Comparison

Leaf vs Forewords

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

Head to head
About

Leaf

This app helps you build a consistent reading habit by tracking your progress page by page and setting daily goals. It offers features like reading streaks, dual goal-setting modes, and visual progress indicators. An AI assistant is available for Pro users to interact with their reading data.

Highlights
  • Daily reading streak counter
  • Flexible and fixed date goal setting
  • Visual progress indicator
  • AI assistant for reading queries (Pro)
  • Home screen widgets
  • Barcode scanning for book entry
  • Goodreads library import
Features
Read full description

Stop starting books you never finish. Leaf turns reading into a daily habit. Without the guilt. Track progress page by page, set a daily goal, and build the streak that keeps you reading. Or set a reading challenge: pick a few books, pick a finish date, and Leaf tells you how many pages to read each day. The first reading tracker connected to your AI assistant (Pro). READING STREAKS Build a consistent reading habit: - Daily streak counter with a weekly reading calendar - 3-hour grace period for late-night reading sessions - Missed a day? One tap to backdate yesterday's reading. No guilt, no penalty - Nine milestone levels from Sprout to Ancient, earned permanently even if your streak resets DUAL GOAL-SETTING MODES Choose the approach that fits your style: - Flexible Mode - set pages per day, Leaf calculates your finish date "I want to read 20 pages daily" - Fixed Date Mode - set a target date, Leaf calculates daily pages "I want to finish by March 15" READING CHALLENGES "5 books in 3 months." Leaf does the math. - Pick your books, pick a finish date - Leaf tells you how many pages to read today - Read extra today, and tomorrow's number goes down - Fall behind, and the number just updates. No penalty - Every week, an email and a notification with how you're doing - Finish, and get a recap you can share Reading challenges come with the Challenge Pass (3 months) or Leaf Pro. It's private. Just you and your books, no leaderboard. VISUAL PROGRESS TRACKING See exactly where you are and how far to go: - Circular progress indicator for each book - Quick-adjust buttons (−5, −1, +1, +5, +10) to log pages in seconds - Updates in one tap, not minutes ASK YOUR AI ASSISTANT (PRO) Your reading data is available via an MCP server: - "What am I reading?" Get your current book and progress - "Log 30 pages of my current book" updates without opening the app - "Add Atomic Habits, 320 pages" adds new books by voice or chat - Works with any MCP-compatible AI assistant Requires Leaf Pro. Set up at readwithleaf.app/integrations. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Your reading at a glance, without opening the app: - Progress ring widget with today's streak and page goal - Book widget showing your current read and progress - Lock screen widget for quick check-ins SMART BOOK MANAGEMENT Add books in seconds: - Scan a barcode for instant lookup - no typing required - Search by title or ISBN - title, author, page count, and cover auto-filled - Import your Goodreads library in one step - bring your reading history with you - Manual entry for any book not in the database - Finish a book in a series? Leaf finds the next volume for you - Share a completion card when you finish a book - Bookshelf organized by currently reading, TBR, finished, and dropped READING JOURNAL Your complete reading history: - Current streak and all-time longest streak - Total pages read and books completed - Full stats for every book you finish: days taken, pages per day, best reading day - Book notes and quotes, saved by page - Export your book list to CSV anytime WHY READERS LOVE LEAF Free to use - tracking, streaks, goals, stats and import, no strings attached Works fully offline - no account required Dark-first design - comfortable for evening reading Available in 16 languages Works on iPhone and iPad LEAF PRO An optional upgrade for readers who want more: - Reading challenges (also sold on their own as a 3-month Challenge Pass) - Cloud sync across all your devices - Automatic backup - never lose your reading data - Ad-free experience - AI assistant integration (MCP server) - Cancel anytime PERFECT FOR - Readers who start more books than they finish - Anyone building a reading habit, one page at a time - Anyone building a reading journal and TBR list - Busy people fitting reading into a packed schedule - Goodreads users looking for a focused, offline-first alternative One page at a time.

About

Forewords

Discover your next favorite book with AI-powered recommendations tailored to your unique reading taste. Track your library, add notes, and gain insights into your reading habits. Import from other platforms or scan barcodes to build your personal collection.

