |


### Booklume

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/booklume-read-scan-remember/id6813617176)

Organize your reading library, track progress, and capture notes from physical books using on-device text recognition. Monitor reading streaks, trends, and yearly goals in a private, ad-free environment.

**Highlights:** Track physical, ebook, and audiobook progress, Time reading sessions or log past ones, Capture typed notes and scanned highlights, Review reading activity and set yearly goals, Organize library with Open Library search, On-device text recognition

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shelfd free?

Shelfd is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Booklume free?

Booklume is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Shelfd or Booklume have ads?

Neither Shelfd nor Booklume shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Shelfd or Booklume?

Shelfd ships an update daily, and Booklume daily. Most recently, Shelfd was updated on October 9, 2026 and Booklume on October 8, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*