MapleRead SE vs ShelfPlayer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MapleRead SE
This app offers a unique audio-visual reading experience for EPUB and PDF files. It allows for extensive customization of book styles, instant audiobook generation, and immersive reading that syncs audio and text. It also functions as an effective library management tool with cross-device syncing.
- Audio-visual reading experience
- EPUB and PDF reader
- Pseudo audiobook generation
- Immersion reading (audio/text sync)
- Library management and organization
- Cross-device syncing
- User-defined customization
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MapleRead is dedicated to enable unique audio-visual reading experience for everyone. ------------ Our MapleRead app family has 3 members, namely SE, CE and CX. - SE is our flagship product with all features. - CE is SE without PDF reader and built-in Library Server. - CX is CE with some limitation. Free to try. - No recurring subscription fees. No ads. Just buy it once. Gratuity optional. - Moreover, SE and CE can be run side-by-side via split-view multitasking. - Recommend SE for use on multiple devices with easy and fast book sharing via Library Server. - Recommend the SE-CE bundle for the best value. ------------ MapleRead includes a superb audio-visual EPUB e-book reader. - It lets you easily modify publisher's original book style to better suit your aesthetic taste. - It lets you instantly generate pseudo audiobooks with a choice of narrator voices over 40 languages. - It enables immersion reading so that you may read and listen to the same book in sync. - Background listening works well too. Compatible with Lock Screen Music Player and CarPlay. MapleRead UI is friendly to users of all ages. - Books can be read in regular and large print. - A choice of UI text sizes makes reading in non-book views much more comfortable. MapleRead is a great learning tool. - It lets you look up words, translate sentences, search text, highlight text and write notes. - It helps you collect vocabulary and organize notes with various priorities. - It provides hooks to user-defined dictionaries, translators, and other tools. - Immersion reading improves your comprehension, especially of foreign-language books. MapleRead is an effective and fast library management tool. - It is designed for you, a book lover, who may own a huge and/or growing book collection. - It lets you keep all your books in one place and well-organized automatically. - It lets you display your books elegantly in style. - It lets you easily repair individual book metadata. - If supports multiple book sets and multiple tags. - It offers multiple ways to import and export books, and works well with Calibre. MapleRead supports secure sync across devices via MapleRead Cloud and iCloud. - It syncs reading positions, notes, vocab, bookmarks, and book set membership (but not the books). - It syncs reading positions additionally via iCloud for even better user experience. - It enables web access to synced data via web browsers from desktop and mobile devices. MapleRead offers unprecedented user-defined customization options. - They include unlimited user-defined fonts, book themes, cover images and library scenes. - Each book theme includes various types of user-defined highlight colors. - Each book can have its own theme, and each EPUB book can have its own style. MapleRead SE includes also a great PDF e-book reader. - The PDF reader looks very similar to the EPUB reader for a sense of unified UI. MapleRead SE has a zero-configuration Library Server for easy book sharing. - All books in Library can be shared. - Smart batch download makes transferring of multiple books very convenient. [For more technical details, screenshots, FAQ and reviews, please visit our website.]
ShelfPlayer
This app provides a native iOS experience for managing and listening to audiobooks and podcasts from your self-hosted Audiobookshelf library. It offers robust playback controls, offline access, and seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem.
