Book tracker apps with no subscription: what you actually pay over 3 years

A reading tracker looks cheap when it is $4.99 a month. Then you keep it for years, because your whole reading history lives there, and the small number turns into a real one. Here is what the common paid trackers cost over 3 years, so you can decide with the full picture.

What popular book trackers cost over 3 years

US dollars, prices checked October 7, 2026 on each app's own page or App Store listing. Prices change and can differ by country, so check before you buy. Sources: StoryGraph Plus, Fable Plus, Basmo, Bookly.

Free book trackers exist, so why pay at all?

They do. Goodreads and Hardcover are free, and StoryGraph has a free tier. The tradeoffs are usually ads, limits on the free version, or a feed built around other people. If you want a quiet, private place that is just yours, that is where a paid or one-time option makes sense.

When a subscription is worth it

• You want a social feed, buddy reads, or book clubs, because the other readers are the point.
• You use the extra stats or tools every single week.
• You like trying new apps and expect to switch in a year anyway.

When paying once is the better deal

• You want your reading history to stay put for years without a bill attached to it.
• You own physical books and Kindle books and want one shelf for all of them.
• You want to track series, seeing what you own and what you have read.
• You would rather keep a decorated reading journal than watch a feed.

What Dog-Ear gives you for $9

• Scan to add: scan a barcode, or Rapid Scan a whole stack of books in a row.
• Series tracker: every series at a glance, with owned and read progress, and missing books shown for series with a full list on file.
• Wish list: scan a book in a store to save it for later.
• Reading journal: a bullet journal style journal with stickers and washi tape.
• Stats and Reading Wrapped: your reading year in review.
• Talk instead of typing: add books and notes by voice, and say a finish date like "February 2026".
• Find me something new: genre picks and a spin-the-wheel, including manga and anime.
• Daily reading reminder: optional, and you control the time.

To be fair about the tradeoffs: Dog-Ear is a web app you add to your phone's home screen, not an app store download. It is a private journal, so it has no public feed or friends list. And $9 is the founding tester price, which founding testers keep for life.

Already on Goodreads or StoryGraph?

You do not have to start over. Export your library from Goodreads or StoryGraph, then import the file into Dog-Ear. Any spreadsheet with Title and Author columns works too.

Questions