Goodreads, StoryGraph, or something new? If you are an avid reader looking for an app or website to help you keep track of your reading, this round-up of the best book tracking apps will guide you!
Reading is trendier than ever — and it isn’t something we only do alone anymore. BookTok and Bookstagram have added a bit of sparkle and glamour to reading, and the conversation around books has become as much a part of the fun as the reading itself. We buddy-read, join readathons and silent book clubs, browse indie bookshops that now double as event spaces, and take part in reading challenges that push us to read more — in volume, more intentionally, and more diversely.
So it’s hardly surprising that readers today are asking: How do I keep track of what I’m reading? Whether it’s to log finished books, organise a growing TBR (that’s “to-be-read”), or simply remember the characters that stayed with us, keeping a reading record feels almost essential.
Enter reading-tracking apps. They do a lot more than tally your books: you can add titles to your TBR (that’s “to-be-read”), organise them on virtual shelves, mark a book as “currently reading,” and share live updates. You can track daily progress to make reading a habit, set or join reading challenges, note formats (audiobook, paperback, ebook), join virtual book clubs, swap notes with other readers, and even enter giveaways. Many also help you organise your personal library and share your reading across social channels.
Goodreads may have opened the door, but the past few years have seen a whole crop of apps — free and premium — for Android and iPhone with smarter features, neater interfaces and stronger communities.
I tested the standout contenders so you don’t have to. Below I’ll break down each app’s strengths, what to watch out for, and which one ended up being my favourite book tracking app.
Table of Contents
- Parameters we tested the book apps on
- 6 best reading tracking apps
- Goodreads
- The StoryGraph
- Fable
- Bookmory
- TBR – Bookshelf
- Pagebound
- BONUS: ShelfControl
- Final Verdict
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What parameters did we test all book tracking apps on?
To make this list, each app had to deliver real value to readers — not just in tracking progress, but in enhancing the overall reading experience.
Here’s what I evaluated:
The book tracking app checklist
| Parameter | What to look for |
| User Experience | How seamless and intuitive is the app to use? Can you easily add books, log progress, and navigate between features? |
| Design | Does the app have a clean, aesthetic interface? Are book covers, stats, and reviews visually appealing and shareable? |
| Tracking | How well does the app track reading stats — pages, time, formats, streaks, genres, authors, and progress? |
| Discovery | Does it help you discover new books or authors through recommendations, lists, or algorithms based on your reading habits? |
| Community | Is there an active reader base? Can you connect, join book clubs, comment, and engage in conversations? |
| Relevance | Are its features timely, updated, and aligned with today’s reading culture — from reading challenges to giveaways? |
| Pricing | Is the app free, premium, or freemium? Do paid plans offer a superior experience, or do they interfere with the experience of the free features? |
User Experience
A good book tracking app should feel effortless. You should be able to add books, update your progress, share a status, or log a finished read without overthinking it. Smooth sign-ins, quick navigation, and an intuitive interface make the app something you want to return to every day.
In short: How seamless and intuitive is the overall experience?
Design
Visuals matter. Readers love an app that looks good — with clear book covers, thoughtful layouts, and shareable visuals for milestones or reviews. Design isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about making your digital bookshelf feel like a space you want to spend time in.
In short: Does the app look as good as it feels to use?
Tracking
This is the heart of any reading app. The best ones let you log what you’re reading, how far you’ve come, and in what format (ebook, audiobook, or paperback). Advanced tracking goes further — giving insights into your reading pace, favourite genres, and yearly summaries.
In short: How accurately and intelligently does it track your reading?
Discovery
Half the joy of reading lies in finding the next great book. Discovery features — recommendations, curated lists, or algorithm-driven “you might also like” sections — help you stumble upon titles that match or expand your taste.
In short: How well does it help you find your next read?
Community
Reading may be a solitary act, but it’s also a shared passion. The best apps build a lively community through forums, book clubs, and group challenges. Being able to interact with other readers, comment on updates, or join discussions makes the experience richer.
In short: How connected do you feel to other readers on the app?
Relevance
An app’s usefulness depends on how up-to-date it feels. Are its features fresh? Does it host current reading challenges or integrate new social features? Relevance means the app grows with the times — keeping pace with how readers engage, share, and celebrate their books today.
