Best Apps for Reading in 2026: 9 Apps Compared

Kindle is the default ebook app for a simple reason. The store is huge, the app is free, and your place, notes, and highlights sync between your phone and a Kindle ereader if you own one. You pay per book, and many older titles and daily deals cost only a few dollars, though new releases usually cost close to paperback prices. The reading view is plain in a good way, with adjustable fonts, margins, and brightness, and a dictionary is built in for unfamiliar words.

The catch is lock-in. Kindle books use Amazon's system, so moving a library to another ereader takes work. If you borrow from a public library, Libby can send many ebooks to a Kindle in the US, which softens that problem. Still, if you value an open system above store size, Kobo below deserves a closer look.

Libby, from OverDrive, turns a public library card into a free reading app. Borrowed ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines appear on your shelf, download for offline reading, and return themselves on the due date, so there are no late fees. You can place holds on busy titles, get a notice when a hold is ready, and read in the app or in a browser. In the US, many borrowed ebooks can also be sent to a Kindle.

The main limit is supply. Your library chooses what to buy, and a popular new release may carry a long hold queue. That is a fair trade for a free service, and it pairs well with a tracking app for the wait. If you do not have a library card, most public libraries let you sign up online or in person, and that one card is all Libby needs.

Kobo, from Rakuten, is the strongest rival to Kindle for readers who buy ebooks. The app itself is free, books are priced individually, and the store runs frequent sales, with many titles listed for a few dollars and a good range of free classics. On Kobo ereaders, the system is more open than Kindle, which matters if you already own ebook files or want a device that is not tied to one store.

In the US, the trade is store depth. Kindle still carries more titles and more exclusive deals, and some readers will notice gaps in niche genres. Kobo also sells a subscription, Kobo Plus, for selected ebooks and audiobooks, but its price and catalog vary by region, so we list the app itself as free and advise checking the current offer in the store. For most buyers, though, the per-book store is the real product.

Apple Books is the built-in reading app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and Apple states plainly that the app is free with no subscription. Ebooks and audiobooks are priced individually, thousands of free titles are available, and samples are free while you browse. Reading Goals track daily minutes, streaks, and yearly totals, and iCloud sync keeps your place across devices. Family Sharing lets you share purchases with up to five other family members.

The limit is the ecosystem. Apple Books makes little sense on an Android phone or a Windows PC, and its tracking is basic next to StoryGraph or Bookly. If you already read on Apple devices, though, it is a clean, no-subscription home for bought books, and it pairs well with Libby for borrowed titles.

Google Play Books is the most flexible store app here for people who switch devices. It runs on Android, iOS, and in a web browser, and books are priced individually, with many bestsellers listed under 10 dollars in the store's discount sections. A useful extra is file upload, which lets you add your own ebook files to your library and read them with the same sync and notes as bought titles.

Tracking is the weak point. Play Books records your library and progress, but it does not offer the goals, stats, and community features of a dedicated tracker. Treat it as a store and reader first, then add StoryGraph, Goodreads, or Bookly for the record-keeping side. For Android users who want one store that also works on a laptop, it is hard to beat.

Goodreads is the tracker most readers already know, and it is still free. You shelve books as want to read, currently reading, or read, rate them, write reviews, and join the yearly reading challenge. Because the community is so large, almost any book has reviews, lists, and discussion attached, which helps when you are choosing between two similar titles. It is owned by Amazon, which also explains the close ties to Kindle and book buying.

The honest complaint is the design. The site and app feel dated next to StoryGraph and Literal, and recommendations tend to push popular books rather than matching your taste closely. If you want a simple, free record of what you read and a place where friends already track books, Goodreads remains the practical default. If you want detailed stats, the next entry is stronger.

The StoryGraph is the tracker for readers who like data. The free plan covers tracking, shelves, reading goals, community features, and standard stats, including breakdowns by mood, pace, genre, and format. Recommendations draw on those same tags rather than raw popularity, which makes them feel more personal than Goodreads suggestions. It is independent, ad-free, and lets you import a Goodreads library.

Plus costs 4.99 dollars per month, or 49.99 dollars per year, and adds custom charts, extra filters, comparisons between reading periods, and priority support, with a 30-day trial. The catch is sync. StoryGraph does not pull progress directly from Kindle or Kobo, so you update pages by hand. For readers who enjoy the stats, that small chore is worth it, but ereader-only readers may prefer a simpler tracker.

Bookly is a habit app first and a tracker second. Start the timer when you read, log your page, and Bookly estimates when you will finish the book at your current pace. Goals, reminders, streaks, and achievements push you to read a little each day, and you can save quotes, notes, and character details as you go. The free plan covers core tracking, while Pro costs 4.99 dollars per month, with longer plans at 19.99 dollars for six months and 29.99 dollars for a year, and adds unlimited book tracking and cloud sync.

One point needs stating clearly. Bookly does not sell or contain book text, so you still need a reader app or a paper book alongside it. That split suits readers who love paper books or library loans and want a timer and stats on top. If you want tracking and reading in one place, Goodreads or StoryGraph may fit better.

Literal is a community-first tracker that feels calmer than Goodreads. You organize books on shelves, set reading goals, follow readers you trust, join book clubs, and save highlights, including passages scanned from a paper book with your camera. It imports from Goodreads and StoryGraph, and it offers free public-domain ebooks and audiobooks inside the app. The core experience is free, with no ads, and the site states that it does not sell your data.

The trade is size. The community is smaller, so a niche book may have few reviews, and the stats are lighter than StoryGraph. For readers who found Goodreads noisy and StoryGraph too numbers-heavy, Literal sits in a useful middle spot. It is the tracker we would suggest to someone who mainly wants to remember what they read and talk about it with friends.