Private Goodreads alternatives in 2026: an honest comparison
We make Storyfeel, one of the apps on this list, so read our place in it with that in mind. We have tried to be fair to everyone else: every price and claim about another app comes from its own site or a recent review, linked at the end. Prices change, so check before you pay.
Goodreads is still the biggest book site there is, and for some readers that is exactly the problem. Your shelves are public unless you dig through the settings, the site is built around reviews and followers, and since 2013 it has belonged to Amazon. If what you want is a place to keep track of your reading for yourself, there are now several good options. They are private in different ways, and that difference matters more than any feature list.
Four kinds of "private"
- Private settings on a social app. The app is built for sharing, but you can hide things. Hardcover lets you mark each book public, followers-only or private.
- No social layer at all. No profiles, no feed, no followers. Shelvd, Bookmory and Alia work this way.
- Nothing leaves your phone. Openreads keeps everything on the device, with no account and no cloud. Very private, but if you lose the phone without a backup, you lose the library.
- Synced, but encrypted end to end. Your diary is encrypted on your device before it is saved, so it syncs across devices while the company storing it cannot read it. This is how Storyfeel works.
The apps at a glance
| App | Best for | How private | Free | Paid | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| StoryGraph | Stats, mood and pace tracking | Social features you can ignore | Generous | Plus: $4.99/month or $49.99/year | Web, iOS, Android |
| Hardcover | A friendlier social Goodreads | Per-book privacy settings | Core app free | Supporter: $4.99/month or $49.99/year | Web, iOS |
| Bookmory | A tidy mobile reading log | No social feed; app lock | Yes, with ads | $3.49/month or $30.99/year | iOS, Android |
| Openreads | Free, open source, offline | Stays on your device | Everything | — | iOS, Android |
| Shelvd | A simple, calm shelf | No social features | Unlimited books | Pro: $3/month | Web |
| Candl | Notes you review later | Private by default, no followers | Up to 100 books | $8.90/month | Web app, installable |
| Alia | Decorated margin notes | No public shelf by default | 2 new books a month | Premium | iOS, Android |
| Storyfeel | Remembering how each book felt | End-to-end encrypted, synced | 20 books, 4 series, 3 Story Maps | $4.99/month or $49.90/year | Web app, installable on any device |
The apps, one by one
StoryGraph
The best known alternative, and for good reason: its charts of what you read, at what pace and in what mood are the best around, and the free tier already covers tracking, mood and pace tags, content warnings and reading challenges. Plus adds deeper stats and unlimited recommendations. It has a community side, but you can mostly ignore it. Choose it if you love data about your reading. (We compare it with Storyfeel in detail in Storyfeel vs StoryGraph.)
Hardcover
Hardcover is the closest thing to "Goodreads, but nicer": lists, reviews, recommendations and people to follow, with a modern design and the ability to make any single book private. It is independent, ad-free and funded by an optional Supporter plan that does not lock features. Choose it if you still want a community, just a kinder one.
Bookmory
A clean, phone-first reading log with goals, progress, quotes and notes, and no public feed at all. The free version shows ads; Premium removes them and adds sync, stats and themes. Choose it if you mostly track on your phone and want something tidy and quiet.
Openreads
Free, open source and ad-free, with your library stored only on your device. It covers the basics well — read, reading, want to read, did not finish, tags, stats — and it imports a Goodreads export. Choose it if privacy matters more than syncing between devices, and you are comfortable handling your own backups.
Shelvd
A deliberately simple, cosy shelf: four shelves, star ratings, page progress and private notes, with no social features. Unlimited books are free; Pro adds a stats dashboard and yearly goals. Choose it if you want a calm list and not much more.
Candl
A private web app with shelves, tags, reading goals and statistics, and one unusual idea: your notes come back to you with spaced repetition, so you actually remember what you read. Free up to 100 books; the paid plan removes the limit and adds deeper analytics. Choose it if you read to learn and want your notes to stick.
Alia
Alia treats your notes as the heart of the record: margin notes tied to pages, decorated with stamps, washi tape and pressed flowers, plus reading sessions and a yearly calendar. The free plan is limited to two new books a month. Choose it if you love the look of a paper journal.
Storyfeel
Storyfeel is built around a different question: not just what you read, but how it felt. You can save a quote, a highlight or a whole diary entry and colour it by the feeling it left; map a series with Story Maps so you never lose the thread; see your year as a calendar of covers; and play with gentle challenges like a bingo or a Book of the Year bracket. You can import your Goodreads library and your Kindle and Kobo highlights.
The diary is end-to-end encrypted: it syncs between your devices, and we cannot read it. There are no ads, no followers and no feed; it is paid for by readers. It runs in the browser and installs like an app on phones, tablets and computers, in English, Spanish, French and German.
Where it is not the right choice: if you want a community, reviews from other readers or recommendations, Hardcover or StoryGraph will suit you better. The free plan holds 20 books, so a large library needs a subscription. And there is no app-store app yet: you install it from the browser.
How to move your books out of Goodreads
- On the Goodreads website, open My Books, then Import and export, and choose Export library.
- Download the CSV file when it is ready. It contains your shelves, dates and ratings.
- Import that file into the new app. StoryGraph, Hardcover, Openreads, Alia and Storyfeel all accept it.
Your Goodreads reviews and shelves stay where they are until you delete them, so you can try a new app before deciding. Step by step, with what comes across and what does not: how to export your Goodreads library.
So which one?
- You love statistics: StoryGraph.
- You want a community, just a better one: Hardcover.
- You want everything free and on your phone only: Openreads.
- You want a quiet list: Shelvd or Bookmory.
- You read to learn and want notes that stick: Candl.
- You want a decorated journal: Alia.
- You want to remember how books made you feel, privately, on every device: try Storyfeel free.
Sources
Prices and features checked in October 2026: Shelvd · Candl · Alia · StoryGraph (Bookwise review) · Hardcover (Bookwise review) · Bookmory (Headway review) · Openreads (F-Droid) · Goodreads (Wikipedia) · Storyfeel plans.