In short: Is it keeping up with how readers read now?
Pricing
Pricing can make or break an app’s accessibility. Many book-tracking apps follow a freemium model — basic features like logging and progress tracking are free, while advanced analytics or custom themes come at a cost. A fair pricing model adds value without limiting essential functions, and the best apps keep premium features as nice-to-have extras, not must-haves.
In short: Is the pricing fair, and does the free version still feel complete?
The 6 best reading tracking apps
So, how do I keep track of what I’m reading? While a spreadsheet can get the job done, a dedicated reading tracking app offers a much richer experience. These apps are built with readers in mind: with layers of functionality that don’t just record your reading habits, but elevate them.
From progress tracking and goal setting to community reviews, book recommendations, and reading insights, these apps add new dimensions to how we read. They make your reading life more interactive, more social, and often more intentional.
In this roundup, we’ve explored and rated the best reading tracker apps for Android and iPhone, using our defined parameters to see which apps deliver the best overall reading experience.
Goodreads
| What will make you jump into it | It has the largest book database, making tracking extremely reliable. It bundles almost every feature you could need, from challenges to reviews to community interactions. The Reading Challenge is still one of the most popular annual bookish traditions. If you enjoy social reading, the friends’ feed is a familiar, comforting format. It’s entirely free, with no feature locked behind a paywall. |
| What might make you hesitate | The mobile app feels outdated, unintuitive, and clunky compared to modern book-tracking apps. The design and experience are very website-first, so the mobile app suffers. Ratings are limited to whole stars only, no half-star ratings. Community controversies, such as a lack of diversity in the Choice Awards, affect credibility for some users. Being owned by Amazon may be a deterrent for readers who prefer independent platforms. |
Goodreads is one of the oldest and most recognisable reading-tracking apps, often viewed as the default home for book lovers online. A decade ago, when it was practically the only major option, it felt fresh, community-driven, and genuinely novel. Its annual Reading Challenge became a defining feature, and the Goodreads Choice Awards transformed into a cultural moment for readers. But despite its legacy and massive global database, Goodreads hasn’t evolved as rapidly as newer apps—and for an app that’s been around this long, it’s starting to show.
Key features:
- Annual Reading Challenge: Set how many books you want to read each year and track your progress. You can log updates by page count or percentage, add comments, and share progress that your friends can see.
- Progress Tracking & Detailed Stats: Track pages read, formats, re-reads, dates started/finished, authors read, yearly summaries, and more. Goodreads allows highly granular tracking, right down to specific editions.
- Massive Book Database: One of the biggest collections of books on the internet. Almost every new release gets added automatically, and every edition of a book is usually available, ensuring extremely accurate tracking.
- Community Feed & Social Features: A Facebook-era style feed where you can like, comment, follow friends, view their updates, and share your own. You can also customise what activity is visible in your feed.
- Shelves & Organisation: Use default shelves like “Read,” “Currently Reading” and “Want to Read,” or create as many custom shelves as you like.
- Book Discovery: Recommendations based on what similar readers are enjoying, curated lists, quotes pages, author Q&As, interviews, and a blog-style news section.
- Giveaways: Periodic book giveaways (restarted after a hiatus), though now limited to certain countries.
- Goodreads Choice Awards: The annual community-voted awards with longlists, shortlists, and millions of votes across genres.
- Pricing: Completely free to use. No premium tier. The only commercial link is that book purchase pages redirect to Amazon.
