Shelf limit on FREE (3 shelves)

FREE accounts can create up to 3 custom shelves in addition to the Favorites default. PRO accounts have unlimited custom shelves.

What counts toward the limit

• Custom shelves you’ve created — each counts as 1.
• The Favorites default shelf does not count. You always have it regardless of plan.

So on FREE, your maximum shelf count is 4 total (3 custom + Favorites). On PRO, there’s no cap.

What happens when you try to create a 4th custom shelf

You’ll see an upgrade modal:

• “FREE accounts can have up to 3 custom shelves. Upgrade to PRO for unlimited shelves and other premium features.”

You can:

• Upgrade to PRO to unlock unlimited shelves (and other PRO features). See What PRO unlocks.
• Delete an existing shelf to make room for a new one. See Editing or deleting a shelf.
• Cancel and stay at 3 shelves.

Why this limit?

Manga Vault is free for casual collectors and a small subscription for power users. The 3-shelf limit on FREE is enough for most simple organization (genre, format, mood) but is meaningfully expanded with PRO for collectors who organize more granularly.

What happens when my PRO subscription expires?

If you had 10 custom shelves on PRO and your subscription expires:

• All 10 shelves stay — we don’t delete them.
• You can’t create new shelves until you’re back at 3 or fewer custom shelves, or you renew PRO.
• Editing existing shelves still works (rename, change color/icon).
• Deleting shelves still works (and would help you get back under the limit).

Strategy on FREE

Since you only have 3 slots, pick categories that capture the broadest useful divisions:

• Genre buckets (e.g., “Shonen”, “Romance”, “Horror”) — works if you collect across many genres.
• Format buckets (e.g., “Hardcover”, “Box Sets”, “Standard”) — works for collectors who care about format.
• Recency / state buckets (e.g., “Currently Reading”, “On Display”, “Storage”) — works for active readers.

Mix and match based on what’s most useful to you.

Don’t forget: Read Status filters are separate

The Library’s Read Status filter (Unread / Reading / Completed) is built in and doesn’t count as shelves. So you don’t need a “To Read” shelf — Read Status: Unread does that.

Tip: Use shelves for things filters can’t capture

Filters cover status (Owned/Wishlist) and read status. Shelves are for everything else — moods, themes, physical locations, gift ideas. Don’t waste a slot on something a built-in filter already handles.