The Best Book Tracking Apps in 2023 (the year we all ditch Goodreads)
A list of the best book trackers out there so you can say good riddance to Amazon-owned Goodreads. Disclaimer: I built bookworm so I obvi have opinions about this. That being said, there are so many amazing trackers out there. I laid out some of my favorites here.
If you’re like me, the last thread keeping you tied to Amazon is your coveted digital library stored and meticulously curated in Goodreads. It’s not that I ever really liked Goodreads, or even that it’s usable. Mostly, it was the only thing around when I started tracking my reads. And then my digital library was held hostage. The good news is: times have changed and now there’s several alternatives. So here is a list of book trackers out there, so you can finally ditch Goodreads (and Amazon) in 2023.
1. Bookworm Reads: a community-oriented book tracker
Bookworm is the hot new book tracker on the scene. Launched in 2022, Bookworm is only a year old with thousands of users and a lot of love. Bookworm is delightful all around — from the color scheme, to the UI/UX, to the happy community vibes, to their social media presence (they invented bookworm bingo!). But the best part, by far, is that you get to dress up your little wormy avatar. You can track your books into custom bookshelves, you can recommend books to friends, you can see what everyone in the app is reading, or just your friends, and you can participate in seasonal reading challenges. I love this feature in particular — it takes away the pressure of reading so many books in a year (and that rush in December to read as many graphic novels as you can to meet your yearly reading goal), and makes your reading goals more fun and feasible. This app is definitely one to watch — it’s been around for less than a year and I’m excited to see how it grows.
tl;dr: use Bookworm if you like community, color, and want to be a dressed up a worm.
On web or app? Both
Can I import my Goodreads library? Yes ✅
Cuteness factor: 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
Ease of use: 😌😌😌😌😌
Allows half stars? Yes ✨
2. The StoryGraph: a data-oriented book tracker
If you’re not interested in community, but you do love to nerd out about statistics, Storygraph is made for you. Storygraph lets you get intimate with your reading habits, like what moods and pace you tend to read, fiction/nonfiction, format, authors, etc. Storygraph is more business-like than any of the other apps here. What they lack in UX and color, they make up for in pure data. Storygraph has been around for a couple years, and the sheer number of users & data prove that. They have a rich dataset of “tags” on books (think genres, plus vibes, plus …more). One of my favorite features of Storygraph (and I haven’t seen this feature anywhere else!) is that they have “content warnings” listed for books. Users can submit these as a part of their review, and authors can submit “author approved” content warnings for their books. Storygraph also does algorithmic book recommendations, which some users like — I personally prefer a book rec from a friend than an algorithmic prediction.
tl;dr: use Storygraph to get rich data about your reads
Can I import my Goodreads library? Yes ✅
On web or app? Both
Cuteness factor: 🥹❌❌❌❌
Ease of use: 😌😌😌😌😌
Allows half stars? Yes ✨ (even quarter stars!)
3. Bookly: a habit-forming book tracker
Bookly lets you set reading goals for yourself — like 20 minutes/day, or 15 hours/month, or 25 books/year — and will nudge you to complete them. Bookly “gamifies” reading so that when you meet one of these goals, you get a little prize! The prize can be exchanged for outfits for your Bookly avatar, or an extension or “pass” on your reading goal. Bookly offers personalized reading stats, like Storygraph, but behind a paywall. The catch with Bookly is that you have to log every time you start and stop reading for it to work. That is a bit too cumbersome for me, as I don’t want to be tied to my phone while I read. That being said, they do make this experience enjoyable — you can add quotes as you read, or thoughts, or play ambient sounds. When you finish your reading session you’re encouraged to “reflect” on it, which is a cute way to journal about your reading journey. That being said, I’m not sure how often people use this feature, and the app is filled with obtrusive pushes to “Get Pro” (aka the paid version). So if you need help reading more often, or if you set a new years resolution and you want to stick to it, and you’ve got $30 to spare, Bookly might be for you.
tl;dr: use Bookly to help make reading a habit
Can I import my Goodreads library? No ❌
On web or app? app only
Cuteness factor: 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
Ease of use: 😌😌❌❌❌
Allows half stars? Yes ✨
4. Readerly: a review-centered book tracker
Readerly is less of a book tracker and more of a discussion platform. When logging a book you read, you can choose from a set of options: “Not for me,” “I’d recommend it,” “A favorite,” “Didn’t finish,” or “Neutral/unsure.” You’re then prompted to describe the book, or share your thoughts on the book. This is where the app feels less like a book tracker and more like a subreddit. The best feature of Readerly is the Discussion section. You can post about a book, or genre, or neither, and leave it open to discussion with all Readerly users. This is super useful for your specific book requests needs, but you’ll also see users talking about their reading habits and other random stuff.
tl;dr: The feed is shaped like old Instagram but with less stuff to look at. Their Discussion page is really where it’s at.
Can I import my Goodreads library? Yes ✅
On web or app? Both
Cuteness factor: ❌❌❌❌❌
Ease of use: 😌😌❌❌❌
Allows half stars? Doesn’t allow star ratings 🤨
5. Copper: an author-centered book tracker
Copper sure is beautiful to look at, but I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking at. The feed is populated by users’ lists and every now and then a single book review. While you can see who made these lists/reviews, you can’t see why, or what makes these lists valuable. Scrolling through, you’ll see several lists called “2023” which makes me think these are just users’ libraries. Copper has recently changed how it advertises itself — from a platform built for authors, to a platform built by authors and readers. This, coupled with the fact that they’re only available on iOS, makes me think they’ve still got some growth to do until they can be considered worth the switch.
tl;dr: Copper is supposed to be “for authors,” but I’m not sure how/why. Points deducted for only being available on iPhone. Point added for having beautiful UI.
Can I import my Goodreads library? No ❌
On web or app? iOS app only
Cuteness factor: 🥹🥹🥹❌❌
Ease of use: 😌😌❌❌❌
Allows half stars? Doesn’t allow star ratings 🤨
6. Basmo: a self-improvement-centered book tracker
Basmo is for the project manager in you. Upon sign-up, the app creates a contract that you “sign,” detailing how much you will read, and when, and then you choose days in the upcoming week that you will commit to reading. It feels very capitalist and, for me at least, takes away the joy of reading. Your reading statistics are behind paywall, and you have to invite friends to have any community on the app. Even after you invite friends, the community features are limited, as is the “explore” page. Basmo definitely strikes me as less of a book tracker and more of habit-pusher. It’s like Bookly but less cute. The best feature I can see is that you can connect your Kindle for reading data.
tl;dr: Basmo is for making reading a habit, but it feels less fun than Bookly. It’s best feature is that you can import from Kindle.
Can I import my Goodreads library? No ❌
On web or app? app only
Cuteness factor: 🥹❌❌❌❌
Ease of use: 😌😌❌❌❌
Allows half stars? Doesn’t allow star ratings 🤨
Summary: The winner is Bookworm
Bookworm Reads is the up-and-coming book tracker. Bookworm will be the next Goodreads — it’s beautiful to look at, has all the features I want to track my books, and a rich and delightful community of readers. Storygraph is the best for analytical insights into your reads, and Bookly is the best option to help making reading a habit.
Happy reading!
