Comparison

StoryGraph vs PCDL

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

StoryGraph

Track your reading habits with insightful stats and personalized book recommendations powered by AI. Discover new books based on mood, pace, and genre, and connect with friends for shared reading experiences.

Highlights
  • Import Goodreads data
  • Personalized book recommendations
  • Track reading habits with stats
  • Discover books by mood and pace
  • Read with friends (buddy reads)
  • Custom reading challenges
  • Content warnings for books
Features
Read full description

Import your Goodreads data: We will import all of your currently-reading, read, to-read, and did-not-finish shelves. Any custom shelves will be mapped to a custom tag on The StoryGraph. Simple tracking and insightful stats: Easily track and learn about your reading habits with our wide range of charts and graphs. See how your reading develops over time and use that to help you pick better books. Get smart personalized recommendations: Our machine learning AI is like your trusted go-to friend for book recommendations. It'll understand your reading preferences and find the best books for you. Discover books by mood: In the mood for something adventurous, funny, and fast-paced? What about a darker, slower, more emotional read? Mix and match our comprehensive set of filters to choose your next perfect book. Read with friends: Add live reactions to specific parts of the book without fear of spoilers. Comments are locked for other participants until they reach that point in their reading. Don't have people to read with? We’ve got machine learning-powered suggestions for great reading buddies. Reading Challenges: Want to read one book from every country in the world? Or how about read a book per week across a range of genres? Our reading challenges feature help you set up personal goals or join in with others. Custom Tags: Enhance your book tracking and discovery by making use of our custom tags feature. You can search and filter books by your tags and share curated lists with friends. Content Warnings: When you review a book, you can let us know if there's any content within it that might be triggering for others. Then, when searching for your next read, all of this information is at your disposal. Features: • Import your Goodreads account • Reading charts and graphs • Streaks • Favorites • Buddy reads • Readalongs • Book Clubs • Personalized machine learning recommendations • Follow your friends to see what they're reading • Annual reading, page, and listening goals • Search/browse books by mood, pace, and more • Custom tags • Lists to share with your friends or the public • Create your own reading challenge or join in with others • Dark Mode • Barcode Scanner • Giveaways • Browse similar books • Find similar users • Half and quarter star ratings • Built-in DNF (Did Not Finish) functionality (including tracking pages read) • Progress updates with built-in reading journal • Author-approved and user-submitted content warnings Want to support an independent, Goodreads alternative? Consider upgrading to Plus! • Keep the platform ad-free: You'll help The StoryGraph stay independent! • Custom Charts: Create your own pie and bar charts. • Extra Stats Filters: Filter down your stats to a custom time period, or view stats for your fiction or nonfiction reads, your custom tags, any particular mood or genre, and more. • Custom Wrap-Up Graphics: Pick any custom date range and instantly generate shareable graphics for your reading. • Compare Stats: Compare any two stats segments of your StoryGraph library, whether that's a particular year against a custom time period, your To-Read Pile against your owned books, or a combination of several other options. You can also compare any stats segment with any segment from any other user — mix and match however you like. • Exclusive Charts: When comparing your reading across two different years, see exclusive year-on-year charts on the number of books read and their genres. • Shape the roadmap: You get to vote and comment on upcoming features as well as submit official requests for new ones • Priority Support: Your support tickets and requests for book information updates will be handled first Privacy Policy: https://app.thestorygraph.com/privacy Terms of Service:https://app.thestorygraph.com/terms-of-service

About

PCDL

Access your library account, manage checkouts and holds, and renew items. Search the catalog for physical and digital materials, including books, movies, and music. Discover and register for library programs and events.

Highlights
  • Manage library account
  • View checkouts and holds
  • Renew items
  • Search catalog for physical and digital items
  • Access digital media
  • Register for library programs
Features
Read full description

- Download the Portage County District Library’s mobile app and take the library with you anywhere you go! Access your library card & manage your library account: view checkouts and holds & renew items. Search our catalog for physical and digital books, magazines, movies, music and more! Access digital music, movies, magazine and comics content from providers like Libby, Kanopy, Flipster and hoopla. Find and register for library programs and events. Keep up with the latest news from the library. Connect with us on social media.

Screenshots

StoryGraph4 screens
PCDL4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PCDL at 5.0 against StoryGraph's 4.5. PCDL also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2). StoryGraph's advantage is ratings volume (3.5K vs 1) and chart position (#24 vs unranked). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. StoryGraph sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. PCDL asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PCDL holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StoryGraph has 3.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
StoryGraph versus PCDL: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStoryGraphPCDL
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (3.5K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.5K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
Best chart rank#24 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB55 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperThe StoryGraphPortage County District Library

Customer experience

StoryGraph

All ratings3,533 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral5.0%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews1,010 reviews
Positive70.3%
Neutral12.3%
Negative17.4%

PCDL

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

StoryGraph

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes when trying to update reading progress
  • Incorrect book details and page counts
  • Login issues where users get logged out frequently

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to track re-reads and multiple editions of books
  • More robust social features like following friends, liking reviews
  • Barcode scanning to easily add books
  • Customizable reading challenges and goal tracking
  • Dark mode option

PCDL

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

StoryGraph

Subscriptions2
  • The StoryGraph Plus Monthly$4.991 Month
  • The StoryGraph Plus Annual$49.991 Year
None

PCDL

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is StoryGraph free?
StoryGraph is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PCDL free?
PCDL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, StoryGraph or PCDL?
PCDL is rated higher. StoryGraph averages 4.5 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while PCDL averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do StoryGraph or PCDL have ads?
Neither StoryGraph nor PCDL shows ads.

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