Which newer Goodreads alternatives are worth a look in 2026?

How do the four compare?

Pagebound: a forum for every book

Pagebound describes itself as combining "old-school internet forums" with book tracking, where "every book has its own forum", and says it is "indie, anti-AI, and built by 2 women". For this site's readers the useful part is how it handles reading together: you can "sort posts by % read to read along with people from all over the world", so you can choose to see only posts from readers at or behind your point. That is not a hard spoiler lock like StoryGraph's readalongs, but it is closer than Goodreads' manual tags.

• Tracking: statuses include Interested, Paused and DNF; half-star ratings with sub-ratings for enjoyment, quality, characters and plot; format tracking for print, digital, audio and tandem reads (added in version 1.1.5).
• Stats: monthly and annual stats and monthly wrap-ups.
• Price: free; the only in-app purchase is Pagebound Royalty at $9.99 a month, described as a way to "keep Pagebound indie".
• Privacy: its App Store label says "Data Not Collected".
• Moving in: the App Store listing does not describe a Goodreads import; check Pagebound's support pages before you plan a move.

Best for: readers who miss forum-style book talk and want to track DNF and paused books properly.

Pick Up: sessions, voice notes and getting back into a book

Pick Up calls itself "a quiet reading companion for people who want to remember what they read". It times reading sessions, lets you record a voice note or type a thought while you read, and saves it with the page number and chapter. Its website says it "brings you back into the right headspace, not just the right page" when you return.

• Moving in: version 1.17.0 (25 March 2026) added imports from Goodreads, StoryGraph and Bookmory, and time-based progress for audiobooks.
• Extras: home screen widgets, a Live Activity for the current session, reading goals, a vocabulary list, and Character Notes (added in version 1.24.0) that you write yourself.
• Price: the free plan covers unlimited books, sessions and thoughts; Premium adds cloud sync, transcription and more, at $4.99 a month, $26.99 for six months or $49.99 a year on the US App Store.
• Privacy: the website says data stays on your device by default. The App Store label lists contact info, user content, identifiers and usage data as linked to you, and no tracking.

Best for: readers who stop and start books and want their own notes to pick up from. It does not recap the book itself; your notes do that job.

Bookwise: a clean log with streaks

Bookwise: Book Tracker & Log, from Majestica Lab LLC, keeps a virtual library with "Reading Now", "To Read" and "Finished" shelves.

• Recent changes: On Hold and Abandoned statuses (version 1.15.0, 19 August 2026), a reading streak freeze that forgives one missed day a week (1.15.4), and page or percentage progress editing (1.15.7).
• Price: the US App Store lists several Premium plans: $3.99 or $9.99 a month, and yearly items at $19.99, $29.99 and $49.99, some with a 3-day or 7-day trial. The list is long and overlapping, so check the price shown in the app before you subscribe.
• Privacy: no data used to track you; usage data and diagnostics collected but not linked to you.
• Moving in and out: the listing mentions iCloud backup and import of a previous backup; it does not describe a Goodreads import or a file export.

Best for: readers who want a simple, private-leaning log and streak reminders, and do not need social features.

Book Tracker: private, Apple-only and paid once

Book Tracker: Bookshelf & TBR has been on the US App Store since 27 December 2019, the longest of the four, and it was updated as recently as 1 November 2026. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, with a reading timer on the watch.

• Price: free, with Pro as a one-time $15.99.
• Export: PDF or CSV.
• Privacy: "Data Not Collected", the only one of 30 reading apps in our recap and spoiler study with that label.
• Limit: no Android app that we could find.

Best for: Apple users who want a private log and do not care about a community.

How do you move your Goodreads history to one of them?

1. 1Export your Goodreads library as a CSV (our export guide shows where the button is).
2. 2Keep the CSV even if the import works. It is your backup.
3. 3Import where the app supports it (Pick Up names Goodreads in its release notes). Where it does not, add your current reads by hand and keep the CSV for the rest.
4. 4Check DNF and paused books after import: statuses do not map one to one. Our reading status crosswalk shows how they line up.
5. 5Use our switching trackers checklist before you delete anything.

What none of them does

None of the four recaps the plot of the book you are reading. Pick Up gets closest with your own voice notes. If you return to a book after a long break and need a reminder of what happened without spoilers, a recap tool tied to your page does that: Magic Bookmark works with your own print, ebook or audiobook copy of supported titles on iPhone.

Questions

Sources

1. 1App Store, Pagebound, checked 2026-11-04
2. 2Google Play, Pagebound, checked 2026-11-04
3. 3App Store, Pick Up: Book Tracker, checked 2026-11-04
4. 4Pick Up website, checked 2026-11-04
5. 5Google Play, Pick Up, checked 2026-11-04
6. 6App Store, Bookwise: Book Tracker & Log, checked 2026-11-04
7. 7App Store, Book Tracker: Bookshelf & TBR, checked 2026-11-04