A StoryGraph alternative for reading more, not just measuring it

People search for a StoryGraph alternative for two different reasons. Some want another tracker with even more data. Others love their charts but notice that the charts mostly show how little they read. ReadFirst is for the second group: an app lock and a reading tracker in one, so a page of your printed book comes before your feed. If you mainly want recommendations and community, The StoryGraph is likely the better fit.

We make ReadFirst, so we are not neutral. We checked every fact about The StoryGraph on its App Store page and website on 20 October 2026.

What is The StoryGraph?

The StoryGraph is a reading tracker known for its stats and its mood and pace based recommendations. On the US App Store it is listed as "StoryGraph: Reading Tracker" by The StoryGraph Limited, and many readers use it as a replacement for Goodreads.

You set annual goals for books, pages or listening, join or create reading challenges, and see charts and graphs of your reading habits, including streaks. You can browse books by mood and pace and get machine learning recommendations. There are friends, buddy reads, readalongs, book clubs, shared lists and spoiler-safe live reactions. It also offers custom tags, half and quarter star ratings, a reading journal, DNF tracking, content warnings, a barcode scanner, Goodreads import and Kobo progress sync.

The StoryGraph is free with in-app purchases. StoryGraph Plus costs $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, as listed on the US App Store on 20 October 2026. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro and on the web, and its site says it is also on the Play Store.

The StoryGraph vs ReadFirst at a glance

Where The StoryGraph is a great choice

The StoryGraph does several things ReadFirst does not try to do, and it does them well.

• Recommendations by mood and pace. If you often wonder what to read next, its browsing and recommendations are built for that. ReadFirst has no recommendations.
• Charts for every format. Charts and graphs of your reading habits, with goals for books, pages and listening, so audiobooks count too.
• Community. Buddy reads, readalongs, book clubs and live reactions make reading social. ReadFirst has no social feed.
• Moving your history. It imports from Goodreads and syncs progress from Kobo. ReadFirst has no import.
• A free start. You can use The StoryGraph without paying, and it is on more platforms.

Why readers pick ReadFirst

ReadFirst is built around one moment: the one where you reach for your phone instead of your book. It changes what happens next.

A page before the feed. You choose the apps and websites that steal your reading time, and Apple Screen Time keeps them locked. To open them, you read a printed page and take a live photo of the last page you read. The page is checked on your iPhone and the photo is never saved. Only the apps you chose are locked, never the phone. See read to unlock.

Your rule, your trade. You decide what a page is worth, for example one page for 15 minutes in your apps. Minutes only run while you use the locked apps. Read more than the rule asks and the extra minutes go into a bank for later that day.

Stats that follow the habit. ReadFirst's reading stats show pages per day in your week, month and year with your goal line, your best day and week, reading days, books finished and all your reading time. Story and square share cards come with them. A reading streak with one grace day a month and 60 reading medals keep the habit going.

Paper first. Every book on your shelf is a printed book you add by barcode, cover photo, title search or by typing it in. The pages that open your apps are the pages that move your book.

No account. Your reading syncs with iCloud. There is no profile, no followers and nothing to keep up.

If you only want to track for a while, set the minutes in your rule to 0. ReadFirst then runs in Track only, and every page counts for your book, goal and medals.

Can you use both?

Yes. The StoryGraph can stay your place for discovery, ratings, content warnings and book clubs, while ReadFirst handles the daily part: the page before the scroll, the streak and the shelf of what you are reading now.

ReadFirst does not import from The StoryGraph or Goodreads, so you add the printed books you are reading now. With a barcode scan, that is a few seconds per book.

Which one should you choose?

Both are reading trackers, but they answer different questions. The StoryGraph asks what you read and what to read next. ReadFirst asks whether you read today.

Choose The StoryGraph if:

• you want mood and pace based recommendations
• you track e-books and audiobooks too
• buddy reads and book clubs matter to you

Choose ReadFirst if:

• your phone keeps winning the time you meant to read
• you read printed books and want a daily goal, a streak and medals
• you want stats without a social layer or an account

If you are still comparing, our Goodreads alternative page and the best reading tracker apps list cover more options.