BookshelfDownloadYour reading life, beautifully organized.
The aesthetic reading tracker for physical books and audiobooks. Track goals, capture quotes, discover beautiful themes.
10+ beautiful themes - pick one
Features
Everything for your reading journey
Every feature is designed to make your reading life easier, cosier, and more motivating. Many came straight from user feedback - and we're always listening.
Build Your Shelf
Add books by searching online, scanning barcodes, or logging them manually. Assign them to shelves and watch your library grow.
Track Every Chapter
Log progress chapter by chapter or by page. See exactly how far you've come and how far you have left - one chapter at a time.
Capture Quotes & Notes
Save favourite quotes, jot down thoughts, or scan passages with OCR. Each day, a random quote greets you on your profile.
Deep Reading Statistics
Pages read, books finished, streaks, genre breakdowns, average ratings, and more. Understand your reading life at a glance.
Stay Motivated
Set reading goals and track your progress with a colourful reading heatmap. Celebrate milestones along the way.
Make It Yours
Choose from 14+ beautiful themes and personalise your profile with up to 7 custom cards - decide exactly how you appear to other readers. Your bookshelf, your rules.
Reading Calendar
Your reading life at a glance
Every book leaves a mark. Tap any cover to see what you read.
Why Bookshelf?
How we compare
Looking for a Goodreads alternative? Here's how Bookshelf stacks up against the competition.
| Feature | Bookshelf | Goodreads | StoryGraph |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Calendar | Limited | ||
| Chapter Tracking | |||
| Detailed Statistics | Basic | ||
| Profile Customization | |||
| Quote Scanning (OCR) | |||
| Ad-Free Experience | |||
| Audiobook Support | Limited | Limited | |
| 14+ Beautiful Themes | |||
| Barcode Scanner | |||
| Custom Shelves & Book Nooks | |||
| Monthly Reading Recaps | Basic | ||
| Kobo E-Reader Sync | |||
| Personalized Recommendations | Basic |
Based on publicly available information as of 2026.
Our Story
Built by two readers,
for readers
Bookshelf started as a personal project by Tiago, an engineering student who wanted to read more but couldn't find an app that felt right. So he built one for himself.
Meanwhile, Margarida had always been a bookworm. After so much reading during the pandemic, she was looking for an app to help her rediscover her love for reading, but nothing on the market felt right. She was even tracking her books in Notion.
When Margarida saw Tiago's app, she knew instantly: "This is exactly what readers need. Let's make it beautiful and useful."
Together they turned a side project into a product - giving it a brand, a plan, and a reason to grow. Margarida handles design, UX, and product vision; Tiago handles the engineering.
Today, over 50,000+ readers have downloaded Bookshelf across iOS and Android. It's still self-funded, built in their spare time, and shaped entirely by community feedback.
Our Vision
To help create a reading habit people actually look forward to - one that feels personal, beautiful, and rewarding.
What we're building
Track effortlessly
Log books in seconds - scan, search, or type. Track progress chapter by chapter.
Reach your goals
Set reading goals and get gentle nudges to stay on track.
Discover insights
Detailed stats: pages read, streaks, genre breakdowns, and recaps that reveal your reading life.
Personalize your space
14+ themes and a fully customizable profile - make the app feel like home.
Celebrate milestones
Confetti for finishing books. You deserve it.
Share with friends
Follow readers, discover books through people you trust.
Cozy book nooks
Organise your collection into themed virtual shelves and nooks.
Monthly recaps
Auto-generated roundups of your reading activity, delivered on the first of every month.
The Team
Meet the people behind Bookshelf
We're a tiny two-person team, building Bookshelf in our free time. Self-funded, fuelled by passion, and growing thanks to readers like you.
Tiago Almeida
The Engineering Mind
- Day job as a software engineer
- Sole programmer for Bookshelf
- Currently reading Sherlock Holmes classics
“One day I woke up and decided that I should read more. So I built a reading tracker for myself.”
Connect on LinkedIn
Margarida Oliveira
The Product Visionary
- Engineer with a business and product focus
- Handles UX/UI design and branding
- Management consultant by day
“One day I woke up and saw not just an app, but a side project with potential to become something readers would love. So I gave it a brand, a plan, and a reason to grow.”
Connect on LinkedInGet in touch
Feature requests, bug reports, or just want to say hi?
@bookshelf_appQuestions
Before you download
Is Bookshelf free?
Yes. Bookshelf is free to download and use on iOS and Android, and there are no ads. The full reading tracker is free, including unlimited books, chapter tracking, the reading calendar, quotes and notes, statistics, monthly and yearly recaps, and importing your library from Goodreads or StoryGraph.
What does Bookshelf Premium add?
Premium unlocks all 14+ themes, unlimited custom shelves and tags, the full set of book nooks, up to 7 profile cards, unlimited reading goals, Kobo sync, quote scanning with OCR, per-book statistics, statistics filtering, personal recommendations, and imports that keep running in the background. It is available monthly, annually, or as a one-time lifetime purchase.
Is Bookshelf a good Goodreads alternative?
Yes. Bookshelf offers features Goodreads lacks, including a reading heatmap calendar, chapter-by-chapter tracking, quote OCR scanning, 14+ themes, custom shelves, book nooks, and detailed statistics - all without ads. You can import your Goodreads library in one step.
Does Bookshelf track chapters?
Yes. Bookshelf supports chapter-by-chapter progress tracking so you can log exactly where you are in a book, rather than only a percentage or a page number.
Does Bookshelf sync with Kobo?
Yes. Bookshelf syncs with Kobo e-readers, bringing reading sessions, pages, quotes and notes from your Kobo directly into the app.
Can I import my library from Goodreads or StoryGraph?
Yes, and importing is free. Export your library as a CSV from Goodreads or StoryGraph and import it in the app. Duplicates are skipped, and your ratings, reviews and read dates come across. Each platform can be imported once every 24 hours.
Does Bookshelf track audiobooks?
Yes. Audiobooks are tracked by listening time alongside physical books and ebooks, and they count towards your statistics, streaks and reading goals.
What platforms is Bookshelf available on?
Bookshelf is available on iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android, in 10 languages, with native home-screen widgets on both platforms.