Comparison

BookOwl vs Books Tracker

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

Head to head
About

BookOwl

Organize your reading life with this free companion app. Build your personal library, track your progress, and customize your profile. Import data from other services and scan books instantly. Enjoy personalized recommendations and share your reading insights.

Highlights
  • Barcode scanner for instant book addition
  • Import from Goodreads, StoryGraph, Audible, Libby
  • Customizable profile with aurora colors
  • Half and quarter-star rating system
  • Custom shelves and curated book lists
  • Reading progress tracking
  • Yearly reading goals and streaks
Features
Read full description

Your reading life, delightfully organized. BookOwl is a free reading companion for people who love books. Build your personal library, track what you're reading, and make the app feel like yours, all without ads, clutter, or data harvesting. Available on iOS and at bookowlapp.com. NEW: THE SIT TAB The Sit tab gives reading sessions a home. Start a sit, set a timer, and read. BookOwl keeps you company. Capture a mood, a scene, or a pinned moment mid-read without losing your place (speak it instead of typing, if you like). When you close the book, a wrap-up card logs how far you got and how the sit felt. A COMPLETELY REDESIGNED LIBRARY: Your library now opens like a magazine. A masthead greets you with the books you're reading now, The Lead carousel keeps your current reads one swipe away, and your shelves sit beneath. Pinch to zoom from big covers down to a compact index. The new Contents view puts shelves, filters, and sorting in one place, with breadcrumb chips showing what's active. YOUR THOUGHTS, ORGANIZED BY BOOK: Everything you capture lands where you'll find it again: pinned passages on the book's page, your moods across the book's arc, even why you set a book down. Make the capture chips your own with custom moods and scenes. Your written thoughts stay private, always. TRACK PROGRESS WITHOUT THE FUSS: Update your page, your status, and your reading dates in one place with the new progress editor. Edit or delete any past read. Your history stays accurate and syncs everywhere. MAKE IT YOURS WITH 12 THEMES: Every theme hand-tuned, from the warm sepia of Quiet Warmth to the banker's-lamp green of Reading Room, all meeting accessibility contrast standards. YOUR PROFILE, YOUR WAY: Five tabbed sections: Overview, Collections, Reviews, Stats, and Personal. Choose which reading stats sit front and center. Pick your aurora colors. Arrange your sections. PRIVACY THAT MAKES SENSE: One toggle. Three options: Public, Friends Only, or Private. Visitors see a friendly banner explaining what's shared. IMPORT FROM ANYWHERE: Switching from another app? Import your full reading history from Goodreads, StoryGraph, Audible (via OCR), or Libby. Your ratings, shelves, and reading dates all come with you. Export to CSV or JSON anytime. Your data belongs to you. SCAN BOOKS IN SECONDS: Point your camera at any barcode. BookOwl identifies it instantly and adds it to your library. Stack of books at a used bookstore? Scan them all in one session. ORGANIZE YOUR WAY: Custom shelves and curated lists for any purpose: "Beach Reads," "Book Club," "Lent to Friends." FIND YOUR NEXT READ: Personalized recommendations, author pages, series with reading order, and a catalog of millions of books. USE IT ANYWHERE: Web app at bookowlapp.com with the same profile and achievements. Your data syncs across devices. BUILT FOR READERS, NOT ADVERTISERS: No ads. No engagement tricks. No data selling. Just a calm, thoughtful space for your reading life, built by a reader, for readers. • Sit tab: timed reading sessions with a wrap-up card • Capture moods, scenes, and pinned moments mid-read • Voice capture: speak your thoughts without stopping • Redesigned Library: The Lead carousel and pinch-to-zoom shelves • Barcode scanner: add books in seconds • Import from Goodreads, StoryGraph, Audible, or Libby • Export your library to CSV or JSON • Progress editor: pages, status, and dates in one place • Edit or delete past reads anytime • 12 hand-tuned themes and alternate app icons • Customizable profile with aurora colors and hero stats • Half-star and quarter-star ratings • Custom shelves, collections, and curated book lists • Yearly reading goals and streaks • Year in Review: shareable reading personality cards • Series tracking with reading order • Privacy controls: Public, Friends Only, or Private • Social features: follow friends, reviews, profiles Whether you read 5 books a year or 50, BookOwl helps you remember every one. Whooo's ready to get started?

About

Books Tracker

Organize your personal library across devices with automatic syncing. Add books manually, by search, or by scanning barcodes. Track reading progress, manage collections, and customize the app's appearance.

Highlights
  • Cross-device syncing via Google Drive
  • Add books by manual entry, search, or barcode scan
  • Track reading status and time spent
  • Organize books into collections and series
  • Customizable themes and display modes
  • Import and export library data
Features
Read full description

Books Tracker keeps your personal library organized, beautiful, and always in sync across your devices. No account required. No subscription. Just your books. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES Connect via Google Drive and your entire library stays up to date on every phone or tablet you own. Changes sync automatically in the background — add a book on one device, find it on the other. Your data is stored in a private app-only folder: no one else can see it, not even in your Drive. YOUR WHOLE LIBRARY Add books manually, search online by title, author or ISBN, or scan a barcode with your camera. Every book can carry a cover, rating, reading status, notes, genre, publisher, page count, series info, and more. TRACK YOUR READING Three reading states: To Read, Reading, and Read. Reading start and end dates are recorded automatically. See how long it took you to finish a book — hours, days, weeks, or months. COLLECTIONS & SERIES Organize your books into as many collections as you like. Number them, detect missing entries, manage your wishlist. Group books into series and browse all volumes in one place. READING STACK Your personal "to read next" list. Reorder by drag and drop, move books up or down, and always know what's coming next. FIND ANYTHING FAST Real-time search by title or author. Filter by rating or reading status. Switch between list, compact, and grid view. Everything persists across restarts. MAKE IT YOURS 12 color themes, two header styles (Bold or Subtle), and full light/dark/system mode support. The entire app adapts instantly — colors, gradients, cards, everything. IMPORT & EXPORT Back up your library or move it to another app with CSV export. Import from a file with a full preview before committing — choose how to handle conflicts book by book. No ads. No tracking. No subscription. Books Tracker is built and maintained by a solo developer who loves books.

Screenshots

BookOwl4 screens
Books Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BookOwl at none against Books Tracker's 2. BookOwl also leads on ads (none vs shown). Books Tracker's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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. Books Tracker sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. BookOwl asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BookOwl ships an update every 11 days, Books Tracker every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
BookOwl versus Books Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBookOwlBooks Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (41 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews92.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings41 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 10 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPhil GetzenJonathan ANTOINE

Customer experience

BookOwl

All ratings41 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral4.9%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive92.3%
Neutral7.7%
Negative0.0%

Books Tracker

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

BookOwl

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Books Tracker

One-time2
  • Thank you$2.99
  • Bigger thank you$8.99

Questions

Is BookOwl free?
BookOwl is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Books Tracker free?
Books Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BookOwl or Books Tracker have ads?
Books Tracker shows ads; BookOwl does not.
Which is updated more often, BookOwl or Books Tracker?
BookOwl ships an update every 11 days, and Books Tracker every 10 days. Most recently, BookOwl was updated on October 18, 2026 and Books Tracker on October 13, 2026.

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