Reading notes
Choosing a book tracker app: a 12-question buyer's checklist
Twelve questions to answer before you move your reading life into a new app.
Best Book Tracker Apps editors · 21 September 2026 · 3 min read
Before you pick a book tracker, answer twelve questions in four groups: will it run where you read, can you get your history in and out, does it do the jobs you care about, and what will it cost you in money and data. Most readers can rule out half the apps with the first three questions.
Contents
How should you use this checklist?
Go through the questions in order and stop when an app fails one that matters to you. The answers below come from the apps' store listings and websites, checked September 27, 2026, and from our criterion scores. For a side-by-side view of any apps you shortlist, use Compare; to weight the criteria your way, use the calculator.
Will it run where you read?
- Does it run on every device you use? The StoryGraph, Hardcover and Goodreads run on iPhone, iPad, Android and the web. BookBuddy runs on iPhone and iPad. Literal lists Android as coming soon, and Magic Bookmark runs on iPhone only, with Android on its roadmap.
- Does it cover your formats? Most trackers let you log print books, ebooks and audiobooks. If you read on Kobo, The StoryGraph is the only app we rank with a published live progress sync, through Kobo.
- Can you add books quickly? Barcode scanning is published by StoryGraph, Goodreads, Literal, Bookly and BookBuddy. If most of your books are print, this saves the most time.
Can you get your history in and out?
- Can it import your current library? The StoryGraph, Literal, Hardcover, Fable, Bookly and BookBuddy all publish a Goodreads import. Literal can read a public Goodreads profile directly.
- Can you export it again? Goodreads, The StoryGraph and BookBuddy publish exports; BookBuddy offers CSV, PDF and HTML. Hardcover and Literal publish APIs for developers.
- What will be left behind? Friends lists, comments and challenge history rarely come across in an import. Decide whether you mind before you move.
The import and export table lists every option in one place.
Does it do the jobs you care about?
- Do you want charts? The StoryGraph scores 10 on stats and goals, the highest here.
- Do you read with other people? Goodreads and Fable score 9 on social and book clubs. Literal's clubs are free, but Literal said in May 2026 that it is sunsetting the current version of Clubs.
- Do you time your sessions or catalogue your own copies? Bookly and Basmo run session timers, and BookBuddy records where each copy lives and who borrowed it. If you mostly need to pick a print book back up after a break, Magic Bookmark syncs to your exact page from a photo; it is not a tracker, so pair it with one.
What will it cost you, in money and in data?
- What does the paid tier cost, and do you need it? StoryGraph Plus and Hardcover Supporter are $49.99 a year, Fable Plus $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year, Basmo Premium $39.99 a year and Bookly Pro $29.99 for a year on the US App Store. Goodreads has no paid tier, Literal's membership is optional, and BookBuddy Pro is a one-time $9.99.
- What does the privacy label say? Hardcover's App Store label links no data to you. Bookly, Basmo and Magic Bookmark list identifiers under data used to track you. Our article on privacy labels covers all nine.
- Who is the company behind it? Check the seller line on the listing. Goodreads is an Amazon company, and Fable's Google Play listing names Scribd, Inc. as the developer.
How do you decide between two finalists?
If two apps pass all twelve questions, try both on the free tier for two weeks with real books, as in our lesson on trying an app before you commit. The one you actually open after every reading session is the one to keep. Every pair of apps also has a head-to-head page; start from Compare.