| Parameter | How does Goodreads rank? |
| User Experience | Easy to use for basic tracking, but the mobile experience feels clunky and outdated compared to newer apps. |
| Design | Clean but old-fashioned; functional rather than visually engaging, with cluttered sections. |
| Tracking | Very strong tracking with detailed stats, editions, re-reads, and one of the most popular annual reading challenges. |
| Discovery | Robust discovery through recommendations, similar titles, and a highly active friends’ feed. |
| Community | Largest reader base of any platform, but engagement tools feel dated and underutilised. |
| Relevance | Has not evolved with modern reading culture; campaigns like the Choice Awards feel increasingly out of touch on inclusivity and representation. |
| Pricing | Completely free to use, with no premium tier or locked features. More ads, lately. |
The StoryGraph
| What will make you jump into it | It’s clearly built by readers, with thoughtful, modern features that make tracking joyful rather than tedious. The data visualisations are unmatched: beautiful graphs, clear insights, and monthly overviews you’ll want to share. A deeply mood-based and preference-driven approach helps you choose books you’re actually in the mood for. Content warnings and detailed metadata feel updated for what today’s readers genuinely need. You get far more nuanced ratings with quarter and half stars. Audiobook-friendly reading challenges are a major plus. The community, through buddy reads and book clubs, feels cosy, optional, and non-intrusive. |
| What might make you hesitate | The database is growing, but not as comprehensive as Goodreads yet. Occasionally, a book may be missing. The review section is less prominent, with more emphasis on data than long-form reviews. Some advanced features live behind the StoryGraph Plus paywall. If you prefer a more traditional, text-heavy interface, the data-first layout may feel different. |
The StoryGraph is a reader-built, reader-centred platform created by people who genuinely love books, and that shows in every part of the experience. Founded as a Black-owned business with a strong community ethos, it has quickly become a favourite alternative to Goodreads, especially among readers who want a more intuitive, modern, and mood-based approach to tracking their reading. It shot to fame largely because of its beautiful monthly reading stats: colourful, customisable data visualisations that readers love sharing on their social feeds. With the slogan “life’s too short for a book you’re not in the mood for,” StoryGraph positions itself as a platform that truly understands the nuances of how we read, and why.
Key Features
- Mood-Based & Preference-Based Tracking: Set your preferred genres, moods, themes, and dislikes so the app can personalise recommendations and help you avoid books you’re unlikely to enjoy.
- Detailed Book Stats & Data Visualisation: Monthly and yearly reading graphs covering genres, moods, book lengths, formats, pace, themes, authors, reading time, and more. All visualisations are vibrant and social-media friendly.
- Flexible Rating System: Unlike Goodreads, you can rate books in quarter-star increments—0.25, 0.5, 0.75—making your ratings far more precise.
- Import from Goodreads: A seamless importer lets you bring over your entire Goodreads history in seconds.
- Database Growth via Librarian Programme: Users can become volunteer librarians to help expand and refine the database, useful because the platform is still growing.
- Content Warnings: Clearly displayed content warnings added by users and authors, giving readers better clarity about themes and triggers.
- Reading Status Options: Mark books as paused, did not finish, owned, or borrowed, and track partial progress even if you don’t complete the book.
- Community Features: A news feed to see updates from people you follow, plus buddy reads, readalongs, built into the platform.
- Reading Challenges: Set goals not just by number of books, but also pages or listening hours, ideal for audiobook readers.
- StoryGraph Plus (Paid Tier): About $4.99/month. Includes custom charts, advanced stats filters, priority support, and the ability to influence the platform’s feature roadmap.
| Parameter | How does The StoryGraph rank? |
| User Experience | Highly intuitive and seamless, with smooth logging, clear flows, and thoughtful prompts that make tracking feel effortless. |
| Design | Clean, modern, and data-forward, with standout visualisations that make stats genuinely enjoyable and highly shareable. |
| Tracking | Exceptional tracking across formats, moods, genres, authors, pacing, and time, with strong monthly and yearly insights. |
| Discovery | Moderate discovery focused on personalised recommendations rather than broad exploration or trend-based browsing. |
| Community | Low-pressure and optional, centred around buddy reads and book clubs rather than constant social interaction. |
| Relevance | Extremely aligned with contemporary reading culture, especially mood reading, shareable stats, audiobooks, and content warnings. |
| Pricing | Freemium model; the free version is robust, while the Plus plan adds advanced stats and customisation without limiting core features. |
Fable
| What will make you jump into it | You want a social reading experience that’s genuinely kind, low-pressure, and built around thoughtful conversations. The visualisations and personalised summaries feel modern, aesthetic, and motivating. You enjoy joining book clubs, buddy reads, or chapter-by-chapter chats. You want an app that’s reader-led and shaped by people who care about books. Daily streaks, goals, and habit-based encouragement help you read more. |
| What might make you hesitate | Some book clubs or discussion sections can be inconsistent or inactive, depending on membership. Because it relies heavily on community traction, your experience may vary — it’s great when active, quieter when not. Fable nudges you toward buying books through its in-app store, which may not appeal to readers who prefer to borrow or buy elsewhere. If you want long-form, searchable reviews, Fable’s focus on social interaction over data depth may feel limiting. |
Fable positions itself as the “modern app for every reader,” blending reading tracking with a deeply community-first approach. Created by people who genuinely care about the reading experience, it is designed to feel like a healthy, thoughtful alternative to traditional social media. Fortune even called it “a more thoughtful and less toxic social media app.”
