Comparison

Penny vs Book Tracker

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

Head to head
About

Penny

This app helps you build a consistent reading habit by tracking your books, timing your reading sessions, and allowing you to take notes. It offers ambient soundscapes to enhance your reading atmosphere and provides detailed progress statistics. The app prioritizes user privacy and works offline.

Highlights
  • Build and organize your book library
  • Track reading sessions with a timer
  • Ambient soundscapes for atmosphere
  • Take notes and track characters
  • View detailed reading progress stats
  • Syncs with iCloud
  • Offline functionality
Read full description

Penny is a reading tracker for people who want a simple, private place for their books. There is no account to create, no ads and no social feed. Your library, your reading time and your notes stay on your iPhone and sync through your own iCloud. Penny 2.0 is the biggest update since launch, and nearly everything in it started as an email or a review from a reader. PICK YOUR PENNY • Four looks: Classic, Paper, Pond (with a dusk mode for reading at night) and Bloom • Each look has its own app icon, and your widgets change with it • Penny now speaks English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. Choose the language in Settings TIME YOUR READING • Start the timer, read, then note the page you stopped on • A short recap after every session with your minutes, pages, streak and week • Your timer on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • A daily reminder at your reading time, free for everyone A BOOKSHELF ON YOUR HOME SCREEN • The new Bookshelf widget lines up the books you finished, spine by spine, in the colors of their covers • Currently Reading and Reading Summary widgets keep your progress in sight • Every widget is free and dresses up for your look STANDING IN A BOOKSTORE? • Scan the barcode and Penny tells you if the book is already yours, in any edition • Put the books you want to buy on your Wishlist • Open the scanner straight from Control Center with the Scan a book control PREVIOUSLY ON… • Back to a book after a break? Penny shows the page you stopped on, your last note and the characters and terms you saved BUILD YOUR LIBRARY • Search millions of books from Google Books, Apple Books and Open Library, or scan the barcode • Bring your library over from Goodreads or StoryGraph with a CSV import • Shelves for To Read, Reading, Finished and DNF, plus shelves of your own • Half-star ratings, for the books that deserve a 3.5 • Finish a book and Penny throws you a small party KEEP WHAT YOU READ • Notes and quotes, a glossary for places and terms, and a character list for every book • Everything stays with its book, easy to find when you need it SEE YOUR PROGRESS • Reading streaks and a calendar with the cover of every book you read each day • Stats for books, pages and time, monthly trends, genres and your Year in Review SET THE MOOD • 19 ambient sounds, from rain on the window to a medieval tavern, and you can mix them PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account, no email, no sign-up • No ads, no tracking, no analytics • Syncs between your iPhone and iPad through your private iCloud FREE AND PREMIUM Most of Penny is free: up to 40 books, the timer and session recaps, stats and streaks, the scanner and Bookstore mode, all four looks, every widget, the daily reminder, iCloud sync and 4 ambient sounds. Premium adds unlimited books, notes, terms and characters, Previously on…, the Wishlist, the Lock Screen timer after your first three sessions, all 19 sounds, custom shelves, CSV export and your full session history. Premium is a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. I made Penny because I wanted a simpler way to keep track of what I read, without accounts or social media. If there's something you'd love to see next, the Send Feedback button in Settings comes straight to me. Terms of Use: https://readwithpenny.online/terms Privacy Policy: https://readwithpenny.online/privacy

About

Book Tracker

Features
Read full description

Book Tracker Keep your reading life beautifully organized with Book Tracker, the all-in-one reading companion for book lovers. Build your personal library, track reading progress, set goals, and gain valuable insights into your reading habits—all in a clean, modern interface designed for iPhone and iPad. Whether you enjoy physical books, ebooks, or audiobooks, Book Tracker helps you stay motivated and never lose track of your reading journey. Features Organize Your Library Create your personal book collection Add books manually or scan ISBN barcodes Organize books into custom collections Track physical books, ebooks, and audiobooks Save books to your wishlist Mark favorites for quick access Track Reading Progress Record current page and completion percentage Monitor reading sessions and time spent Track reading speed and daily progress Resume where you left off View complete reading history Set Reading Goals Books per year or month Daily and weekly page goals Reading streaks Reading time goals Personalized reading challenges Reading Journal Write notes and reflections Save memorable quotes Rate books with a 5-star system Add custom tags Keep a personal reading diary Powerful Statistics Books completed Pages read Reading time Reading streaks Favorite authors and genres Monthly and yearly summaries Beautiful charts and reading insights Smart Organization Search by title, author, ISBN, or genre Filter by reading status and rating Sort books by multiple criteria Create custom collections Quickly find any book in your library Widgets & Apple Integration Home Screen widgets Lock Screen widgets Siri Shortcuts iCloud sync Dark Mode Dynamic Type Accessibility support Premium Features Upgrade to Book Tracker Premium to unlock: Unlimited books Unlimited collections Advanced reading analytics Smart collections Reading heat maps PDF, CSV, and JSON export Premium widgets Advanced reading challenges Future premium features Designed for Readers Book Tracker is built with privacy in mind. Your library belongs to you. Focus on reading, discover meaningful insights, and build lasting reading habits with a beautifully designed experience. Download Book Tracker today and make every page count. #Book Tracker offers auto-renewing subscription options: •$7.99 per month •$34.99 per year • You can subscribe for unlimited access to all features and content offered for purchases within Video Stabilizer • Subscriptions are billed weekly/yearly on the subscription plan • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable Terms of Use: https://tos.asiancomputingapps.com Privacy Policy: https://privacy.asiancomputingapps.com

Screenshots

Penny4 screens
Book Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

Penny and Book Tracker are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Penny sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Book Tracker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Penny versus Book Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPennyBook Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperClaudiu Valentin SararuDo Anh

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Penny

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$29.99
3 purchases

Book Tracker

Subscriptions2
  • Book Tracker Premium Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Book Tracker Premium Yearly$34.991 Year
One-time1
  • Book Tracker Premium Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Penny free?
Penny is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Book Tracker free?
Book Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Penny or Book Tracker have ads?
Neither Penny nor Book Tracker shows ads.

Other comparisons