The two tiers
Shellf has two tiers: free and Plus. There’s no time-limited trial, no “basic vs pro” gating of essentials, and no per-feature paywall. The free tier is the same app most readers are looking for.
Free
$0
forever, no card
- Unlimited book tracking
- Full library organisation, half-star ratings, DNF, notes
- Reading stats + taste fingerprint
- Per-trait rating tags
- 100 AI recommendation credits to start
- Goodreads / StoryGraph / CSV import
- Full CSV export at any time
Plus
$18/year
$1.50/month equivalent
- Everything in Free
- 2,000 AI recommendation credits per year
- Advanced reader insights (taste evolution, archetype, themes)
- Priority access to new features
How Plus compares
$18/year is the cheapest premium tier among the major book tracking apps I’ve looked at. Rough comparison (verified April 2026, prices may move):
| App | Premium tier | Annual price |
|---|---|---|
| Shellf | Plus | $18 |
| Bookly | Premium | ~$30 |
| StoryGraph | Plus | $49.99 |
| Fable | Premium | $69.99 |
| Goodreads | No paid tier | Free (Amazon-owned) |
What about hidden costs
None. No ads. No data sales. No upsells inside the app. The Plus subscription is the only thing Shellf charges for, and the free tier doesn’t expire or get hobbled over time.
The longer-term plan is to make everything free, funded by affiliate book purchases through Bookshop.org and Amazon. If that funding model lands, the Plus tier goes away entirely. Today it’s a safeguard against runaway AI inference costs while the affiliate revenue ramps up.
Ready to try it? Install Shellf on Android. iOS launches mid-2026.
Related questions
- →How do I import my library from Goodreads?
- →Is Shellf free?
- →Does Shellf work on iPhone?
- →Does Shellf work on Android?
- →How do Shellf's AI recommendations work?