Try Better Bookshelf free: catalog your first 50 books with no sign-up. Adding a 51st book requires the US$29.99 upgrade.
Comparison
StoryGraph vs Goodreads: which one should you use?
StoryGraph is better for readers who want detailed stats and mood-based recommendations. Goodreads is better if you want the biggest community and the most reviews on any given book. Both track what you've read, not where your own books are, which is the gap Better Bookshelf fills. Here's the full comparison.
See Goodreads alternatives for the wider list.
Last updated: October 30, 2026. Features checked on StoryGraph's App Store listing and Plus page, October 30, 2026.
StoryGraph vs Goodreads at a glance
| The StoryGraph | Goodreads | |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Independent | Amazon (since 2013) |
| Price | Free; Plus US$4.99/mo or US$49.99/yr | Free, no paid tier |
| Ratings | Half and quarter stars | Half, quarter or whole stars |
| Did not finish | Built-in status, with pages read | Built-in Did Not Finish shelf |
| Recommendations | Mood and pace filters, machine-learning picks | Based on your shelves and ratings |
| Reading stats | Detailed charts; more filters with Plus | Reading Challenge and Year in Books |
| Social | Follow friends, buddy reads, readalongs, book clubs | Friends, groups, the largest review base |
| Barcode scanner | Yes, in the app | Yes, scan a cover or ISBN |
| Content warnings | Author-approved and reader-submitted | Not listed |
| E-reader sync | Kobo | Not listed |
Where StoryGraph is better
Recommendations you can steer
StoryGraph lets you filter by mood (adventurous, funny, dark, emotional and so on) and by pace, then mix those with genre and length. Its recommendations come from your own reading history. If Goodreads kept suggesting books that didn't fit, this is the main reason readers switch.
Stats and ratings
The charts show your reading by genre, mood, pace, page count and format over time. Plus adds custom charts, custom date ranges and comparisons. Both apps now allow half and quarter stars, so ratings are no longer a reason to switch.
Did not finish
DNF is a built-in status on StoryGraph, and it records how far you got.
Independence
StoryGraph is independent and funded by its Plus subscribers. Your reading data isn't sitting with a retailer.
The mobile app includes a barcode scanner. StoryGraph also has author-approved and reader-submitted content warnings, and Kobo progress sync.
Where Goodreads is better
Community and reviews
Goodreads has by far the largest user base, so almost every book has reviews, ratings and discussion, including obscure ones. Groups, author pages and giveaways are all there. StoryGraph's community is growing but smaller.
Familiarity
Your friends are probably already on Goodreads, and your history is already there.
Moving from Goodreads to StoryGraph
- 1On Goodreads.com, go to My Books, then Import and Export, then Export Library, and download the CSV.
- 2On StoryGraph, open the Goodreads import from your account settings and follow the steps there.
- 3StoryGraph brings over your currently reading, read, to-read and did-not-finish shelves. Custom shelves become custom tags.
What neither app does: the books on your shelves
StoryGraph and Goodreads are reading trackers. They record what you've read and want to read. Neither is built to catalog the physical books you own, tell you which bookcase a book is on, or keep track of who borrowed it.
That's what Better Bookshelf is for. Scan a barcode to add a book, or, with the one-time Unlimited upgrade, photograph a whole bookcase and AI suggests matches and marks where each book sits. Search a title later and the app shows you that shelf photo with the book highlighted. It imports your Goodreads CSV too, and there's no sign-up. It's free for your first 50 books, and barcode scanning is free up to that limit. Adding a 51st book requires upgrading to the paid version (US$29.99), which includes 6 whole-shelf AI scans.
Plenty of readers use StoryGraph for tracking and Better Bookshelf for the shelves.
See the book scanner app, the bookshelf scanner, pricing, and the compare page.
So which should you use?
Use StoryGraph if recommendations and stats matter more to you than reviews and friends. Use Goodreads if your friends and book clubs are there and you want the widest pool of reviews. If you're leaving Goodreads and StoryGraph isn't quite right either, the Goodreads alternatives guide covers six more options.
Frequently asked questions
Is StoryGraph better than Goodreads?
For stats and mood-based recommendations, yes. For community size and number of reviews, Goodreads is still ahead.
Is StoryGraph free?
Yes. StoryGraph is free to use. StoryGraph Plus costs US$4.99 a month or US$49.99 a year and adds extra stats filters, custom charts and other features.
Can I import my Goodreads data into StoryGraph?
Yes. Export your Goodreads library as a CSV and use StoryGraph's Goodreads import. Your currently reading, read, to-read and did-not-finish shelves come across, and custom shelves become tags.
Does StoryGraph have a barcode scanner?
Yes. The StoryGraph mobile app includes a barcode scanner for adding print books.
Who owns Goodreads?
Amazon, since 2013. StoryGraph is independent.
Can I use StoryGraph and Goodreads at the same time?
Yes, but they don't sync. You'd log each book in both, or import again later.
Free for your first 50 books
Better Bookshelf is free for your first 50 books, with no sign-up. Barcode scanning is free up to that limit. Adding a 51st book requires upgrading to the paid version (US$29.99), which includes 6 whole-shelf AI scans.
What to do next
- Goodreads alternatives
See other apps if StoryGraph is not the right fit.
- Catalog the books you own
Scan a barcode or a shelf photo for the books on your shelves.
- See pricing
Free for the first 50 books. Adding a 51st book requires the US$29.99 upgrade.