Hardcover.app vs Softgoods
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hardcover.app
This app helps you organize and discover books. Track what you've read, create custom lists, and see what friends are reading. Set reading goals and share your thoughts on books.
- Track read and to-read books
- Organize with lists and tags
- See friends' reading activity
- Discover trending books
- Rate and review books
- Set reading goals
- Track reading statistics
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Hardcover is a book tracking app with a social side, built for readers, not algorithms. Add books you’ve read or want to read. Keep your library tidy with lists and tags. See what your friends are reading, explore trending picks, and discover hidden gems through curated lists. Rate, review, and share your thoughts. Make your profile public, private, or friends-only—your reading, your rules. Set goals, track your stats, and find your reading rhythm. We use Apple's standard Terms of Service (EULA). https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Softgoods
Organize and journal your favorite fan fiction. Create custom shelves, add notes to stories, and track your reading habits. Share your discoveries and thoughts with friends.
- Store and bookmark fan fiction
- Create custom shelves
- Add notes to stories
- Track reading statistics
- Share shelves and notes publicly
- Tag stories for easy searching
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What you can do with Softgoods: • Save and bookmark fics from anywhere on the web! Paste a link or use the share sheet • Build shelves by fandom, ship, trope, mood, or anything you want • Tag fics with warnings, characters, and freeform tags for instant search • Journal your thoughts on every fic and rate them with stars • Log reading sessions chapter by chapter for works in progress • Track stats: total fics read, monthly word count, authors followed, and how this month compares to last • Make shelves and notes public to share with friends or keep them private just for you • Export your data anytime For fic readers, by fic readers We built Softgoods because spreadsheets and browser bookmarks weren't cutting it. We're a small team and we ship updates often. Your feedback shapes what we build next. Got a feature request or hit a bug? Email contact@softgoods.app A real person reads every message. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://softgoods.app/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Softgoods at fortnightly against Hardcover.app's every 6 months. Softgoods also leads on review sentiment (74% vs 52%) and rating (4.4 vs 4.2). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Hardcover.app sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Softgoods sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Softgoods holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 66 and 74 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Hardcover.app's written reviews are positive against 74% of Softgoods's.
Hardcover.app ships an update every 6 months, Softgoods fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hardcover.app | Softgoods |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (66 ratings) | 4.4 (74 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.2% of reviews | 74.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 66 | 74 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hardcover LLC | Jordan Wagner |
Customer experience
Hardcover.app
Softgoods
In-app purchases
Hardcover.app
- Supporter - Monthly$4.991 Month
- Supporter - Yearly$49.991 Year
Softgoods
- Premium$1.991 Month
- Premium$19.991 Year
