# EDUBOOKS vs RedShelf

The clearest difference is review sentiment: EDUBOOKS at 86% against RedShelf's 3%. EDUBOOKS also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). RedShelf's advantage is ratings volume (7.1K vs 36) and rating (4.5 vs 4.2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

RedShelf holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RedShelf has 7.1K ratings behind it against 36, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 86% of EDUBOOKS's written reviews are positive against 3% of RedShelf's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

EDUBOOKS ships an update every 2 months, RedShelf every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | EDUBOOKS | RedShelf |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.2 (36 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/edubooks/id913815477/reviews) | **[4.5 (7.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/redshelf/id1511013608/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 36 | **7.1K** |
| Positive reviews | **86.3% of reviews** | 3.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 73 MB | 26 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [High Development Mobile Applications, INC](https://appshunter.io/developer/617541486) | [RedShelf](https://appshunter.io/developer/1511013606) |

## What reviewers say

### EDUBOOKS

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/edubooks/id913815477)

Find and purchase college textbooks at significant discounts. Buy, sell, rent, or trade books with other students on campus or through online sources. Save money and connect with peers who share your academic interests.

**Highlights:** Search textbooks by title, author, ISBN, or barcode, Buy textbooks, Sell textbooks, Rent textbooks, Trade textbooks, Connect with students on campus

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💰 Saves students money
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 💡 Innovative platform
- 💸 Earn money from old books

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Buttons not working
- 🐛 Cannot log in
- 🐛 Cannot create account
- 🐛 App kicks users off

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes on startup
- App crashes when pressing buttons
- Cannot log in
- Cannot create account
- Cannot input book information

**Requested features**

- Shipping option for books
- Allow 'N/A' for ISBN
- Manually upload pictures


### RedShelf

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/redshelf/id1511013608)

Access and read your digital textbooks on any device. Highlight text, take notes, create flashcards, and have content read aloud. Your notes and highlights sync across all your devices.

**Highlights:** Access textbooks on any device, Highlight text and take notes, Create flashcards from content, Define unfamiliar words, Text-to-speech functionality, Sync notes and highlights across devices

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Convenient to access textbooks in one place
- 🚀 Decent overall performance

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
- 💤 Slow loading and page turning
- 👎 Unreliable highlighting and note-taking features
- 🤖 Poor text-to-speech functionality
- 📵 Inability to access books offline

**Reported bugs**

- Books not loading or showing blank screens
- Highlighting issues (selecting wrong text, unable to edit)
- Sync issues between devices and web version

**Requested features**

- Improve highlighting and annotation tools
- Add support for split-screen mode
- Enhance text-to-speech capabilities
- Allow offline access to downloaded books


## Frequently asked questions

### Is EDUBOOKS free?

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

### Is RedShelf free?

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

### Which has better reviews, EDUBOOKS or RedShelf?

RedShelf is rated higher. EDUBOOKS averages 4.2 out of 5 from 36 ratings, while RedShelf averages 4.5 from 7.1K ratings.

### Do EDUBOOKS or RedShelf have ads?

Neither EDUBOOKS nor RedShelf shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, EDUBOOKS or RedShelf?

EDUBOOKS ships an update every 2 months, and RedShelf every 5 weeks. Most recently, EDUBOOKS was updated on September 28, 2026 and RedShelf on October 1, 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.*