Comparison

Reading Journal vs ReadMaze

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

Head to head
About

Reading Journal

This app helps you remember what you read by tracking your library, reading status, and favorite quotes. Set reading goals, join challenges, and keep your progress organized with personal notes and summaries.

Highlights
  • Track books (want to read, reading, finished)
  • Save quotes, reviews, and summaries
  • Set reading goals and track progress
  • Join reading challenges
  • Sync library with iCloud
  • Export/import data (JSON/CSV)
Features
Read full description

Reading Journal is a clean, focused reading tracker for people who want to remember more of what they read. Track your library, update reading status, rate finished books, save favorite quotes, and keep personal notes tied to each book. Set yearly or monthly reading goals, join reading challenges, and keep your progress organized without clutter. Use Reading Journal to: - Track books you want to read, are reading, or finished - Save quotes, reviews, summaries, and favorite moments - Set reading goals and follow your progress - Join reading challenges for extra motivation - Keep your library synced with iCloud - Export or import your data with JSON or CSV backups Reading Journal is built for readers who want a simple, elegant place for their books, thoughts, and progress. Subscribe to unlock all features. Manage anytime in Settings. Terms of Use - https://sifterapps.com/terms.html Privacy Policy - https://sifterapps.com/policy.html

About

ReadMaze

This app gamifies your reading habit by tracking sessions, rewarding progress, and building streaks. It offers AI-powered book analysis, note-taking, and a digital bookshelf to organize your entire library.

Highlights
  • Gamified reading habit tracker
  • AI chat for book analysis
  • Digital bookshelf organization
  • Reading streak building
  • XP, badges, and achievements
  • Built-in ebook reader
  • Quote and note capture
Features
Read full description

ReadMaze is a reading tracker you can actually read in. Most book apps ask you to log reading you did somewhere else. ReadMaze lets you open the book, read or listen to it, and keeps the record for you. READ AND LISTEN IN THE APP Import your own EPUB and PDF files and read them in a clean, distraction-free reader. Prefer to listen? Built-in read-aloud turns any book into an audiobook, and your listening time counts toward your streak, stats and goals automatically. TRACK EVERY BOOK Search millions of titles, scan a barcode, or add a book by hand. Import your existing library from Goodreads or StoryGraph in one step. Track by pages, chapters, percentage or time. BUILD THE HABIT Reading streaks, levels, daily goals and achievements make coming back easy. Streak freezes protect the days life gets in the way. REMEMBER WHAT YOU READ Save notes, highlight quotes and build a personal vocabulary list with a built-in dictionary. Coming back to a book after a break? ReadMaze writes you a spoiler-free recap from your own notes. SEE YOUR READING Detailed statistics, a reading calendar, weekly recaps and a yearly wrap-up show how your year has actually gone. Home screen widgets keep your current book one glance away. NO ADS. NO ACCOUNT. NO FEED. ReadMaze has no advertising anywhere. There is no sign-up, no social feed and no follower count. Your library, notes and reading history stay on your device, with optional private iCloud sync across your own devices. Export everything whenever you want. AVAILABLE IN SEVERAL LANGUAGES English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Korean and Japanese. ReadMaze Premium unlocks unlimited AI assistance, extra themes and advanced statistics. The reading tracker itself is free. Terms of Use : https://readmaze.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://readmaze.app/privacy

Screenshots

Reading Journal4 screens
ReadMaze4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Reading Journal at none against ReadMaze's shown. Reading Journal also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (35 vs 2). ReadMaze's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (15.5.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Reading Journal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and ReadMaze sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ReadMaze holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Reading Journal has 35 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reading Journal ships an update fortnightly, ReadMaze every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Reading Journal versus ReadMaze: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReading JournalReadMaze
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (35 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings35 — better2
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.5.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB92 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperSergii NesterenkoHabibullah Abdulsalam

Customer experience

Reading Journal

All ratings35 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral2.9%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ReadMaze

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Reading Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Access$3.991 Month
  • Yearly Access$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$12.99
2 purchases

ReadMaze

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$34.991 Year

Questions

Is Reading Journal free?
Reading Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ReadMaze free?
ReadMaze is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Reading Journal or ReadMaze?
ReadMaze is rated higher. Reading Journal averages 4.8 out of 5 from 35 ratings, while ReadMaze averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Reading Journal or ReadMaze have ads?
ReadMaze shows ads; Reading Journal does not.
Which is updated more often, Reading Journal or ReadMaze?
Reading Journal ships an update fortnightly, and ReadMaze every 6 days. Most recently, Reading Journal was updated on October 25, 2026 and ReadMaze on October 24, 2026.

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