What is it? A book-tracking and book discovery app
Who is it for? Readers who want tailored suggestions and clean tracking
How much does it cost? Free with an optional Plus subscription
What makes it special? Mood-driven summaries and reviews
StoryGraph focuses on helping you find your next great read, not just logging the last one. Once a plucky upstart up against the might of Goodreads, it’s nice to see that it’s here to stay, steadily growing its user base while making the app more robust over time. In fact, StoryGraph is my favorite way to discover new books – here’s why.
Instead of leaning on star ratings alone, the app asks how a book feels: light or dark, fast‑ or slow‑paced, plot‑ or character‑driven, and more. Those qualitative prompts build a rich taste profile that StoryGraph turns into uncannily accurate recommendations. Want a short, snappy sci‑fi with flawed but lovable leads? Or a reflective historical romance with a darker tone? It’s easy to dial in exactly what you’re in the mood for.
Day to day, StoryGraph covers the tracking basics without clutter: mark progress on current reads, keep a tidy “to be read” pile, review finished books, and browse reading stats with nifty charts and graphs. There’s a quick taste questionnaire to tune recommendations further, custom tags and lists, a private reading journal, and an Up Next queue to lock in your next five reads.
The social layer is nicely woven, too. If your friends are on the app – or you follow a public creator – you can see current and recent reads with ratings and reviews. Buddy reads add live, spoiler‑locked reactions at specific points, and StoryGraph will even suggest compatible reading buddies using machine learning. It feels like being part of a book club without having to leave the house.
It’s also a strong alternative to Goodreads for readers who no longer trust that platform’s review ecosystem or prefer not to back an Amazon‑owned product. From an objective standpoint, StoryGraph simply feels different: a cleaner UI, mood‑first discovery, content warnings, and recommendations that prioritize vibes over raw popularity. If you have a long history with Goodreads, you can import everything to StoryGraph with ease so you don’t lose anything in the transition.
The app is free and ad‑free, with an optional Plus subscription for deeper stats and more personalized suggestions. It’s run by a small team and available on other platforms too, so your non-iOS pals can get involved. If you’re hoping to read more this year, it might just be the app you need to keep you motivated and find your new favorite book.