What is the best app to track books I've read?

It depends on what you value most: Goodreads is the free, familiar default for shelving books you've read; StoryGraph adds deeper stats and mood-based recommendations; and Bookly, Basmo or Shelfa add a reading timer and pace tracking on top of basic logging.

Is Goodreads still the best reading tracker in 2026?

Goodreads remains the largest free community with the biggest catalog and the annual Reading Challenge, but it has no timer, no ambient sounds and no book calendar, so readers who want pace tracking or deeper stats usually add or switch to another app.

StoryGraph vs Goodreads — which one should I switch to?

Switch to StoryGraph if you want mood-based recommendations, half-star ratings, content warnings and richer stats on your free tier; stick with Goodreads if you mainly want a free, huge catalog and don't need advanced analytics. Note that StoryGraph Plus pricing has been reported inconsistently across sources, so confirm the current price in-app.

Is Bookly worth the subscription price?

Bookly is worth it if you specifically want a reading timer with pace and estimated finish-time reports; at $4.99/month or $29.99/year after a 7-day trial, it's priced similarly to most other premium reading trackers.

What's the best free reading tracker app?

Goodreads is the most fully free option, since its core shelving, progress tracking and Reading Challenge features don't require a subscription, though it lacks the timer and stats found in paid tiers of apps like Bookly or StoryGraph.

Does any reading tracker offer a streak that forgives a missed day?

Most mainstream trackers in this comparison reset streaks completely after one missed day, and none of the five third-party apps here publicly describe a forgiving streak mechanic. Our own app, Shelfa, is built around rest days that let a streak survive a busy week, though as the maker we'd encourage you to compare that directly against what matters most to you before switching.

Best Reading Tracker App: Goodreads vs. 5 Rivals

If you've typed "best reading tracker app" into a search bar, you've probably already used Goodreads and hit a wall — maybe the interface feels dated, maybe you want real stats instead of a star rating, or maybe you just want to see your current page turn into a finish date. There isn't one app that does everything perfectly. So instead of ranking five apps from best to worst, this guide sorts them by what kind of reader you are, with current pricing where it could be verified and honest trade-offs for each, including our own app, Shelfa.

Full disclosure: Shelfa is made by SZS Labs, the studio behind this blog. We've included it in the comparison because it genuinely fits a specific need, not because it "wins" every category — and we say plainly below where it falls short, too.

What actually matters when you're choosing a reading tracker

Before comparing apps, it helps to separate the features that genuinely change your reading habit from the ones that are just nice to look at:

Logging method — do you track by page, by percent, or by minutes read?
Streaks and goals — does missing one day wipe out your progress, or can the app flex with a busy week?
Stats depth — do you want pace and finish-date predictions, or genre/mood breakdowns?
Social features — do you want a club, a feed, or total privacy?
Quote and note capture — can you save a line you loved without retyping it?
Price — many of these apps are free to download but gate the useful parts behind a subscription.

With that in mind, here's how the main contenders stack up.

If you want the biggest community and free shelves: Goodreads

Goodreads is still the default answer for a reason. It's a free book tracker with more than 150 million members, and its core workflow hasn't changed much since it launched in 2006 under Amazon's ownership — the website and app still share the same basic features. You can scan a cover or search by ISBN, sort books into Read / Currently Reading / Want to Read / DNF shelves, update progress by page or percent, and join the annual Reading Challenge with a shareable "Year in Books" recap (Apple App Store).

The trade-off: Book Riot's comparison notes Goodreads "has basic tracking features" with no timer, no ambient sounds, and no book calendar. It's built for logging what you've read, not for understanding how you read.

Best for: readers who want a free, huge, familiar catalog and don't need pace or timing data.

If you want deep stats and mood-based picks: StoryGraph

StoryGraph is the app most people switch to when Goodreads starts feeling too basic. Its free tier already includes mood-based recommendations, reading goals, and basic stats, and it stands out with half-star ratings and a community-sourced content-warning system that Goodreads doesn't have (BookWise).

The paid tier, StoryGraph Plus, unlocks extra stats, roadmap voting and priority support — but its price has clearly changed over time, and sources disagree. Wikipedia cites $50/year as of 2023, which appears to be outdated; a more recent 2026 guide lists the current rate at roughly $4.99/month or $39.99/year. We're flagging both figures here rather than picking one blindly — treat the lower, more recent number as the better estimate, but confirm the live price in-app before subscribing, since even the newer source may lag behind StoryGraph's actual current pricing.

Best for: readers who want rich stats and mood-based discovery and are willing to pay for the advanced layer.

If you want a reading timer and pace tracking: Bookly

If your real question is "how fast am I actually reading, and when will I finish this book," Bookly is built around exactly that. It's free to download with no account required, and Pro adds a 7-day trial before billing at $4.99/month, $19.99 for six months, or $29.99/year. Features include a reading timer, current-page tracking, an estimated finish time based on your pace, ambient sounds for focus, infographic reports, and custom ratings beyond the usual five stars (Apple App Store).

Best for: readers who track time spent reading rather than just pages, and like visual pace reports.

If you want book clubs and social reading: Fable

Fable leans hardest into the social side of reading. Its own site describes it as "the app for social reading": browse and buy interactive ebooks, react with emoji in real time, and join free author- or celebrity-led clubs while creating highlights and notes as you go (Fable). A 2026 review lists the free tier (clubs, goals, list import) alongside a Plus tier at roughly $5.99/month or $49.99/year for exclusive clubs and advanced lists — but the same review notes Fable "lacks deep habit tools," so it's not the pick if pace and streaks matter more to you than community.

Best for: readers who want a book club built into the app, not just a solo log.

If you want AI notes and a reading journal: Basmo

Basmo, launched in December 2020, positions itself around journaling and reflection rather than just logging. Its Google Play listing frames it as a space to "track, plan, and take notes from your readings," with a timer, page logging and streak stats (Google Play). A 2026 roundup citing Basmo's own App Store page lists features like an AI ChatBook assistant, Kindle/Notion sync, a book scanner, a voice notepad, and mood tracking inside the reading journal (Brighterly).

Pricing per the app-paywall tracker Adapty currently shows Premium Monthly at $4.99, a discounted Premium Yearly at $29.99, a "Devoted Bookworm" yearly tier at $39.99, and a weekly pack at $3.49 (Adapty). Worth noting: an older Book Riot review called the premium price "a little high for what you get" and flagged scanner usability issues (Book Riot) — complaints that still turn up in newer roundups, so test the scanner before you subscribe.

Best for: readers who want AI-assisted journaling and don't mind a few tiers to sort through.

Side-by-side comparison

App	Starting price	Timer	Streaks/goals	Social	Quote capture
Goodreads	Free	No	Yearly challenge only	Large community, 150M+ members	Manual typing
StoryGraph	Free / Plus ~$4.99 mo or $39.99 yr (recent estimate; older sources cite $50/yr)	No	Yes, mood-based	Light	Manual
Bookly	Free / Pro from $4.99 mo	Yes	Yes, pace-based	Minimal	Manual
Fable	Free / Plus ~$5.99 mo	No	Basic; reviewed as lacking deep habit tools	Strong (clubs)	Highlights in-app
Basmo	Free / Premium from $4.99 mo	Yes	Yes	Minimal	Scanner, flagged for usability issues in reviews
Shelfa (our app)	Free / Pro $3.99 mo, $29.99 yr, $59.99 lifetime	Yes, Lock Screen	Yes, with rest days	Minimal — no clubs or feed	Scan from the page

Where Shelfa fits — and where it doesn't

Most streak features in the apps above are all-or-nothing: miss one day and the counter resets to zero, which quietly punishes people for having a normal life. That's the gap we built Shelfa to close. It logs pages or minutes in a tap, keeps a streak alive through built-in rest days, and runs a finish-by planner alongside a yearly goal. You can scan quotes straight from the page instead of retyping them, keep a short voice journal per book, and see your month or year as a shareable card, plus a Lock Screen timer, widgets, and a focus mode while you read. Shelfa Pro runs $3.99/month, $29.99/year with a 1-week free trial, or $59.99 once for lifetime access.

Being upfront about the gaps: Shelfa is iPhone-only, so it's not an option if you're on Android. It has no book-club or social feed, which makes it a weaker pick than Fable if community is what you're after, and no community-sourced content warnings or mood-based recommendations like StoryGraph. It's also a newer entrant without the long public review history that Goodreads, Bookly or Basmo have built up, so weigh that into your decision the same way you would with any less-established app. If what you're missing from your current tracker is specifically a forgiving streak and fast quote capture, it's worth a look on the Shelfa app page — but if you want deep stats, a big community, or book clubs, one of the other five apps above is likely the better fit.