Comparison

Reading Goals vs Pinakes

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

Head to head
About

Reading Goals

Display your reading progress directly on your iOS Home Screen with customizable widgets. Track books read this year, total books, and pages consumed, with a five-year history available in the companion app.

Highlights
  • Home Screen widgets
  • Reading goal progress
  • Books read this year
  • Total books read
  • Pages read tracking
  • Five-year history
Features
Read full description

Reading Goals is a iOS app built primarily to place useful, bookish widgets on your Home Screen. After you confirm a public reading profile, it saves only the essential reading statistics on-device so widgets can show reading-goal progress, books read this year, total books read, and—in the largest summary—pages read and whether you are on pace; the companion app provides manual refresh, optional daily updates, and a swipeable five-year history.

About

Pinakes

Features
Read full description

Pinakes — Your Personal Library, Always with You The reading tracker for iOS book lovers. Track reading sessions with Live Activity, manage your library with Smart Collections, and sync everything privately via iCloud. No account. No ads. Import from Goodreads in seconds. YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY Organize your books with five reading statuses: Currently Reading, To Read, Wishlist, Already Read, and Did Not Finish. Smart Collections automatically group your library by genre, reading format, and more — no manual sorting needed. Filter by genre, format, or your own custom tags. Sort by author, title, or date. Group by shelf, author, or series — and collapse an entire series into a single row. DISCOVER YOUR NEXT GREAT READ Search millions of books by title, author, or subject — with improved results for non-English books across parallel catalog sources. Scan any book's barcode with your camera to add it instantly. Add books manually if they're not found in any catalog. Replace a book to fix incomplete metadata from a Goodreads import. Browse current NYT bestsellers and genre-based discovery lists. Watch BookTok-style video recommendations curated to your favourite genres. YOUR AI READING GUIDE Not sure what to read next? Books Guide uses Apple Intelligence to suggest up to five books from your own library — one similar to your current read, one refreshingly different, the one gathering dust the longest, a comfort pick from a favourite author, and a short read for busy days. Every reason is generated entirely on-device, with no data leaving your phone. TRACK YOUR READING TIME Start a reading session with a tap and follow your progress on the lock screen and Dynamic Island via Live Activity. Pause, resume, and finish sessions from your Apple Watch companion app. Browse your complete reading history month by month in the built-in calendar. Start and stop sessions hands-free with Siri. RICH BOOK DETAILS Rate books (1–5 stars), write reviews, and log exactly how and when you read each one — down to the life stage if the exact date is lost. Attach notes and quotes, even scanning text directly from a physical page with your camera. STAY ON TRACK Set a reading goal and receive personalised notifications featuring the book you're currently reading. Inactivity reminders nudge you back after 14 days. Library loan reminders fire 3 days before — and on — the return date. WORKS EVERYWHERE Home screen and lock screen widgets show your wishlist or upcoming loan returns at a glance. Apple Watch app lets you control reading sessions from your wrist. Ask Siri to update a book's status or start a reading session — without opening the app. Quick Actions jump you straight to the barcode scanner or your favourites. IMPORT & EXPORT Moving from Goodreads? Import your entire library with a single CSV file. Export your library anytime to share or back it up. PRIVACY FIRST Your library syncs privately and securely across all your devices via iCloud. No account required — your data stays yours. Start your reading journey with Pinakes today.

Screenshots

Reading Goals4 screens
Pinakes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Reading Goals at 17.0 against Pinakes's 26.1. On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reading Goals ships an update weekly, Pinakes every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Reading Goals versus Pinakes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReading GoalsPinakes
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.1
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrew ZiehlPablo Gomez Fernandez

In-app purchases

None

Reading Goals

No in-app purchases

None

Pinakes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Reading Goals free?
Reading Goals is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pinakes free?
Pinakes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Reading Goals or Pinakes have ads?
Neither Reading Goals nor Pinakes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Reading Goals or Pinakes?
Reading Goals ships an update weekly, and Pinakes every 9 days. Most recently, Reading Goals was updated on October 28, 2026 and Pinakes on October 18, 2026.

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