Comparison

TBR vs ReadMe

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

Head to head
About

TBR

Easily track your reading progress, organize your book lists, and discover new titles through curated book news. Scan books with a barcode, add them manually, and sort them by various criteria. Get personalized recommendations and export your library.

Highlights
  • Track books to read, reading, and read
  • Organize books into custom lists
  • Barcode scanner for quick book entry
  • Discover new books via curated news feeds
  • Get 'More Like This' book recommendations
  • Import from Goodreads
  • Export to spreadsheet formats
Features
Read full description

TBR is a fast, elegant and modern place to track your reading. The books you want to read (your TBR, To Be Read), the books you are reading, and the books you've read. You can also organize your books into custom lists of your own choosing. Get inspiration by reading Book News from our 1000+ curated book news sources. TBR contains a Book News browser, essentially a curated collection of RSS feeds, with links back to the original sources. Bookship will identify books in each story and easily let you save them, remembering where you found the book. TRACK BOOKS Add a book by name by searching our database, or use the easy Barcode Scanner to scan books quickly into TBR. It's great when you're in a bookstore and want to remember a book for later. Using Multi-scan lets you quickly add your entire library right into TBR. Reorder your TBR list by drag-n-drop, so you can change what's coming next. Sort and filter by author, genre, title, publication date and more. Mark books as Reading, or Read, and the books are automatically added to those lists as well, and dates are automatically tracked. Keep Notes about the books you are reading. Use our Share Extension to share pages you are reading on the web to TBR. TBR extracts the books being mentioned so you can easily browse or save them. READING IDEAS TBR’s More Like This tells you related or similar books to a book you're reading. Or get reading ideas by browsing our always-timely Book News, featuring the latest in books from around the web. BOOK NEWS We've curated over a thousand high quality book news sites, and assembled their RSS feeds into a timely, beautiful view into the world of books, with links back to the original sites. You can find news about books by genre, about the books you are reading, or just what's popular right now. Browse our feeds to see news from each source individually, or browse by Channel to see book news about a particular topic. DARK MODE We support dark mode, for a particularly striking view on the world of books. IMPORT, EXPORT, SYNC Import your books from Goodreads. Export your books to a spreadsheet (Excel, CSV). All sync'd with the cloud and with Bookship, our Social Reading app, so you can plan your reading for your reading group or Book Club.

About

ReadMe

This app helps you meticulously track your reading progress, visualize your habits with a calendar heatmap, and build consistent reading streaks. Organize your library, discover reading patterns, and enjoy a beautiful, ad-free experience designed for iOS.

Highlights
  • Log reading sessions by pages and time
  • Visual calendar heatmap for activity
  • Build and track reading streaks
  • Automatic reading speed calculation
  • Detailed reading statistics and charts
  • Organize books into custom shelves
  • Search and add books from external libraries
Features
Read full description

Your Reading Journey, Beautifully Tracked ReadMe is the elegant book tracking app designed exclusively for iOS readers who want more from their reading life. Whether you're a casual reader or racing through your TBR pile, ReadMe turns every page into progress you can see. TRACK EVERY PAGE - Log reading sessions with pages read and time spent - Visual calendar heatmap shows your reading activity at a glance - Build reading streaks and watch your consistency grow - Calculate your reading speed automatically BEAUTIFUL STATISTICS - Year-over-year comparisons to see your growth - Monthly breakdowns with cumulative progress charts - Discover your most productive reading days - Track top genres and reading patterns - See your ratings distribution across all books ORGANIZE YOUR LIBRARY - Manage books across Reading, To Read, and Completed shelves - Create a Wish List for future purchases - Search and add books from Google Books and Open Library - Rate and review finished books - Add any book, even without page counts DESIGNED FOR iOS - Liquid glass aesthetic matches iOS 26 design standards - Beautiful dark mode support - Smooth animations and haptic feedback - Comfortable one-handed use - Native performance with offline support YOUR DATA, YOUR PRIVACY - All your reading data synced across devices - No ads, no tracking, no distractions Whether you're tracking a single book or managing hundreds, ReadMe makes every reading session count. Join readers who've discovered the joy of seeing their progress visualized beautifully. Start your reading journey today.

Screenshots

TBR4 screens
ReadMe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ReadMe at Free against TBR's $4.99. ReadMe also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and ads (none vs shown). TBR's advantage is ratings volume (6 vs 1). On update cadence, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

ReadMe is free to download; TBR costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ReadMe holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TBR has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TBR ships an update every 3 months, ReadMe every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
TBR versus ReadMe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTBRReadMe
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (6 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB4 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperThe Hawaii Project, LLCJosh Engels

Customer experience

TBR

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ReadMe

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

In-app purchases

None

TBR

No in-app purchases

None

ReadMe

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is TBR free?
TBR costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ReadMe free?
ReadMe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, TBR or ReadMe?
ReadMe is rated higher. TBR averages 4.3 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while ReadMe averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do TBR or ReadMe have ads?
TBR shows ads; ReadMe does not.
Which is updated more often, TBR or ReadMe?
TBR ships an update every 3 months, and ReadMe every 6 weeks. Most recently, TBR was updated on October 30, 2026 and ReadMe on October 24, 2026.

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