PocketBook Reader vs Shelf Life Book Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PocketBook Reader
This app is a versatile reader supporting 26 book and audio formats, including EPUB, PDF, and audiobooks. It offers features like PDF reflow, text-to-speech, cloud synchronization, and extensive customization options for a comfortable reading experience.
- Supports 26 book and audio formats
- PDF Reflow function
- Text-to-speech engine
- Cloud synchronization service
- Customizable interface and reading settings
- Adobe DRM support
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PocketBook Reader is a free app for reading all formats (books, magazines, textbooks, comic books, etc.) and listening to audiobooks! The application supports 26 book and audio formats, including mobi, epub, fb2, cbz, cbr. Read without ads and with total comfort! Choose any content - any format! • Support of 19 book formats, including the most popular - EPUB, FB2, MOBI, PDF, DJVU, DOCX, RTF, TXT, HTML; • Comic book formats CBR and CBZ; • Open books protected with Adobe DRM (PDF, EPUB); • PDF Reflow function (reflow text in PDF files). Listen to audiobooks! • You can listen to audiobooks and other audio files in MP3, M4B, and take notes in them; • Built-in TTS (Text-to-speech) engine for the voicing of the text files. Download and sync content easily! • Free PocketBook Cloud service for synchronizing all your books, including audiobooks, as well as reading positions, notes and bookmarks on all your devices; • Your files from Dropbox or Google Books services are easily connected to the app to create one consolidated library. You can even connect multiple accounts at the same time; • Support for OPDS catalogs - get access to network libraries; • ISBN scanner, for quick search of electronic versions of books by barcode; • Opportunity to borrow books and periodicals; • If you have a E Ink e-reader PocketBook, you can easily synchronize all your books and accounts just by scanning a QR code. Ready to switch from another app? No problem! Getting started with PocketBook Reader is easy! With an intuitive interface, the application provides you with unprecedented freedom – lots of options for settings and no restrictions. Choose, change, customize, and personalize! • Intuitive interface, easy navigation, and minimalistic design; • Opportunity to choose one of the seven interface color themes, reassign the buttons and display areas; • Two night-reading modes - for better reading comfort anytime; • Adjust the font style, font size, line spacing, and margin size; • Animation of turning pages; • Opportunity to crop margins – make the page look exactly the way you want. Get fast file access and easy search! • All files are quickly found and instantly opened, even with built-in audio and video fragments; • Your books will never be lost in the device’s memory - thanks to the smart search, scanning files on your tablet or smartphone is a matter of seconds. Any file or document can be found in a few clicks! • The app allows you to sort books, create collections, filter and mark files as you like. Your library - your rules; • Convenient managing of audio files - it is easy to sort and play your audiobooks. Make bookmarks, take notes, add comments! • You can quickly find all your notes and share them with friends via email or messengers; • Collect all your notes, bookmarks, and comments into separate files for even greater convenience. PocketBook Reader was created by avid readers for avid readers, and that’s why it’s probably the best e-book reader app.
Shelf Life Book Tracker
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Shelf Life is a private app to track your reading life, especially if you use a Kobo. Track what you're reading, what you've finished, and what you want to read next. Search by title or ISBN, pull in covers and metadata from public catalogs, or add your own custom books and covers when something doesn't show up. And when you're ready to read on your Kobo, Shelf Life sends the epub there directly, over your home Wi-Fi, in a couple of taps. — SEND TO KOBO Drop an epub onto any book in your library. Tap Send to Kobo. Shelf Life starts a tiny server on your phone, shows you a short local web address, and you type it into your Kobo's built-in browser. Tap download. Done. This is all accomplished via WiFi wireless. No cables, no Adobe Digital Editions, no uploading your books to a stranger's cloud. The file goes from your phone to your Kobo and nowhere else. PRIVATE AND LOCAL BY DESIGN - No account. No sign-in. No sync server. - Your library lives on your device. - Epub files stay on your device or on your local network. - No analytics. No tracking. No third-party SDKs. No ads. TRACK YOUR LIBRARY - Reading, Finished, and Want to Read shelves - Search by title or ISBN, with covers and metadata from public book catalogs - Add custom books and custom covers for anything the catalogs miss - Notes, ratings, and a clean reading history - Preview and read the epub files. - Sync percentage read of each book via USB cable. QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK support@shelflife.page Made by a small studio in New York for people who still keep a stack of books on the nightstand.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PocketBook Reader at Free against Shelf Life Book Tracker's $0.99. PocketBook Reader also leads on chart position (#147 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). Shelf Life Book Tracker's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On ads and device support 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
PocketBook Reader is free to download; Shelf Life Book Tracker costs $0.99 up front. PocketBook Reader sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Shelf Life Book Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.
PocketBook Reader ships an update every 2 months, Shelf Life Book Tracker weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PocketBook Reader | Shelf Life Book Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (10K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 54.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 10K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | #147 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 106 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Pocketbook International SA | Positor Group LLC |
Bugs and requests
PocketBook Reader
Reported bugs
4 issues- Books disappearing from library after login issues
- Inability to open DRM-protected PDFs
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes
- Text-to-speech voice quality issues
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to organize books into custom folders
- Option to disable quick action zones
- Improved text-to-speech controls (seek, pause, etc.)
- Support for handwritten annotations with Apple Pencil
- Faster page turning and scrolling
Shelf Life Book Tracker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PocketBook Reader
- eBook$0.99
- eBook (class A)$0.99
- eBook (class B)$1.99
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- eBook$2.99
- eBook (class D)$3.99
- eBook: type 7.09$5.99
- eBook$6.99
- eBook: type 10.9$9.90
- eBook$9.99
- eBook: type 12.99$11.99
Shelf Life Book Tracker
No in-app purchases







