Stacks Reading List vs Shelved
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Stacks Reading List
Easily track books you want to read and those you've enjoyed. Scan barcodes to add titles and find links to purchase them from major online retailers.
- Track books to read
- Track enjoyed books
- Barcode scanning
- Add books to list
- Link to purchase books
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A simple reading list for the avid reader. Stacks is a delightfully easy way to keep track of the books you want to read and the books you have enjoyed. • Browsing at the bookstore? Scan a book's barcode to quickly add it to your list. • When you're ready to start reading, link to buy the book on iBooks, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.
Shelved
Organize your entire reading life with this simple book cataloguing app. Track what you're reading, build wishlists, log completed books with ratings, and tag titles for easy retrieval. Features barcode scanning and a clean interface.
- Track reading progress
- Build reading wishlists
- Log completed books with ratings
- Organize books by tags
- Barcode ISBN scanning
- Sort books by various criteria
- Clean and intuitive interface
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Shelved - Your Personal Reading Catalogue Shelved is a modest and simple book cataloguing app. - Track currently reading books - Build and prioritize your reading wishlist - Log completed books with ratings and completion dates - Organize books you want to revisit later - Record books you've decided to set aside Features: - Sort by title, author, rating, priority, or recent updates - Track reading format (paper, ebook, audiobook) - Set priorities for your reading queue - Rate and date your completed books - Beautiful, clean interface - Barcode ISBN scanning - Tag books and search by tag Perfect for book lovers, students, and anyone wanting to organize their reading life. Privacy policy: https://ntl.ai/shelved-privacy-policy/ Terms of service: https://ntl.ai/shelved-terms-of-service/
Screenshots
Verdict
Stacks Reading List and Shelved both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Shelved's written reviews are positive against 66% of Stacks Reading List's. Shelved also leads on update cadence (every 11 days vs every 6 weeks). Stacks Reading List's advantage is ratings volume (230 vs 6) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.6). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Stacks Reading List against 4.7 for Shelved. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stacks Reading List has 230 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 66% of Stacks Reading List's written reviews are positive against 100% of Shelved's.
Stacks Reading List ships an update every 6 weeks, Shelved every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Stacks Reading List | Shelved |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (230 ratings) | 4.7 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 230 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Stephen Morris | No Translation Layer LLC |
Customer experience
Stacks Reading List
Shelved
Bugs and requests
Stacks Reading List
Reported bugs
12 issues- App crashes when adding books
- Scanning ISBN not working
- App quits unexpectedly
- Search function not working
- Unable to add new books
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- Goodreads connection blank/not authenticating
- Scanner not working
- Missing book covers
- No way to delete books
- No way to sync data to new phone
- Search function unreliable
- Book names not appearing under icon
Requested features
22 requests- Add DNF section
- Customize book order
- Link to Apple account for sync
- Create folders for organization
- Send lists to others
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- Sync to iCloud or online account
- Add date read/purchased
- Indicate book ownership/format
- Backup to iCloud
- Add custom notes
- Add 'date read' function
- Add delete function
- Add wish list section
- Allow manual book entry
- Improve search functionality
- Add progress tracking (page number)
- Add reminders
- Add achievements
- Add number counter for read books
- Upload to Goodreads
- Add tags and categories
- Export list to CSV
Shelved
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Stacks Reading List
No in-app purchases
Shelved
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Stacks Reading List free?
Is Shelved free?
Which has better reviews, Stacks Reading List or Shelved?
Do Stacks Reading List or Shelved have ads?
Which is updated more often, Stacks Reading List or Shelved?
Other comparisons
