A Goodreads alternative for iPhone

Goodreads has the data. The app is the problem.

Goodreads has reviews on almost every book ever published, and that catalogue is the reason to keep an account. Nobody is catching up to it.

The app around it is a different matter. It is the standard example people reach for when they talk about software that has stopped moving: cluttered screens, an interface that feels years behind the rest of iOS, and loading times you notice on every tap. Tracking your own reading is one feature buried inside a social network, and it shows.

What ReadTracker does instead

ReadTracker is built around one job: keeping an accurate, detailed record of your own reading, on your own device.

• Four clear lists — TBR, In Progress, Completed and Abandoned
• Progress tracking per book as you read
• Custom ratings, including half-stars and emoji ratings
• Notes and tags on any book
• Reading goals and challenges
• Statistics that visualise your reading over time

How to move your library across

1. On Goodreads, export your library — it produces a CSV file.
2. Save that file somewhere in your Files app.
3. In ReadTracker, open Settings, choose Import, then Goodreads.
4. Pick the CSV file and let the import run.

Importing copies your data across. It does not change or delete anything on Goodreads, so you can try ReadTracker without committing to it.

Built for the iPhone you have now

This is the difference you feel in the first ten seconds. ReadTracker requires iOS 26 and is drawn with the current system design language throughout — native controls and materials, real Dynamic Type support, a dark mode that looks deliberate rather than inverted, fluid animation, and screens laid out for one thumb on a large phone. It opens instantly and stays fast as your library grows.

Goodreads still supports iOS 15. Keeping an app running on an OS from 2021 puts a hard ceiling on how much of the modern interface toolkit it can use, and that ceiling is visible on every screen. Open the two side by side and the comparison makes itself.

Goodreads and ReadTracker compared

Community size is left out of this table on purpose: Goodreads is far larger there, and that is the honest reason to keep an account. It is not a reason to do your own tracking in it.

Common questions

Can I import my Goodreads library into ReadTracker?

Yes. Export your Goodreads library to a CSV file, save it in your Files app, then open ReadTracker, go to Settings, choose Import, and pick Goodreads. Your library is imported in one tap.

Do I have to stop using Goodreads?

No. Importing copies your library into ReadTracker and changes nothing on Goodreads. Plenty of people keep a Goodreads account for its reviews and community while tracking their own reading in ReadTracker.

Is ReadTracker free?

ReadTracker is free to download on iPhone and iPad, with optional in-app purchases.

Does ReadTracker have a web version?

No. ReadTracker is a native iOS and iPadOS app. Goodreads, by contrast, is available on the web as well as on iOS and Android.