Amol B
Why would anyone want a tracker without a social feed?
Three reasons come up again and again in reviews of the social apps. The feed competes with reading: you open the app to log a page and leave twenty minutes later having read about other people's books. Promoted content: Fable's reviews are full of complaints about paid clubs in the "For You" feed, and Goodreads has carried ads for a decade. And privacy: a reading list is personal, and "make everything private" is a setting people forget to find.
A private tracker is a different product. Its job is done in ten seconds a night.
Six private book trackers, compared
| App | Platforms | Free tier | Paid | Page capture | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pensovo | iOS, Android | Unlimited books, streaks, calendar, notes, collections, sync — no ads | Summaries and narration: $5.99/mo, $49.99/yr with a 7-day free trial; ₹149/mo, ₹899/yr in India (₹499 first year) | Yes, on device, free | Readers of physical books who want a streak |
| Bookmory | iOS, Android | Unlimited, with ads | $3.49/mo, $30.99/yr | Yes | Offline journal keepers |
| Book Tracker | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch | 5 books | $19.99 one-time | Yes | Apple users who want to pay once |
| Reading List | iOS, iPad, Mac | Unlimited | Pro from about $14.99/yr; $38 lifetime | No | Minimalists; barcode scanning |
| Leio | iOS | Limited | $7.99 one-off unlimited; $29.99/yr; OCR add-on | Yes, paid | Deadline readers; finish-date prediction |
| Bookly | iOS, Android, Watch | 10 books, ads | $4.99/mo, $29.99/yr, $79.99 lifetime | Shelf photo (bulk add) | Timer and stats fans |
Prices are US App Store, September 2026, and change often.
Which private tracker is completely free?
Pensovo and Reading List are the two with no book cap and no ads on the free tier. Reading List is Apple-only; Pensovo is on both platforms and includes sync, streaks and page capture in the free tier. Bookmory is free and unlimited but shows ads, which its own reviews say can crash the app. Bookly's free tier stops at ten books and shows full-page ads, which is its most common complaint.
Which one lets me photograph a page?
Pensovo, Bookmory and Book Tracker capture a passage from a photo of the page and turn it into editable text attached to the book; Pensovo does it on the phone, so it works offline and costs nothing. Leio sells it as an add-on. Bookly photographs a shelf rather than a page — it recognises spines to add books in bulk, a different and also useful trick.
Which one works on Android?
Pensovo, Bookmory and Bookly. Book Tracker, Reading List and Leio are Apple-only, and their developers have said nothing about changing that. If you are on Android and want no ads, Pensovo is the one; if you do not mind ads, Bookmory has the biggest Android community of the indie trackers.
Can I still share a book without a feed?
Yes — sharing and a feed are different things. Pensovo, Bookmory and Book Tracker each generate a card (a passage, a finished book, a profile) you can post anywhere you like; nothing goes to anyone unless you send it. That is the model most readers who leave Goodreads say they wanted: a shelf that is theirs, with a share button for when they choose.
Common questions
Can I use Goodreads privately?
Partly. You can set your profile to private, but the app still opens to a feed and carries ads, and a private profile disables some features. It is a social network with a private mode, not a private tracker.
Is StoryGraph private?
StoryGraph's social layer is light and optional, and since September 2026 you can mark individual books private so nobody else sees them. Its stats are the best in the category. It is a fair choice if you want stats more than a daily streak; it is in the social group here because it still has profiles, follows and buddy reads.
Do these apps need an account?
Book Tracker and Reading List work with no account at all. Pensovo works signed out and offers an account only when you want sync. Bookmory is device-local by default. Bookly requires an account.
Can I get my data out?
Book Tracker, Reading List and Bookmory export CSV. Pensovo keeps your library, notes and streak history if you cancel Premium, and export is on its roadmap. Check before you commit: a tracker that cannot export is a tracker you cannot leave.
Which is best for a paper-book reader?
Pensovo or Book Tracker. Both capture passages from the page and attach notes to the page number. Pensovo adds a streak, Reading Mode with ambient sound, and Android.
Which is best if I only want to pay once?
Book Tracker ($19.99) on Apple. On Android nothing good is one-time; Bookmory's $30.99 a year is the cheapest subscription without a cap.
