The best Goodreads alternatives for tracking your books (2026)

You loved the idea of Goodreads. You’re just done with the reality of it.

If you’ve been quietly frustrated with Goodreads for years but never bothered to look for something better, you’re not alone. A growing wave of readers, particularly those active on BookTok and Bookstagram, are ditching the platform and searching for a modern alternative that actually matches how they read today.

This guide covers the best Goodreads alternatives in 2026, what makes each one worth considering, and what to look for when you make the switch. If you want the iPhone-focused comparison instead, start with our guide to the best reading tracker apps for iPhone.

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Why are readers leaving Goodreads?

Goodreads launched in 2007 and was acquired by Amazon in 2013. Since then, meaningful product improvements have been almost nonexistent. Readers have been vocal about the frustrations for years, and they largely fall into the same categories:

• The UI feels frozen in 2009. No dark mode. A cluttered, ad-heavy interface. A mobile app that barely functions.
• Reviews are a mess. The rating system is easily gamed. Troll reviews and off-topic commentary about author drama clog up book pages.
• No reading stats that matter. You can log that you read something, but Goodreads won’t tell you how fast you read, how many hours you spent, or give you anything worth sharing.
• The social feed is overwhelming and irrelevant. You’re as likely to see a spoiler as a genuine recommendation.
• No privacy controls. Your entire reading history is public by default, and it’s not immediately obvious how to change that.

For casual readers who just want to check star ratings before buying a book, Goodreads is fine. For readers who care about their reading life: tracking progress, building streaks, analysing habits, it’s long overdue for a replacement. The same distinction is why a Notion book tracker template won’t build a reading habit even if it looks better than Goodreads.

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What to look for in a Goodreads alternative

Before diving into the options, here’s what separates a genuinely useful reading tracker from another app you’ll abandon in two weeks:

1. Ease of adding books. If it takes more than 10 seconds to log a book, you won’t stay consistent.
2. Progress tracking. Can you log sessions, not just “started” and “finished” dates?
3. Meaningful stats. Reading speed, pages per day, streaks, yearly totals.
4. Design you actually enjoy opening. This matters more than it sounds.
5. Privacy controls. Your reading list is personal. You should control who sees it.

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The best Goodreads alternatives in 2026

1. Moth: best for readers who take their habit seriously

Best for: Night readers, habit-builders, stat enthusiasts, BookTok and Bookstagram users

Moth is a reading tracker built around one idea: reading should feel like a ritual, not a chore. The app’s dark, warm aesthetic (think deep ambers and soft lamplight tones) is designed specifically for evening readers, and every feature has been built to reduce friction and increase motivation.

What makes Moth different:

• Built-in reading timer. Tap to start a session, tap to end it. Moth calculates your reading speed automatically and tracks it across every book. After finishing a book, you’ll know exactly how fast you read it, and whether you’re getting faster over time.
• Streak system. Set a daily goal in minutes or pages (ten minutes is a reasonable starting point) and let the streak do the motivating.
• Shareable completion cards. Every finished book generates a visual card showing the book details, your reading journey, rating and a personal note: the kind of thing that performs on BookTok.
• DNF as a first-class status. Moth doesn’t bury the books you didn’t finish. You can track and categorise them, give yourself credit for the pages you did read, and build the healthier habit of DNFing books that are not working. The library entry stays; your reading history stays complete.
• Deep dark mode, built from the ground up. Not an afterthought. The entire visual identity of Moth is designed for reading in low light.

If you want a tracker that makes reading feel measurable and worth returning to, Moth is the most considered option currently available.

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2. StoryGraph: best for data-focused readers

Best for: Readers who want detailed mood and pace tagging, deep filtering, and robust reading challenges

StoryGraph is the most direct Goodreads competitor in terms of scope. It has a large book database, strong community features, and a more sophisticated recommendation engine that tags books by mood, pace, and content warnings rather than just genre.

Strengths: detailed book tagging, excellent search and filter tools, active development team, good Goodreads import.

Limitations: the interface is functional but not visually inspiring. No real-time reading timer. Less focus on the reading session itself, more on cataloguing.

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3. Fable: best for readers who want a book club built in

Best for: Readers who find motivation through community, shared reading, and discussion

Fable organises reading around clubs. Some are led by authors or public figures; most are run by ordinary readers who pick a book, set a pace, and open the discussion. If you read faster when someone else is reading alongside you, Fable is built around exactly that dynamic.

The app includes some basic reading tracking, which gives it more utility as a personal log than a pure social platform.

Strengths: well-designed book club infrastructure, good author and creator participation, solid discovery through community picks, cleaner interface than Goodreads.

Limitations: the better tracking features require a subscription. For readers who want session timers, reading speed data, or detailed stats, Fable is not the right tool. It is built for reading together, not for measuring how you read alone.

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4. Bookly: best for session-focused tracking

Best for: Readers who want granular session statistics and don’t care about social features

Bookly is almost purely a reading timer and statistics app. You log every session, and over time it builds a detailed picture of your reading habits: best reading times, average session length, pages per hour.

Strengths: excellent session tracking, beautiful charts, motivating stats.

Limitations: no social features, the UI can feel clinical and the builtin store can be confusing.

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5. Hardcover: best for readers who want an open alternative

Best for: Tech-savvy readers who want community-driven features and API access

Hardcover is an open, community-built alternative that’s growing quickly. It has a clean interface, lists, and Goodreads import functionality, and the development is active and transparent.

Strengths: open-source ethos, good discovery features, active community, modern design.

Limitations: still maturing; some features feel incomplete. Less polished than dedicated apps.

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Which Goodreads alternative is right for you?

If habit-tracking and design are your priority, Moth is the obvious choice. StoryGraph suits readers who want granular book tagging and a more sophisticated recommendation engine. Fable is worth a look if you’re more motivated by reading alongside others than by personal stats. Bookly is for readers who want detailed session data and nothing else. And if you prefer an open-source, community-run alternative, Hardcover is the most transparent option currently available.

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The bottom line

Goodreads had its moment. For millions of readers, it was the first place that made a reading list feel shareable and social. But the platform hasn’t kept pace with how readers actually use apps in 2026, and the alternatives have quietly gotten very good.

If you’ve been putting off the switch, the options are in good enough shape now that the effort is worth it. Your reading history exports in minutes, and what you get in return: better stats, a more enjoyable experience, and tools that actually help you read more. That is a reasonable trade.

Download Moth from the App Store or Google Play, and start tracking your reading tonight.