Best Goodreads Alternatives in 2025: Privacy-Focused Book Trackers

Goodreads has dominated book tracking for over a decade. With 150 million users, it's where readers go to track books, find recommendations, and connect with other bibliophiles. But since Amazon acquired Goodreads in 2013, a growing number of readers are looking for alternatives.

The reasons vary: privacy concerns about Amazon's data practices, frustration with an interface that hasn't meaningfully updated since 2012, review bombing controversies, or simply wanting something more modern. Whatever your reason, good alternatives exist — and some are significantly better for specific use cases.

Here's an honest comparison of the best Goodreads alternatives in 2025.

Why Readers Are Leaving Goodreads

Before diving into alternatives, it's worth understanding what's driving the exodus:

Amazon Ownership

When Amazon acquired Goodreads, they gained access to incredibly detailed data about reading habits. Every book you track, every rating you give, every review you write feeds into Amazon's recommendation algorithms and advertising systems.

For some readers, this feels like a violation of something personal. Reading choices reveal political views, health concerns, relationship struggles, career ambitions, and private interests. That data is valuable — and Amazon monetizes it.

Outdated Interface

Goodreads looks and functions much like it did in 2012. The mobile app is particularly frustrating: slow, cluttered, and packed with features most users never touch. Simple tasks like adding a book or updating progress require more taps than they should.

Review Bombing

Goodreads has struggled with coordinated campaigns where groups of users leave negative reviews on books they haven't read — often targeting authors for personal views or social media statements. The platform's moderation has been inconsistent, making the review ecosystem less trustworthy.

Missing Features

Despite years of user requests, Goodreads still lacks basic features like half-star ratings. You can give a book 3 stars or 4 stars, but not 3.5 — forcing readers to round their opinions in ways that feel imprecise.

The Top Goodreads Alternatives

1. Leaflet

Best for: Privacy-conscious readers who want cross-device sync

Price: Free with premium at $4.99/month or $34.99/year

Leaflet is a newer entrant designed specifically for readers who left Goodreads over privacy concerns. It stores all your data in your personal iCloud account — the app developers literally cannot access your reading history.

Standout features:

• Half-star ratings (0.5 increments)
• Reading session timer with analytics
• On-device AI recommendations (your data never leaves your phone)
• Seamless sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac
• Goodreads CSV import
• Notes and quotes with search

Privacy approach: Your books, ratings, and reading history are stored in CloudKit's private database, encrypted with keys only you possess. AI recommendations run entirely on your device using Apple's Foundation Models. There's no server to breach because your data never touches their servers.

Limitations: iOS only. No social features (by design). Newer app with smaller community.

2. StoryGraph

Best for: Fiction readers who want mood-based recommendations

Price: Free with premium at $4.99/month

StoryGraph emerged as the most popular Goodreads alternative, particularly among fiction readers. Its signature feature is mood-based recommendations — you can search for books that are "adventurous, funny, and fast-paced" rather than just browsing by genre.

Standout features:

• Mood and pace tracking for books
• Detailed reading statistics
• Content warnings for books
• Buddy reads and reading challenges
• Goodreads import

Limitations: The mood system works poorly for non-fiction (what's the "pace" of a biography?). AI recommendations use cloud processing, which raises privacy questions for some users. The mobile app is essentially a web wrapper, not a native experience.

3. Hardcover

Best for: Readers who want a modern Goodreads with social features

Price: Free with optional premium

Hardcover aims to be what Goodreads should have become — a modern, well-designed social platform for readers. It has the most Goodreads-like feature set of any alternative.

Standout features:

• Beautiful, modern interface
• Social features (following, activity feeds)
• Lists and reading challenges
• Half-star ratings
• Free forever tier with generous limits

Limitations: Mobile app feels slow compared to native apps. Sync can be inconsistent. Still building out features and community.

4. Bookly

Best for: Readers focused on reading habits and time tracking

Price: Free with premium at $29.99/year

Bookly focuses heavily on the habit-building side of reading. It has the best reading timer of any app and provides detailed statistics about your reading sessions.

Standout features:

• Excellent reading timer
• Pages-per-minute tracking
• Reading streak tracking
• Detailed session history
• Gentle reading reminders

Major limitation: No cross-device sync. This is the dealbreaker for many users. Your data exists only on the device where you recorded it. If you switch phones, start reading on an iPad, or lose your device — your data is gone or fragmented.