Fable offers clean book tracking, gorgeous personal summaries, reading goals, streaks, and habit-building features, but its standout strength lies in its book clubs and discussion spaces. And it has more than 100,000 of these book clubs! With spoiler-free rooms, chapter-by-chapter conversations, and dedicated feeds for specific books, Fable makes talking about books feel effortless. It’s a platform built for sharing reading progress, connecting with like-minded readers, and rediscovering the joy of slow, intentional reading.
Fable may want to stay away from reckless AI use in reader spaces, though. Fun fact: Everand, a subsidiary of Scribd, acquired Fable in early 2025.
Key features:
- Book Tracking & Lists: Create reading lists, track progress, set reading goals, and maintain daily streaks that keep you motivated.
- Pretty, Personalised Visualisations: Each book you read updates your personalised reading summary, with insights about your bookshelf, habits, genres, formats, and trends.
- Import from Goodreads: You can easily bring your entire Goodreads library and reading history to Fable.
- Community-First Design: Spoiler-free discussion rooms, chapter-by-chapter threads, and book-specific feeds that encourage rich but low-effort conversation.
- Start or Join Book Clubs: Anyone can create a club, host discussions, and read together. Many popular clubs—often themed, genre-based, or influencer-run—are open to join.
- Private + Low-Pressure Social Space: Designed to be a calm, non-performative environment focused on reading, not metrics or popularity contests.
- In-App Bookstore: Fable sells ebooks directly within the app, which is also how it sustains its platform.
| Parameter | How does Fable rank? |
| User Experience | Smooth and welcoming, with an intuitive flow that makes logging books and joining discussions feel effortless. |
| Design | Modern, warm, and visually pleasing, with clean layouts and personalised summaries that feel made for sharing. |
| Tracking | Solid tracking for books, goals, and daily streaks, though less data-dense than stats-first apps. |
| Discovery | Discovery happens primarily through book clubs and community conversations rather than algorithms. |
| Community | Exceptionally strong, with thousands of book clubs, spoiler-free discussions, and chapter-by-chapter conversations. |
| Relevance | Highly aligned with current reading culture, especially social reading, intentional communities, and healthier online spaces. |
| Pricing | Free to use; monetisation comes mainly through its in-app bookstore without restricting core features. |
Bookmory
| What will make you jump into it | You want a pure reading tracker without social noise or community pressure. Habit-building features—timers, streaks, and session tracking—help you stay consistent. The Memorise feature is perfect if you annotate, highlight, or like revisiting passages. Celebratory visuals and progress feedback make finishing books genuinely motivating. You want a single, organised library that tracks everything from notes to annual stats. |
| What might make you hesitate | There’s no community or social layer, which may feel limiting if you enjoy discussions or book clubs. Discovery features are minimal: it won’t recommend books the way other apps do. If you prefer casual, low-effort logging, the detail-oriented tracking may feel a bit intense. |
Bookmory is, at its core, a reading tracking app, not a book community or social platform, and that clarity of purpose works strongly in its favour. It’s designed for readers who want structure, motivation, and visual reinforcement around their reading habits. Everything about Bookmory feels psychologically considered: from celebratory animations when you finish a book to gentle nudges that help you stay consistent. By focusing heavily on visualisation, habit-building, and organisation, Bookmory positions itself as an all-in-one system for managing your reading life: lists, notes, sessions, streaks, and stats, without the pressure of performing or socialising.
Key features:
- Reading Progress & Habit Tracking: Log each reading session by pages, percentages, or time. Mark books as paused, finished, or given up, and track daily streaks and long-term habits.
