Priced by what you take in.
A contest season, a grant cycle, a year-round reading period, or a client's project, on as many shelves as you like. Pay for the submissions you take in each year, not for the months in between.
Want to try before you buy? Request a demo and we'll open a trial shelf for you.
Free
$0
no card needed
stays free
Run a small call end to end.
- 25 submissions a year
- Unlimited shelves
- 3 readers per shelf
- The reading room, and the free Mac app
- 1 GB storage
Standard
$390
per year
about $33 a month, billed once
For a program, a journal, or a studio.
- 1,000 submissions a year
- Unlimited shelves
- Unlimited readers
- Exports & reporting
- 25 GB storage
Organization
$1,290
per year
about $108 a month, billed once
For organizations running several programs.
- 5,000 submissions a year
- Unlimited shelves and readers
- Custom branding and the organization feed
- Custom storage bucket and custom AI skills
- Priority support
- 100 GB storage
Larger programs, institutions, and anything custom: talk to us. Nonprofit discounts on request.
Side by side.
| Feature | Free | Standard | Organization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelves | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Submissions a year, across all shelves | 25 | 1,000 | 5,000 |
| Readers per shelf | 3 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Public call page | with a Google sign-in | ✓ | ✓ |
| Document annotation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mac app, free for everyone | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export / reporting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom branding | — | — | ✓ |
| Priority support | — | — | ✓ |
| Custom storage bucket (S3 or Tigris) | — | — | ✓ |
| Custom AI skills, your own API keys | — | — | ✓ |
| Storage | 1 GB | 25 GB | 100 GB |
Set up with you.
Your first program on TextShelf is set up together. We import last year's submissions and rubric, configure the shelf, and walk your readers through it. Ask about onboarding.
Frequently asked.
What counts as a submission?
Each entry someone sends in to one of your shelves: a manuscript, an application, a portfolio, a client's draft. Reviews, comments, and your own uploads do not count.
How are submissions counted?
Across all your shelves, over a rolling year. A contest season and a journal's annual intake are the same number, and splitting work across shelves changes nothing.
What happens at the cap?
New entries are paused until the year rolls on or you move up a plan. Everything already on the shelf stays readable and reviewable.
Can I run several programs at once?
Yes. Shelves are unlimited on every plan, so a contest, a grant round, and a reading period can all be open at the same time.
My journal never closes. Does that matter?
No. Nothing depends on a season. A year-round reading period and a two-month contest window are metered the same way.
Who counts as a reader?
Anyone you add to a shelf beyond entrants: reviewers, judges, organizers. Entrants never count.
Does the Mac app cost extra?
No. The Mac app is free for everyone. It is the reviewer's reading room, with your files in your own iCloud, and it reads the review packets you export from a shelf.
Do you offer nonprofit discounts?
Yes. Ask, and we'll send a code to use at checkout.
Can I switch plans later?
Yes. Moving up takes effect right away; moving down takes effect when the year you paid for ends.
Where is data stored, and is it used to train AI?
US-based data centers, encrypted at rest and in transit. Your documents are never used to train any AI model.