- Unified audiobook and podcast management
- Multi-server support
- Flexible authentication options
- Global and library search
- Playback queues and chapter navigation
- Configurable playback speed and skip intervals
- Offline mode and automatic downloads
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ShelfPlayer is a powerful iOS app for listening to audiobooks and podcasts, built for people who run their own self-hosted Audiobookshelf libraries. Written in Swift 6 for iOS 18+, it's fast, privacy-respecting, and deeply integrated with the Apple ecosystem. ShelfPlayer does not include any media content. A running Audiobookshelf instance is required to use the app. Why Choose ShelfPlayer? - One app for everything: A single native experience for audiobooks, podcasts, episodes, authors, narrators, series, collections, and playlists - Connect your own libraries: Works with multiple Audiobookshelf servers and libraries at the same time - Flexible sign-in: Supports both username/password and OpenID, plus custom HTTP headers for advanced setups - Find anything fast: Global and per-library search across books, podcasts, people, series, and episodes - Stay in sync: Listening progress and sessions stay synchronized with your Audiobookshelf server - Made for Apple devices: Native iPhone and iPad layouts, CarPlay, Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight, Home Screen widgets, Live Activities, and Dynamic Island Features at a glance: - Listen Now to continue and discover content across connected libraries - Chapter navigation with quick-access controls in playback - Configurable skip intervals for forward and backward jumps - AirPlay and native Apple media controls - Bookmarks with optional notes to save key moments - Detailed, item-level listening history and daily listening goals - Offline mode with manual and automatic background downloads - Built-in tools to create, edit, and organize collections and playlists - In-app PDF viewer for attached documents - Customizable tabs, sorting, and filters Premium features ShelfPlayer subscription unlocks the following: - Offline listening: Download audiobooks and episodes and keep listening without a connection - Custom playback speed: Adjust the rate beyond the default 1× - Flexible sleep timer: Choose any duration or a chapter-based timer, beyond the default 5 minutes - Bookmarks: Save and revisit key moments with notes - Add to queue: Build your own listening order with the main and Up Next queues - Statistics: Track your listening time, streaks, and finished titles Download ShelfPlayer today and get the most out of your Audiobookshelf library! Subscribe to access premium app features; subscription details are the following: - Length: weekly or yearly - Free trial: only on selected subscriptions - Your payment will be charged to your Apple Account as soon as you confirm your purchase - You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal from your Account Settings after the purchase - Your subscription will renew automatically, unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - The cost of renewal will be charged to your account in the 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - When canceling a subscription, your subscription will stay active until the end of the period. Auto-renewal will be disabled, but the current subscription will not be refunded - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when purchasing a subscription Terms & Conditions: https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/Shelf-Player-Terms-Conditions-39ccf6557a0880139826d06e6b87f4eb Privacy Policy: https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/Shelf-Player-Privacy-Policy-39ccf6557a088010979bc16876532f5c If you have any questions, please contact us at aitools@gmail.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ShelfPlayer at Free against MapleRead SE's $8.99. MapleRead SE's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (68% vs 55%). On rating, ratings volume, update cadence 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
ShelfPlayer is free to download; MapleRead SE costs $8.99 up front. MapleRead SE sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and ShelfPlayer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for MapleRead SE against 4.1 for ShelfPlayer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 131 and 225 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of MapleRead SE's written reviews are positive against 55% of ShelfPlayer's.
MapleRead SE ships an update every 6 weeks, ShelfPlayer every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MapleRead SE | ShelfPlayer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $8.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (131 ratings) — better | 4.1 (225 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 67.9% of reviews — better | 55.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 131 | 225 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Maplepop LLC | AI Tools Apps SRL |
Customer experience
MapleRead SE
ShelfPlayer
User reviews
MapleRead SE
From 131 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Highly customizable reading experience
- 🔒 Robust library management features
- 👍 Seamless integration with Calibre
- 👍 Excellent organization and tagging options
- 👍 Wide range of font and layout customization
Room to improve
- 🐛 Sync issues between devices
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and performance problems
- 🔍 Complicated interface and setup process
- 🔍 Difficult to import large book libraries
- 🔍 Limited annotation and highlighting options
ShelfPlayer
From 225 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Runs on all Apple platforms
- 👍 Provides better UI experience
- 💡 Potential for great features
- 🚀 Smooth playback
- 👍 Beautiful and intuitive UI
Room to improve
- 🐛 Critical bugs preventing usage
- 🐛 Constantly losing book progress
- 🐛 Crashes and instability issues
- 🐛 Offline mode not working
- 🐛 Slow startup and loading times
Bugs and requests
MapleRead SE
Reported bugs
3 issues- Freezing and crashing issues, especially on iOS 14
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes
- Unreliable OPDS server integration and book downloads
Requested features
5 requests- Automatic reading progress sync across devices
- Improved PDF handling and annotation support
- Expanded highlighting and note-taking capabilities
- Streamlined library import and management
- Cleaner and more intuitive user interface
ShelfPlayer
Reported bugs
6 issues- Unable to present all books from an author
- Keeps resetting book progress
- Offline mode broken, can't play downloaded books
- Crashes after recent update
- Widgets not updating with last played book
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- Login issues and app getting stuck in offline mode
Requested features
6 requests- Option to load fully downloaded books without server handshake
- Ability to filter library view to only downloaded books
- Add support for ebooks and PDF files
- Customizable playback speed options beyond 2x
- Implement a static reading queue/playlist
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- Add Apple Watch support for offline listening
In-app purchases
MapleRead SE
- Gratuity Level 1$0.99
- Gratuity Level 2$1.99
- Gratuity Level 5$4.99
ShelfPlayer
- Weekly premium7 Days trial$2.997 Days
- Weekly premium$2.997 Days
- Yearly premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
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- Yearly premium$29.991 Year