- Timer & Countdown Feature: Track how long you spend reading each session, helping you understand reading speed and build intentional reading routines.
- Memorise Feature: Save quotes, notes, and passages from books you’ve read in one place. Add text manually or extract it via your camera—ideal for annotators and reflective readers.
- In-Reading Notes: Add notes while actively reading a book, not just after finishing it.
- Detailed Stats & Visualisations: Daily, monthly, yearly, and lifetime reading stats, plus book calendars, annual rewinds, and downloadable summaries you can share.
- Library & Collections: Organise books into collections, track paused and abandoned reads, and revisit previous years’ reading histories.
- Minimal, Focused Design: Clean, distraction-free interface built around tracking and motivation rather than social interaction.
| Parameter | How does Bookmory rank? |
| User Experience | Highly structured and intuitive, especially for readers who enjoy detailed session-based tracking. |
| Design | Minimal and calming, with clear visual feedback that prioritises focus over social shareability. |
| Tracking | Excellent habit-focused tracking, including timers, streaks, notes, pauses, and long-term reading stats. |
| Discovery | Very limited discovery; the app is designed for tracking what you already plan to read. |
| Community | No community or social features, keeping the experience completely private and distraction-free. |
| Relevance | Strongly aligned with habit-building and mindful reading, but less so with social or trend-driven reading culture. |
| Pricing | Freemium model; core tracking features are free, with paid upgrades adding convenience rather than restricting use. |
TBR – Bookshelf
| What will make you jump into it | You want a dedicated TBR-first app that does exactly what it promises without distractions. You enjoy tracking reading data in detail, including spice levels of books, fluff, and other custom ratings. The idea of a visually rendered digital bookshelf appeals more than plain lists or spreadsheets. You like goal-setting and progress tracking as a form of motivation. Achievements, badges, and trope-based milestones add a fun, low-pressure gamification layer to your reading life. You’re migrating from Goodreads and appreciate the option to import your existing data easily. |
| What might make you hesitate | There’s no meaningful community or social layer: no discussions, forums, or reader interaction. Discovery features are limited and not a core focus of the app. If you prefer an all-in-one reading app (tracking + community + discovery), this may feel too narrow. With so many multifunctional alternatives available, committing to a tracking-only app might feel like an extra app to manage rather than a replacement. |
TBR — Bookshelf is precisely what its name promises: a To-Be-Read–first reading tracker. In a landscape crowded with hybrid apps that try to combine tracking, social feeds, discovery algorithms, and community spaces, TBR takes a more focused route. It’s built for readers who primarily want to log, rate, visualise, and stay on top of their TBR, without the noise of social interaction.
At its core, this is a pure tracking app. There’s no strong emphasis on community, no discussion forums, and no attempt to replicate Goodreads-style social discovery. Instead, TBR leans heavily into personal metrics, visual satisfaction, and goal-setting, making it particularly appealing to readers who enjoy structured tracking and aesthetically pleasing dashboards.
Key features:
- Dedicated TBR tracking: Log books you plan to read, track progress, mark completions, and clearly separate your TBR from finished reads.
- Detailed rating metrics: Beyond standard star ratings, TBR-8 lets you add spice ratings, fluff ratings, and other granular metrics—ideal for romance readers and genre-heavy tracking.
- Virtual bookshelf visualisation: One of its most distinctive features is the gorgeous visual shelf, where your books appear like a curated digital library rather than a simple list.
- Reading goals and progress tracking: Set and adjust reading goals, monitor progress over time, and see how consistently you’re keeping up.
- Achievements and badges: Earn achievements and pro-achievements based on reading milestones, tropes, and patterns—adding a light gamification layer without overwhelming the experience.
