Comparison

Cassette Manager vs Shelf

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

Head to head
About

Cassette Manager

Features
Read full description

Your entire game library, beautifully organized. Cassette is the game library manager for serious players. Whether you're working through a growing backlog, chasing 100% completion, or just trying to remember which shelf your borrowed copy ended up on — Cassette keeps everything in order. Track every game, your way Add any game from a database of millions of titles. Each entry comes complete with cover art, release date, genre, developer, and publisher — all fetched automatically so you spend time playing, not filing. Five statuses. One clear picture. Every game in your collection moves through a natural progression: Wishlist, Owned, Playing, Completed, Perfected. Cassette records exactly when you reached each milestone, giving you a timeline of your gaming history. Conquer your backlog with in-game tasks Create to-do items for each game — quests to finish, collectibles to find, trophies to earn. A dedicated Tasks view shows everything outstanding across your whole library, grouped by game or by date. Check things off as you go. Never lose track of a lent game Record when you lend a physical copy to a friend, set a due date, and let Cassette remind you automatically via a calendar event or notification. One tap marks it returned. Scan to add (Premium) Point your camera at any game's barcode and Cassette identifies it and searches your library for you instantly — no typing required. Your library, everywhere Your collection syncs seamlessly across all your devices. Start browsing on your phone, continue on your tablet, check in on your big screen. Everything stays in step. Always at your fingertips Home-screen widgets show your most recently active games and outstanding tasks at a glance. Quick-launch shortcuts let you jump straight to adding a game or picking up where you left off — no navigation needed. Import & Export Back up your entire collection as a CSV file or bring in an existing list from another tool. Cassette handles duplicates intelligently and automatically enriches imported entries with cover art and full metadata. Your data stays yours No accounts, no tracking, no third-party servers. Your library lives on your device and your personal cloud storage. Nothing leaves without your say-so. --- Premium unlocks: - Unlimited library (free tier: up to 16 games) - Barcode scanner - Ad-free experience Available as an annual subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase (terms & conditions apply, see https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/).

About

Shelf

Features
Read full description

Shelf is an easy way to discover, track, organize, and understand the video games you play. Keep all your games in one place, whether you play on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, PC, console, handheld, or other major platforms. Track games you want to play, games you are playing, and games you have finished. Shelf combines game discovery, game tracking, achievements, trophies, playtime, stats, collections, and a huge video game catalogue into one app. DISCOVER YOUR NEXT GAME Explore a personalized feed based on your taste, gaming history, favorite genres, platforms, ratings, and games you already enjoy. Browse games in a simple swipeable feed and quickly find something worth playing. For every game, Shelf brings useful information together, including: • Description and screenshots • Release date and platforms • Genres and categories • Developers and publishers • Ratings and reviews • Achievements and trophies • DLCs and expansions • Similar games • Multiplayer information The more games you add and play, the better Shelf understands what you like. CONNECT YOUR GAMING PLATFORMS Connect Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox to import your games into Shelf. Shelf can keep supported gaming activity updated automatically, including: • Games played • Playtime • Achievements • Trophies • XP • Completion progress • Recently played games Your library stays updated automatically as you continue playing. TRACK AND ORGANIZE EVERY GAME Build one place for your entire gaming backlog. Mark games as Playing Next, Playing, Completed, Backlog, Dropped, or organize them however you want using custom shelves. Build realistic game shelves that make your digital collection feel physical again. SEE YOUR GAMING STATS Shelf turns your gaming activity into useful stats and history. Track: • Total playtime • Playtime by day, month, and year • Games played and completed • Achievements and trophies unlocked • Completion progress • Most played games • Favorite genres and platforms • Gaming activity over time View your history using timelines, charts, heatmaps, and progress views. See when you played the most, which games took the most time, and how your gaming habits changed over the years. TRACK ACHIEVEMENTS AND TROPHIES Keep achievements and trophies from supported platforms together with your games. See unlocked achievements, trophies, completion percentage, XP, and other available platform stats for each game. POWERFUL SEARCH AND FILTERS Use 20+ filters to find games you actually care about. Filter by platform, genre, release date, developer, publisher, franchise, rating, game modes, multiplayer, DLCs, achievements, tags, themes, and more. Combine filters to narrow down hundreds of thousands of games to exactly what you want. A HUGE VIDEO GAME CATALOGUE Explore more than 400,000 games across different platforms and generations. Shelf covers AAA releases, indie games, older classics, DLCs, expansions, and upcoming games. The catalogue keeps growing as new games are released and existing information is updated. YOUR COMPLETE GAMING HISTORY Bring your Steam games, PlayStation trophies, Xbox achievements, backlog, and gaming activity together. See what you played, remember what you finished, find what to play next, track your progress, and look back at years of gaming activity from one place. PRIVACY AND CONTROL You choose which gaming platforms you connect and what information you add to Shelf. We never store any credentials in our server on any third part server either. MADE FOR EVERY TYPE OF PLAYER Use Shelf as your: • Video game tracker • Gaming backlog tracker • Game collection manager • Steam game tracker • PlayStation game tracker • Xbox game tracker • Achievement tracker • Trophy tracker • Game recommendation app • Game discovery app • Game wishlist • Game organizer Spend less time deciding what to play and more time playing it. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Cassette Manager4 screens
Shelf4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Shelf at none against Cassette Manager's shown. Shelf also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). Cassette Manager's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Cassette Manager sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per year and Shelf sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cassette Manager ships an update every 2 days, Shelf every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
Cassette Manager versus Shelf: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCassette ManagerShelf
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB74 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperPaul MarretShreyasi Mandal

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Cassette Manager

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Yearly$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$44.99
4 purchases

Shelf

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Sub$1.997 Days
  • Monthly Sub$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Sub$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Purchase$79.99

Questions

Is Cassette Manager free?
Cassette Manager is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shelf free?
Shelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cassette Manager or Shelf have ads?
Cassette Manager shows ads; Shelf does not.
Which is updated more often, Cassette Manager or Shelf?
Cassette Manager ships an update every 2 days, and Shelf every 2 weeks. Most recently, Cassette Manager was updated on October 31, 2026 and Shelf on October 31, 2026.

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