5. Literal

Best for: Readers who want curated, high-quality recommendations

Price: Free

Literal takes a different approach: instead of user reviews, it focuses on curated recommendations from authors, publishers, and tastemakers. The result is a more editorial, less chaotic experience.

Standout features:

• Curated book lists from notable readers
• Clean, minimalist design
• Club features for group reading
• No star ratings (thumbs up/down only)

Limitations: The lack of detailed ratings frustrates some users. Smaller community means fewer reviews and less discussion.

6. Libro.fm + Notes App

Best for: Audiobook listeners who want to support local bookstores

Price: $14.99/month for audiobooks

This isn't a single app but a combination that works well: Libro.fm for audiobook purchases (supporting independent bookstores) combined with a notes app for tracking. Some readers find this simple combination more effective than complex tracking apps.

Why it works: You're not trying to do everything in one place. Libro.fm handles audiobooks excellently, and a simple notes document handles tracking.

Limitations: Requires manual effort. No statistics, no automatic tracking, no recommendations.

Comparison Table

How to Choose

Choose Leaflet if:

• Privacy is your top priority
• You want your data in your iCloud, not on company servers
• You read across multiple Apple devices
• You want a reading timer with real analytics
• Half-star ratings matter to you
• You read both fiction and non-fiction

Choose StoryGraph if:

• You read primarily fiction
• Mood-based recommendations appeal to you
• You want content warnings for books
• Social features are important
• You're okay with cloud-based AI

Choose Hardcover if:

• You want a direct Goodreads replacement
• Social features (following, activity feeds) matter
• You're willing to deal with some growing pains
• You want something free with no pressure to upgrade

Choose Bookly if:

• You only use one device
• Detailed reading session tracking is your priority
• You don't need cross-device sync
• Habit building is more important than library management

Stay with Goodreads if:

• You're deeply invested in the social community
• You want the largest book database
• Privacy isn't a significant concern
• You're comfortable with Amazon's ecosystem

Migrating from Goodreads

Most alternatives support importing your Goodreads data. Here's the general process:

1. Export from Goodreads: Go to My Books → Import and Export → Export Library. You'll get a CSV file.

2. Import to new app: Each alternative has an import feature. Upload the CSV, and your books, ratings, and shelves will transfer.

What transfers:

• Books you've added
• Star ratings
• Read dates (usually)
• Shelf assignments (Want to Read, Currently Reading, Read)

What doesn't transfer:

• Reviews (formatting often breaks)
• Reading progress (page numbers)
• Friends and social connections
• Reading challenges and goals

Plan to spend some time cleaning up after import. Duplicates happen. Some books won't match. But 90%+ of your library should come over intact.

The Future of Book Tracking

The book tracking space is more competitive than it's been in years. Goodreads' stagnation created an opportunity, and multiple apps are racing to fill it.

For readers, this is good news. Competition drives innovation. Features like half-star ratings, reading timers, and better privacy practices exist because alternatives pushed for them.

The question isn't whether Goodreads alternatives are good enough — several clearly are. The question is which alternative matches your priorities: privacy, social features, design, analytics, or something else.

Making the Switch

If you're ready to leave Goodreads:

1. Export your data first. Don't abandon years of reading history.

2. Try before committing. Most alternatives have free tiers. Use them for a month before deciding.

3. Don't try to replace everything at once. If you only use Goodreads for tracking (not social), you don't need social features in your replacement.

4. Give it time. Any new app feels awkward initially. Commit to a real trial period.

Your reading life is personal. The app that tracks it should respect that — whether through privacy, design, features, or philosophy. Goodreads works for many people, but it's no longer the only option.

Find what works for you.

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Track Your Reading Privately with Leaflet

Leaflet is built for readers who believe their reading history is personal. Your books are stored in your iCloud — we never see them. AI recommendations run entirely on your device. And yes, we have half-star ratings.

Features readers love:

• Privacy-first architecture (your data stays yours)
• Seamless sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac
• Reading session timer with detailed analytics
• On-device AI recommendations
• Half-star ratings
• Goodreads CSV import

Your reading life, completely private.

Download Leaflet — The private book tracker.