- Goodreads import: You can import your existing data from Goodreads, making the switch significantly less painful for long-time trackers.
| Parameter | How does TBR – Bookshelf rank? |
| User Experience | Simple and focused, with straightforward logging and goal-setting that’s easy to maintain once set up. |
| Design | Visually appealing, with a standout digital bookshelf aesthetic that’s more satisfying than list-based trackers. |
| Tracking | Strong TBR-centric tracking with detailed ratings, goals, achievements, and progress monitoring. |
| Discovery | Minimal discovery features; the app assumes you already know what you want to read. |
| Community | No real community or social interaction—this is a solo tracking experience. |
| Relevance | Highly relevant for readers who prioritise TBR management and gamified motivation, less so for social reading trends. |
| Pricing | Freemium model; core tracking works well for free, with optional paid features enhancing customisation rather than restricting access. |
Pagebound
| What will make you jump into it | You want a true Goodreads alternative that feels modern, thoughtful, and community-led. The idea of book-specific forums aka one community per book aka really appeals to you. You care about strong spoiler protection and respectful discussions about reading. Design matters, and you want an app that’s beautiful as well as functional. You like discovery driven by real reader activity, not opaque algorithms. You appreciate PageBound’s indie, anti-AI stance and transparent values. |
| What might make you hesitate | Because it’s growing rapidly, some book forums may still feel quieter than older platforms. If you prefer passive tracking with minimal interaction, the community focus may feel like extra effort. The interface, while powerful, may take a little time to explore fully if you’re coming from simpler apps. The paid Royalty tier offers perks rather than essentials—which is great ethically, but may feel unnecessary for casual users. |
PageBound is one of the most design-forward book tracking apps out there, and that aesthetic sensibility carries through everything it does. Built as an indie, explicitly anti-AI platform, PageBound is refreshingly vocal about its values, which already sets it apart in a crowded space. The team itself describes the app as “what you’d get if Goodreads and Reddit had a baby,” and that’s a surprisingly accurate shorthand.
PageBound is community-first without sacrificing strong tracking features, and it’s one of the few apps that truly understands a key reader pain point: when you want to discuss a book, you want to talk to people who are reading that same book. By giving every book its own forum, complete with spoiler-safe discussions, it creates one of the most thoughtful, reader-centric community experiences available today.
Key features:
- Book-Specific Forums: Every book on PageBound has its own forum where readers can post thoughts, reactions, and progress updates—tagged by reading percentage to avoid spoilers.
- Strong Spoiler Controls: Posts can be blurred, labelled as spoilers, or gated by reading progress, creating clear guardrails for discussion.
- Reading Tracking & Shelves: Built-in shelves for Reading, TBR, Interested, Finished, DNF, and Paused, along with fully custom shelves.
- Planning Tools: Plan your reading by month or year—a standout feature that lets you map out future reads intentionally.
- Discovery Driven by Community Sentiment: Highlights like most discussed yesterday, most finished, and most TBR’d books tap directly into what readers are engaging with in real time.
- Creative Discovery Prompts: Fun, current-feeling lists such as “today’s feature emoji” paired with book recommendations.
- Quests (Reading Challenges): Rebranded reading challenges as genre quests and side quests.
- PageBound Royalty (Paid Support Tier): Optional paid tier offering cosmetic and early-access perks—like showcasing more badges and accessing new features first—without locking core functionality.
| Parameter | How does Pagebound rank? |
| User Experience | Intuitive once explored, with powerful features that reward engagement, though first-time users may need a short adjustment period. |
| Design | Exceptionally polished and design-forward, with a modern interface that feels intentional, readable, and community-centric. |
| Tracking | Robust tracking with flexible shelves, reading statuses, and planning tools, though less focused on granular stats than data-heavy apps |
| Discovery | Strong, community-led discovery driven by real reader activity rather than opaque algorithms. |
| Community | One of the strongest community experiences available, built around book-specific forums and spoiler-safe discussions. |
| Relevance | Highly aligned with contemporary reading culture, prioritising transparency, ethical tech values, and meaningful reader interaction. |
| Pricing | Freemium model with an optional Royalty tier; paid perks are cosmetic and supportive, not restrictive to core functionality. |
BONUS/WILDCARD ENTRY
ShelfControl
ShelfControl is a reading tracker built with a particular reader in mind: ARC readers, aka people who regularly receive advance reader copies with fixed review deadlines, book tour schedules, and posting commitments. Unlike most reading apps that prioritise community or discovery first, ShelfControl is unapologetically logistics-led.
