# Which reading tracker app suits you?

> You want to remember what you have read, what you are reading and what you still want to read, without a spreadsheet. What the main apps do, what they cost, and how to get a whole bookcase in without typing.

Updated 29 October 2026. Source: https://timetoread.now/reading-tracker-app/

**The short answer.** You can keep track of the books you read with **Goodreads**, **The StoryGraph** or **Time to Read**: all three have shelves for what you are reading, want to read and have read, and a yearly reading goal. Goodreads is free and belongs to Amazon. The StoryGraph is free, with a paid Plus at £3.49 a month, and lists a barcode scanner, streaks and goals for pages and listening. Time to Read fills your shelves from a Goodreads link, a StoryGraph file, a barcode or a photo of your bookcase, and adds readers who recommend your next book. A notebook works too.

## The apps that keep track of what you read

You can keep track of the books you read with Goodreads, The StoryGraph and Time to Read. All three work on the same idea: one shelf for what you are reading now, one for what you still want to read and one for what you have finished. The differences are in who makes the app, what it costs, how you get your books into it, and what it does beyond the list.

An app is not compulsory. A notebook on your bedside table, or a spreadsheet with title, author and date, does the same job, costs nothing and belongs to nobody but you. You just miss out on scanning and on the adding up.

## The apps side by side

| App | Who it belongs to | Getting your books in | Goals and streaks | What it costs |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Goodreads | Goodreads LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. | Search by title, author or ISBN; import a .csv file | The Reading Challenge, a yearly goal | Free |
| The StoryGraph | The StoryGraph Limited | Barcode scanner, or import your Goodreads shelves | Yearly goals for books, pages and listening; streaks | Free. Plus costs £3.49 a month or £34.99 a year |
| Time to Read | It's Time To Read, a Dutch sole trader. Made by Anastasia and Marvin Visser | Link to your public Goodreads shelf, StoryGraph export file, barcode, or a photo of a full shelf | A yearly reading goal, your streak of days in a row, and seals earned by reading | Seven days free, then a subscription. The price is shown in the app before anything is charged |

Goodreads' owner is from its [privacy notice](https://www.goodreads.com/about/privacy). Prices and features are from each app's page on the UK App Store ([Goodreads](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/goodreads-book-tracker-more/id355833469), [The StoryGraph](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/storygraph-reading-tracker/id1570489264)), read on 29 October 2026.

## Getting your bookcase in: scanning, photographing or importing

The dullest part of any reading app is the start: typing in everything you have ever read. There are three ways round it.

- **Scanning the barcode.** Almost every book has a barcode with its ISBN on the back. The StoryGraph lists a barcode scanner in its app, and Time to Read scans the barcode too, one book or a whole pile in a row.
- **Photographing a shelf.** In Time to Read you take a photo of a full shelf and the app reads the spines. Handy when your bookcase is bigger than your patience.
- **Importing from another app.** The StoryGraph says it takes over your Goodreads shelves. Time to Read reads a public Goodreads shelf from the link you paste, and a StoryGraph export file. How to move step by step is in [a Goodreads alternative](https://timetoread.now/goodreads-alternative/).

Do not try to get every book you have ever read in on day one. Start with what you are reading now and the last ten you finished. The rest will come back to you as you go.

## Reading, Want, Read: three shelves are enough

Every reading app lets you make as many shelves as you like, and most people who start with twenty end up using three. Goodreads calls them Currently Reading, Want to Read and Read, and has a shelf for books you did not finish too. In Time to Read they are [Reading, Want and Read](https://timetoread.now/#shelves).

The one that grows out of control is the middle one. Everything you hear about goes on it, and after a year it holds three hundred books and stops being useful. Readers call it their [TBR](https://timetoread.now/what-does-tbr-mean/), and there are ways to keep it in check.

> A list you keep is a memory. A list you never look at is a chore.

## A reading goal and a streak

A reading goal is a number for the year: twelve books, or thirty. All three apps keep one for you. On Goodreads it is the Reading Challenge. The StoryGraph lists yearly goals for books, pages and listening, and streaks besides. In Time to Read you set a reading goal for the year and see your streak, and you earn seals by reading, which cannot be bought.

How do you choose the number? Count what you read last year and add a few. If you love long books, count pages instead of titles, or you will start avoiding the thick ones because they only count as one. A streak works differently: it is not about how much, only whether you read today. Ten pages keeps it going as well as a hundred.

## Which one suits you

- **You want the biggest community and groups for every genre.** Goodreads. It is free, and most readers you know are probably on it already.
- **You love statistics about your own reading.** The StoryGraph, with its charts and its goals for pages and listening.
- **You want nothing to do with an app.** A notebook. Write the title, the author, the date you finished and one line on what you thought. In ten years it will be the most precious book you own.
- **You want your shelves to lead to your next book.** Time to Read fills [your shelves](https://timetoread.now/#shelves) from a link, a file, a barcode or a photo, and then readers whose shelves overlap with yours recommend what to read next in [Ask](https://timetoread.now/#ask). A [reading session](https://timetoread.now/#session) blocks the apps you set aside for 15, 45 or 60 minutes. It is a subscription after seven free days. If you would like to try it, [download the app](https://timetoread.now/install).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the best app to keep track of books I have read?

The one you will still open in six months. If you want groups and the widest reach, Goodreads. If you want charts and statistics about your reading, The StoryGraph. If you want your shelves to lead to your next book, Time to Read. All three keep a list of what you read and set a yearly goal.

### Is there a free app to keep track of books read?

Yes. Goodreads is free on the UK App Store with no in-app purchases listed, and The StoryGraph is free with an optional paid Plus at £3.49 a month or £34.99 a year. Both were checked on 29 October 2026. A notebook or a spreadsheet costs nothing at all.

### Can I scan my books into a reading app?

Yes. The StoryGraph lists a barcode scanner, and Time to Read scans the barcode on the back of a book too, one book or a whole pile in a row. Time to Read can also read the spines from a photo of a full shelf.

### What is a reading streak?

The number of days in a row you have read. It does not count how much, only whether you read today. The StoryGraph and Time to Read both show one. Some readers find it motivating; others find it adds pressure, in which case a yearly goal may suit better.

### Should I track pages or books?

If you like long books, pages. Counting books makes an eight-hundred-page novel worth the same as a hundred-page novella, which quietly steers you away from the long ones. If you mostly read books of similar length, counting titles is simpler.

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**Your shelves in one go, and your next book.** Time to Read fills your shelves from a Goodreads link, a StoryGraph file, a barcode or a photo of a full shelf. Then readers recommend what to read next. Seven days free, then a subscription you can cancel any time; the price is shown in the app. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/time-to-read-book-club/id6799412901. Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.timetoread.app