Book tracker app news, October 2026: what changed, and what it means for readers

What changed at Goodreads?

On October 5, 2026, Goodreads announced half and quarter star ratings: you select a rating and slide to fine-tune, so a book can get 3.5 or 4.25 instead of being rounded. Existing ratings stay as they are unless you change them. Goodreads says readers added 3.5 million ratings in less than two days after launch, and that the most used new ratings were 3.5, 4.5, 3.75 and 4.25. Version 4.37.0 of the iOS app, dated October 10, leads with the change.

The StoryGraph already offered half and quarter stars, so finer ratings are no longer a reason to leave Goodreads. We updated our Goodreads alternatives page to say so.

What changed at Bookly?

When we checked on October 19, 2026, the US App Store listed Bookly Pro at $4.99 a month, $19.99 for six months or $29.99 a year, after a 7-day free trial. The $79.99 Pro option we listed in September no longer appeared. We updated the Bookly review that day and added dated notes to older articles rather than rewriting them.

What changed at Magic Bookmark?

Version 1.0.10, on October 19, added a flow for wrapping up a finished book and moving on to your next read. Version 1.1, on October 21, says: "Now with audiobook support: get spoiler-free recaps for any book format." Version 1.1.1, on October 27, repeats that note. You enter the last phrase you heard, and the recap, cast list, questions and character chat stop at that point. Our note on [Magic Bookmark's audiobook support](/reading-notes/magic-bookmark-adds-audiobook-support) covers how it works and the score math.

We also corrected a launch fact. The US App Store version history for Magic Bookmark begins with version 1.0.1 on August 20, 2026, not version 1.0 on August 18 as we had listed. Its App Store page lists Macs with Apple M1 or later, but its header says Designed for iPhone and not verified for macOS, so we still list it as an iPhone app.

Which apps updated for iPhone Duo?

• October 22: The StoryGraph's iOS app version 1.25 says it is now ready for iPhone Duo, with other small fixes and improvements.
• October 26: BookBuddy version 10.4.0 lists one change, optimized for iPhone Duo.

Neither update changes what the apps track, so neither changes our facts pages.

Did any scores change?

No. Magic Bookmark already scored 10 on getting back into the story, the maximum, because its listing described finding your place from the last phrase you heard, and its finish-a-book flow is not a reading log, so its logging score of 5 stands. Goodreads' half stars are a tracker feature, and trackers are compared on facts, not scores. Bookly's new prices are on its review, and all scores are re-checked at the quarterly review due in December 2026. BookBuddy still ranks first.

What should readers do?

• Goodreads readers weighing a move for finer ratings: the remaining differences are stats, privacy labels and data portability. See StoryGraph vs Goodreads.
• Bookly Pro subscribers: check which option you are on before your next renewal.
• Audiobook listeners: see how to track audiobooks for logging, and where a recap tool fits.

Every item is also on our News page with its source, and the March to September round-up is here.

Questions

Sources

1. 1Goodreads, "The (Half) Stars Have Aligned", October 5, 2026
2. 2App Store listing, Goodreads (version history)
3. 3App Store listing, Bookly
4. 4App Store listing, Magic Bookmark (version history and compatibility)
5. 5App Store listing, The StoryGraph (version history and features)
6. 6App Store listing, BookBuddy (version history)