Its core promise is simple and sharply defined: help ARC readers read on time, review on time, and post on time, without letting anything fall through the cracks. Anyone who’s juggled multiple ARCs knows the pain point it addresses: you read a book weeks (or months) ahead of publication, then have to remember exactly when and where to review it once embargoes lift. ShelfControl exists precisely in that gap between reading and publishing.
While it can be used as a general reading tracker, its true strength — and differentiation — lies in how clearly it is built around ARC workflows. That clarity shows in both structure and feature design.
Key Features
- ARC-specific status categories: ShelfControl replaces generic reading statuses with applied, pending, active, due, paused, to review, completed, past, and DNF, mirroring the real lifecycle of ARC reading rather than forcing it into conventional “currently reading” boxes.
- Deadline-driven reading calculations: Once you add a book and its deadline, the app calculates how many pages you need to read per day to stay on track. This removes the mental arithmetic ARC readers constantly do and turns vague urgency into a concrete plan.
- Integrated calendar view: A built-in calendar shows review due dates, upcoming deadlines, and ARC timelines at a glance, complete with a legend so you can instantly see what’s urgent and what’s completed.
- Progress and performance stats: ShelfControl tracks books completed, pages read, and reading activity by week and year—useful not just for motivation, but also for understanding your ARC capacity realistically.
- Flexible enough for non-ARC use (but clearly ARC-first): You can add non-ARC books, but ShelfControl doesn’t pretend to be a social platform. Its value lies in execution, delivery, and follow-through for keeping the ARCs overwhelm in check.
Special Mentions
The reading support ecosystem is anything but short on options. Whether you’re looking to track your reading, connect with other readers, or simply find an interface that feels right for your habits, there’s no single “correct” app, only what fits how you read.
Beyond our main list, here are a few platforms worth keeping on your radar, each offering a slightly different take on reading, community, and design: Literal, with its clean design, Litsy, a social platform for readers who enjoy sharing quotes and moments, bookwormreads.co, a lightweight option for readers who prefer simplicity and a splash of colour, Shelf, that logs all your pop culture interests, and others such as Hardcover, Margins, BookWyrm.
Final Verdict
| App/ Scores out of 10 | User Experience | Design | Tracking | Discovery | Community | Pricing | Overall Score |
| Goodreads | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
| StoryGraph | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| Fable | 7 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Bookmory | 8 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 7 |
| TBR | 7 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 6 |
| Pagebound | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
| ShelfControl | 8 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 7 |
What StoryGraph and Pagebound get right — and why they emerge as the highest scorers — is a deep, almost instinctive understanding of how people actually read today. Both platforms are built around modern reading habits: flexible formats, mood-based discovery, intentional tracking, and meaningful community engagement. Rather than doing one thing exceptionally well and ignoring the rest, they each offer a thoughtful mix of features, then clearly own a standout strength—StoryGraph through data-driven personalisation, and PageBound through design-led, book-centric community.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Goodreads or Storygraph better?
The Storygraph is better for readers who want detailed stats, personalised recommendations, and a cleaner user experience. Goodreads still wins on sheer scale of reviews and community size, but it feels dated compared to Storygraph’s modern approach.
What is the best app for tracking your reading?
There’s no single “best” reading tracker; different readers have different goals, from pure tracking to community-led reading. That’s why we recommend using more than one app to create a well-rounded reading experience. As all-rounders, Storygraph and Pagebound stand out for understanding modern reading habits while still leaving room for users to choose how deeply they engage.
Can you use a spreadsheet as a reading tracker?
Yes, a spreadsheet can track basic details like titles and dates, but it lacks the depth, automation, discovery, and community features that dedicated reading apps provide.
Is Goodreads free?
Yes, Goodreads is free to use. However, it is ad-supported and offers fewer customisation and analytics options compared to newer platforms.
How do you track reading progress?
Most reading apps let you log progress by pages, percentages, or sessions. Try Bookmory, TBR Bookshelf, or StoryGraph
What apps do you use to track your book readings?
Popular options for tracking your reading include Goodreads, StoryGraph, PageBound, Fable, Bookmory, and many more, each catering to different reading styles, from social and community-driven to highly data-focused. I recommend using a combination of different apps to get a rounded experience.
Cover Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash