What is the best book tracker app for iPhone in 2026?

Best Book Tracker Apps editors · Data refreshed 4 November 2026 · Editorial assessment

Bottom line.There is no single best one; it depends on what you want the iPhone to do. For the deepest stats and spoiler-safe buddy reads, pick The StoryGraph. For the lightest privacy label and an Apple Watch timer, pick Book Tracker. For a timer across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, pick Bookly. For a home library catalog you pay for once, pick BookBuddy, but only if your iPhone runs iOS 26.

Facts checked 4 November 2026 on the US App Store.

What should an iPhone reader look for in a book tracker?

Most trackers log the same things: books, pages, dates and ratings. On an iPhone the differences are in the details Apple's platform adds.

Where it runs. Some apps also run on iPad, Mac and Apple Watch; others are iPhone and iPad only. If you read at a desk or log on your wrist, check the device list on the listing.
Minimum iOS version. BookBuddy's current version needs iOS 26. Bookly needs iOS 17.6, Basmo and Fable iOS 17.0. If your phone is a few years old, check before you move your library.
The privacy label. Apple's "App Privacy" box says what the app collects and whether it uses data to track you across other companies' apps and sites. Labels on the trackers below range from "Data Not Collected" to ten categories linked to your identity.
A way out. A tracker holds years of your reading history. Check that it documents an export before you commit. Our import and export table lists the routes.
Price model. Free, yearly subscription or a one-time upgrade. See what book tracker apps cost.

How do the main trackers compare on iPhone?

From each app's US App Store listing and Google Play listing, checked 4 November 2026. "Not published" means the listing and help pages we read describe no export; it does not prove there is none.
App	Also runs on	Paid tier (US App Store)	Export	Privacy label summary
The StoryGraph	iPad, Android, web	Plus $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year	Yes, export page under Manage Account	No tracking; 5 categories linked to you
Goodreads	iPad, Android, web	None, free	Yes, CSV	No tracking; 10 categories linked to you
Hardcover	iPad, Android, web	Supporter $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year	Yes, JSON	No tracking; nothing linked to you
Fable	iPad, Android	Fable Plus $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year	Not published	Tracks identifiers; 7 categories linked
Bookly	iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Android	Pro $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year; $79.99 one-time also listed	Not published	Tracks identifiers and usage data; nothing linked
Basmo	iPad, Android	Premium $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year	Not published	Tracks identifiers and usage data; 5 categories linked
BookBuddy	iPad (iOS 26 or later)	Pro $9.99 once	Yes, CSV, PDF or HTML	No tracking; 2 categories linked
Literal	iPad, Android	No in-app purchases; Plus $40 or Supporter $80 a year on its website	Not published	No tracking; 4 categories linked
Book Tracker	iPad, Mac, Apple Watch	Pro $15.99 once	Yes, PDF or CSV	Data Not Collected

Which tracker fits which iPhone reader?

You want charts and reading with friends: The StoryGraph

The StoryGraph has the deepest reading statistics among the trackers we cover, imports a Goodreads export, and runs on iPhone, Android and the web. Its readalongs lock comments "for other participants until they reach that point in their reading", which matters if you read with people who are ahead of you. It can also sync reading progress from Kobo. Read our StoryGraph review.

You want the smallest privacy footprint: Book Tracker or Hardcover

Book Tracker's App Store label says "Data Not Collected", the only one of the 30 reading apps in our recap and spoiler study to say so. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, has a reading timer on the watch, exports to PDF or CSV, and its Pro tier is a one-time $15.99. Hardcover's label says no data is linked to you, and it adds a public API and a social layer that Book Tracker does not have. See the Hardcover review.

You time your reading: Bookly or Book Tracker

Bookly's timer runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, and it lets you keep a character list you fill in yourself. Its label lists identifiers and usage data as used to track you. Book Tracker also has a timer, including on Apple Watch, without that tracking. See the Bookly review.

You catalog a home library: BookBuddy

BookBuddy scans barcodes, exports to CSV, PDF or HTML, and its Pro upgrade is a single $9.99 payment. The catch on iPhone: the current version requires iOS 26 or later. See the BookBuddy review.

You buy on Amazon: Goodreads

Goodreads is free with no paid tier and can add the Kindle books you bought on Amazon to your shelves once you link the accounts, in the US, Canada, India and Australia. Its label links ten categories of data to you, the most of any tracker here. Our guide to Kindle books in a reading tracker covers the details.

You read in clubs: Fable

Fable runs clubs with "spoiler-free chapter rooms" and sells ebooks inside the app. Its label lists identifiers as used to track you. Fable Plus is $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year, the same on the web and in the iPhone app.

What about getting back into a book on your iPhone?

No tracker on this list recaps the story when you come back to a book. They store the page you stopped on, which is the number a recap tool needs. On iPhone, Magic Bookmark gives a recap, a cast list and answers that stop at that page for supported titles, in print, ebook or audiobook, and it needs iOS 16.4 or later. It is not a tracker: keep logging in the app you choose above and open it when you return after a break. The first book is free, then credits cost $1.40 to $4.99 per book.

How did we put this page together?

We read each app's US App Store listing on 4 November 2026: the device list, the minimum iOS version where Apple shows it, the in-app purchase list and the App Privacy box, plus each maker's help pages for export. We did not install and time the apps, and we do not score them here. Our only scored ranking answers a different question, getting back into a book without spoilers, and the unscored book tracker facts page covers the same trackers in more depth.

Questions

Q1What is the best free book tracker app for iPhone?

Goodreads is free with no paid tier at all. The StoryGraph, Hardcover, Fable, Bookly, Basmo, BookBuddy, Literal and Book Tracker are also free to download and use, with optional paid tiers for extras.

Q2Which book tracker works on Apple Watch?

Bookly and Book Tracker both list Apple Watch support on the US App Store, and Book Tracker's reading timer runs on the watch.

Q3Which iPhone book tracker collects the least data?

Book Tracker, whose App Store privacy label says "Data Not Collected". Hardcover's label says no data is linked to you.

Q4Does BookBuddy work on older iPhones?

The current version on the US App Store requires iOS 26 or later. If your iPhone cannot run iOS 26, check the listing before you plan a move.

Q5Is there an iPhone app that tracks books and recaps them?

Not in one app. Trackers log your place; Magic Bookmark, an iPhone companion, recaps a supported book up to that place. Basmo can turn your own notes into a short audio recap, which is not a recap of the book.