Comparison

Reading Memory vs TANA

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

Head to head
About

Reading Memory

This app helps you build a consistent reading habit and retain information from the books you read. It allows you to track reading days, manage your to-read pile, and take private notes on your books. Advanced features like AI-powered key point extraction are available through an optional subscription.

Highlights
  • Build daily reading habits
  • Track reading streaks and finished books
  • Organize to-read and finished book piles
  • Take private notes and sticky notes
  • Search and add books via barcode or title
  • Generate reading cards and badges
  • AI-powered key point extraction (subscription)
Features
Read full description

Make reading a daily habit, and remember the books you've read. Reading Memory keeps every book you read and every line you write, one book at a time, on your own bookshelf. You want to read more, but it never sticks. You finish a book, then can't recall what was in it. The books you bought sit on a pile, unread. Reading Memory is made for that. MAKE READING A DAILY HABIT On days you read, tap "Read today" once. Even a day with one page counts. Your reading days fill a calendar, and your streak and the number of books you finished this year go up. You can also tap from Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU READ Notes you write while reading show up on your bookshelf a few days later, with how long ago you wrote them ("written 72 days ago"). Read them again and add a line right there. When you reread a book, the notes from your last read are on that book's page. FINISH YOUR TO-READ PILE, ONE BOOK AT A TIME Books you own but haven't started sit in a pile at the bottom of your bookshelf. Tap the pile to start the top book. When you finish one, the app picks the next book from your pile. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No social feed, no followers, no public reviews. Only you can read what you write. — WHAT YOU CAN DO ā—† Bookshelf Finished books stand on a shelf for each year. Books you're reading lie face up, and books you haven't started are stacked. You can also add the books you've already read, one after another. ā—† Add books Search by title or scan the barcode. Book data comes from Google Books, Open Library, openBD, and Rakuten Books. There is no limit on how many books you can add. ā—† Sticky notes for novels Write about characters, lines you loved, and how you felt on sticky notes, and stick them at the page you're on. Move the bookmark to record your page and "Read today". ā—† A notebook for nonfiction Write the book's words and your own thoughts with page numbers. Snap a page to read its text and add the lines you pick as the book's words. Vertical Japanese text works too. Export your notebook as text. ā—† A reading card when you finish Give stars, write one line, and stamp the card. It goes into that year's card box. Save or send the card as an image. ā—† Reading log and badges See your reading days on a calendar, your streak, and how many books you finished. Earn badges at milestones. ā—† Want-to-read list Note who recommended a book or where you saw it. ā—† iPad Works on iPad, in portrait, landscape, and Split View. — MEMORY PLUS (auto-renewable subscription) Adding books, sticky notes, notebooks, reading text from pages, reading cards and stamps, the calendar, and widgets are free for good. Memory Plus adds: ā—† Turn the lines you picked from a page into key points (uses AI) ā—† Look up a word from your notebook across all your books (free shows the number of books and the first line) ā—† Your year in books: everything you read and wrote in a year, in one place ā—† Detailed statistics: books finished per month, genres, ratings, and how books made you feel ā—† Summaries of the notes you wrote (uses AI) Pricing in the US: $39.99 per year / $3.99 per month. Prices vary by region. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically at the same price and period unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in Settings › Apple Account › Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://taniguchi-kyoichi.com/en/products/reading-memory/terms Privacy Policy: https://taniguchi-kyoichi.com/en/products/reading-memory/privacy — Sign in with Apple or Google. No ads. Feedback and bug reports: tap "Contact us" in the app's Settings.

About

TANA

Features
Read full description

Your reading and watching life, on your own personal timeline. TANA is a private media journal for quietly recording the books you've read, movies you've watched, and TV shows you've followed — all in one place. No need to share on social media. No need to compare scores. Just your experiences, preserved for yourself. That's it. ā–  TANA is for you if: ā–” You don't want to forget the books you've read or movies you've watched ā–” You want one app for books, movies, and TV shows — not three ā–” You want a private record, not a social review platform ā–” You want to separate what you're reading now from what you've finished ā–” You're looking for something simple and beautiful ā–  Features - Books, movies, and TV shows in one place No need for separate apps for each. Your reading and watching life, together. - Two simple screens: "Now" and "Shelf" Currently reading or watching? It goes in "Now." Finished? It moves to your "Shelf." Two screens to organize your media life. - A timeline to look back on Start date, progress notes, completion date — your reading and watching journey preserved as a beautiful timeline. - Progress notes "Finished chapter 3," "Season 2, episode 5" — leave short notes on where you are. - Easy search and add Search by title to add items with cover art and poster images. Add manually if needed. - Private ratings Rate completed items from 1 star to 5 stars. Your ratings are never shared. They're yours alone. - Works offline Start using TANA immediately — no account required. Sign in to enable cloud sync. ā–  One-time purchase No ads. No subscription. Pay once and every feature is yours forever. ā–  Privacy Your records belong to you and only you. TANA has no social features. Your reading history and movie ratings are never shared with anyone. ā–  Data sources Book data provided by Google Books API. Movie and TV data provided by TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Screenshots

Reading Memory4 screens
TANA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Reading Memory at Free against TANA's $1.99. TANA's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Reading Memory is free to download; TANA costs $1.99 up front. Reading Memory sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. TANA asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reading Memory ships an update every 2 months, TANA every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences Ā· 4 level
Reading Memory versus TANA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReading MemoryTANA
PriceFree — better$1.99
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB24 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperKyoichi TaniguchiYuriko Onsager

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Reading Memory

Subscriptions2
  • ćƒ”ćƒ¢ćƒŖćƒ¼ćƒ—ćƒ©ć‚¹ęœˆé”ćƒ—ćƒ©ćƒ³$3.991 Month
  • ćƒ”ćƒ¢ćƒŖćƒ¼ćƒ—ćƒ©ć‚¹å¹“é”ćƒ—ćƒ©ćƒ³$39.991 Year
None

TANA

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Reading Memory free?
Reading Memory is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TANA free?
TANA costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Reading Memory or TANA have ads?
Neither Reading Memory nor TANA shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Reading Memory or TANA?
Reading Memory ships an update every 2 months, and TANA every 3 weeks. Most recently, Reading Memory was updated on November 5, 2026 and TANA on November 9, 2026.

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