Reading goal apps: how to set a reading goal you will actually keep
Best Book Tracker Apps editors · Data refreshed 14 October 2026 · Editorial assessment
Set a yearly book count you could reach in a slow year, then add a small daily or weekly habit goal. Bookly and Basmo support daily goals, Fable Plus adds weekly and monthly goals, and Goodreads' Reading Challenge and StoryGraph's challenges handle the yearly number.
Which apps support which kinds of goal?
| App | Goal types published | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | Yearly | Annual Reading Challenge; Year in Books. |
| The StoryGraph | Yearly and custom challenges | Reading challenges with customisable goals. |
| Fable | Yearly and streaks free; weekly, monthly and multiple goals with Plus | Plus is $5.99 a month. |
| Bookly | Daily, monthly, yearly | Timer feeds the goals; reminders. |
| Basmo | Daily and yearly | Daily goal tracker, yearly targets. |
| Literal | Yearly | Annual targets with pacing. |
| Hardcover | Goals | Goal tracking listed on the App Store. |
| BookBuddy | Goals | Reading goals with books finished and pages read. |
| Magic Bookmark | None | Not a tracker; no goals. |
How big should your goal be?
Look at last year's total, if your tracker has it, and set this year's goal at or slightly below it. Long books, rereads and audiobooks all count if you want them to; decide once and stick to it.
Why do people abandon reading goals?
- The number was set in January optimism.
- Did-not-finish books felt like failure, so people stopped logging.
- Streaks broke and never restarted.
A time-based habit goal (minutes a day) is easier to keep than a book count; Bookly's timer and Basmo's sessions are built for that.
Questions
Which app has the best reading goals?
Bookly, for daily, monthly and yearly goals fed by its timer. StoryGraph is the pick if you also want the best charts.
Does the Goodreads Reading Challenge carry over to other apps?
Not always. Literal, for example, lists reading challenges among the things that do not import from Goodreads.