Highlights
  • AI-powered book recommendations
  • Import Goodreads/StoryGraph libraries
  • Track reading, want-to-read, DNF
  • Rate books with sentiment tags
  • Personalized reading insights
  • Content warnings
  • Focused reading sessions
Features
Read full description

Import your Goodreads or StoryGraph library in seconds — then let Forewords find the next book you'll rave about. Forewords uses AI based on your actual taste — your ratings, notes and patterns — to recommend books that genuinely fit. Not just genre matches: unexpected connections you wouldn't have found on your own. Every recommendation includes a personalised reason. TRACK YOUR BOOKS • Track every book you're reading, have read, want to read or DNF'd. • Rate books with sentiment tags, and give all-time favourites a sixth star. • Add notes as you read — dictated or written. • Tag books by how they actually feel, not just genre. • Create custom shelves and tags with no library-size limit. • See severity-labelled content warnings before you start a book. BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS • Recommendations built from your actual taste — not the current bestseller list. Powered by AI. • The more you rate and note, the sharper the AI gets. • Every recommendation explains why it fits, grounded in your reading history. • Get 100 recommendation credits when you sign up. READING ROOM • Start a focused reading session from any book you're currently reading. • Use an optional timer while adding notes and tracking progress. • Finish with a summary of your progress, active reading time and reading days. • Review, add and edit past sessions in Reading Room History. READING STATS AND INSIGHTS • Discover the themes, tones and narrative styles you return to. • Find your reader archetype. • See patterns across your library you never consciously noticed. • Explore reading stats that go deeper than books per year. IMPORT YOUR LIBRARY • Import from Goodreads, StoryGraph or another CSV in seconds. • Scan barcodes to add physical books. • Your data is yours — export it at any time. WHO FOREWORDS IS FOR Forewords is for bibliophiles and power readers — the kind who finish a book and immediately need to know what's next. • Anyone looking for a Goodreads alternative with more personal recommendations. • Readers who want a beautiful, private tracker without social-network noise. • People who care about what they read, not just how much. WHY READERS SWITCH TO FOREWORDS • No ads, data selling, social feed or public-profile pressure. • Recommendations and insights based on the themes, tone and narrative style that define your taste. • Your private library, your notes and recommendations that improve as you use them. A NOTE FROM THE MAKER Confession: I'm not a huge reader. But my wife is. She reads 50+ books a year and asked me to build something that could discover books from what she genuinely likes and dislikes, reveal her reading taste, and go deeper than “another book by the same author.” So I built Forewords. It's a reading companion, not a social network or streak tracker. I'm not trying to make you read more — you already do that. It's independent, meant to stay affordable, and will always have a free version. I hope you love it. If you don't, I'd genuinely like to know why. — Jayson Forewords is your book tracker, reading journal, AI book recommendations app and personal reading-insights tool — built for voracious readers. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Leaf4 screens
Forewords4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Forewords at none against Leaf's shown. Leaf's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Leaf sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Forewords sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Leaf ships an update every 2 days, Forewords fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Leaf versus Forewords: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLeafForewords
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (8 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings8 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterFortnightly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.415.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size85 MB57 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVincent BallutForewords

Customer experience

Leaf

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Forewords

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Leaf

Subscriptions3
  • Leaf Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Leaf Pro Annual1 Year trial$24.991 Year
  • Leaf Pro Annual1 Month trial$24.991 Year
One-time4
  • Small$1.99
  • Medium$4.99
  • 3-Month Challenge Pass$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Large$9.99
3 purchases

Forewords

Subscriptions2
  • Forewords Plus Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Forewords Plus Annual$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • 250 Recommendation Credits$4.99

Questions

Is Leaf free?
Leaf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Forewords free?
Forewords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Leaf or Forewords have ads?
Leaf shows ads; Forewords does not.
Which is updated more often, Leaf or Forewords?
Leaf ships an update every 2 days, and Forewords fortnightly. Most recently, Leaf was updated on October 8, 2026 and Forewords on October 3, 2026.

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