Comparison

SlowRead vs Booktrace

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

Head to head
About

SlowRead

This app helps you build a visually appealing digital bookshelf and encourages focused reading sessions by blocking distracting apps. Track your reading progress, organize your library, and create a personalized reading ritual.

Highlights
  • Customizable 2.5D digital bookshelf
  • Distraction-blocking focus sessions
  • Reading streak tracking
  • TBR and library organization
  • Effortless book addition (scan, search, photo)
  • Import from Goodreads (CSV)
  • Private, local-first library
Features
Read full description

SlowRead is the book tracker with a bookshelf you will want to show off. Every book you read stands on your own shelf, with its real spine and cover. Keep your TBR, your reading journal and your reading log in one place, and share your bookshelf on BookTok and Instagram. YOUR BOOKSHELF • Every book stands on the shelf as a spine or as a cover. • Photograph your own copy to show its real spine, cover and sprayed edges, or use a photo another reader already shared. • Arrange your books by hand, lay them flat in piles and keep a series together. • Decorate with plants, candles, lights and more, and pick a theme for the wall and the wood. • Share a picture of your bookcase to your Stories on TikTok or Instagram. • Get a public profile at slowreadapp.com/@you with the bookcases you choose to show. BOOK CLUBS • Create a club or join one and read the same book together. • Talk in a channel for each part of the book, so nobody spoils what comes next. • Hide the parts of a message that are spoilers. • Vote on the club's next book. YOUR READING YEAR • Monthly and yearly wrap ups: cards to swipe through and share. • Your reader type, worked out from the books you finish. • A yearly reading challenge, and your year next to the last one. • Stats for pages, time and books, your reading speed and your top genres. • A reading streak, with past days you can fill in by hand. TRACKING WITHOUT EFFORT • Search millions of books or scan the barcode to add one in seconds. • Import your library from Goodreads, The StoryGraph, Bookmory, Fable or Libib. • Paperback, ebook and audiobook, even for the same book. • Track library loans with the due date and a reminder the day before. • Series grouped together, with your progress through each one. • Notes, quotes scanned from the page with your camera, and characters with a portrait and their relationships. • Half star ratings, rereads and did not finish. WIDGETS • Your bookshelf, what you are reading, your streak, your challenge and a daily quote on your Home Screen and Lock Screen. READING SESSIONS • Start a timed session from any book and log the page where you stop. • If you want, block the apps that distract you while you read, with Screen Time. All features described above require a subscription. A free trial is included, so you can try everything before paying. TERMS: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Booktrace

Track your audiobook progress with visual duration bars and a glanceable dial screen. Engage in spoiler-free chats about your current listening material. Review your listening habits with stats and a completion calendar.

Highlights
  • Visual duration bars for library
  • Spoiler-aware chat
  • Glanceable dial screen
  • Lock screen controls
  • Listening streaks and sessions
  • Completion calendar
  • Personalized shelves
Features
Read full description

Your books, on a shelf. Track every book you read or listen to, plan your TBR, and watch your reading year fill in. Booktrace works for print books, ebooks and audiobooks. Add a book, say what format it is, and start a session. For a paperback or an ebook you say which page you're on and Booktrace counts the pages down; an audiobook moves forward by the minutes you listened. Booktrace keeps the time either way. YOUR BOOKSHELF Take one photo of a row on your real shelf and every spine stands on a shelf inside the app, or scan books one at a time. Lean them, stack them, drag them into place, and add a plant, a lamp, or a photo. A bookshelf that looks like yours, because it is. YOUR TBR, SORTED Flip through your want-to-read pile like a crate of records, or let Pick one choose your next book when you can't decide. Browse your whole collection as a wall of covers, and see your history as a calendar of book covers. A SESSION DIAL YOU CAN GLANCE AT Start a session with one tap. A dial you can read from across the room keeps you oriented, and the same information follows you to your lock screen and Dynamic Island. Forgot to start it? Log the session after the fact. WHERE YOU READ If you read on the move, Booktrace can keep a map of the route, so you can revisit the walk that got you through chapter twelve. ASK WITHOUT SPOILERS The built-in chat only knows what you've read so far, so you can ask about a character, recap what happened, or catch back up after a break with zero risk of finding out what's next. STATS THAT ADD UP Streaks, sessions, hours, pages, and goals, with a calendar that fills in as you go. Every book you finish stands on its own shelf. MADE FOR AUDIOBOOKS TOO Narrator credits and ratings, real listening hours, playback speed, and duration bars that show how long each audiobook really is, so a 30-hour epic looks like one. BRING YOUR LIBRARY WITH YOU Import a Goodreads or Libby export in one go. Shelves, ratings, finish dates, formats, and page counts come along. - Scan a whole shelf in one photo - Your TBR in a crate, and Pick one for your next read - Print, ebooks, and audiobooks, tracked in one place, by page or by minute - Spoiler-aware chat that stops exactly where you are - A session dial built for a glance, on your lock screen too - Streaks, goals, sessions, and a reading calendar - Home Screen widgets and Siri Shortcuts SUBSCRIPTION Booktrace is available as a weekly subscription at $4.99 per week or a yearly subscription at $49.99 per year. A one-time Lifetime purchase is also available for $79.99. Some plans include a free trial; its length is shown before you confirm. Prices are in US dollars and may vary by region. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours of the end of that period. You can manage and cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when a subscription is purchased. Terms of Use: https://booktrace.app/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://booktrace.app/privacy.html

Screenshots

SlowRead4 screens
Booktrace4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SlowRead at 4.7 against Booktrace's 3.4. SlowRead also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and review sentiment (26% vs 0%). Booktrace's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. SlowRead sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.39 per 7 days and Booktrace sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SlowRead holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SlowRead has 778 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 26% of SlowRead's written reviews are positive against 0% of Booktrace's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SlowRead ships an update every 3 days, Booktrace every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
SlowRead versus Booktrace: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSlowReadBooktrace
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (778 ratings) — better3.4 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews25.9% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings778 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#18 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size117 MB141 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdrian Martinez MorenoBrian Fisher

Customer experience

SlowRead

All ratings772 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews81 reviews
Positive25.9%
Neutral7.4%
Negative66.7%

Booktrace

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

SlowRead

Subscriptions3
  • Premium Weekly$8.397 Days
  • Premium Annual Offer$32.991 Year
  • Premium Annual3 Days trial$44.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime access to Slowread$149.99
7 purchases

Booktrace

Subscriptions6
  • Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Yearly (special offer)$24.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Yearly$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is SlowRead free?
SlowRead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Booktrace free?
Booktrace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SlowRead or Booktrace?
SlowRead is rated higher. SlowRead averages 4.7 out of 5 from 778 ratings, while Booktrace averages 3.4 from 5 ratings.
Do SlowRead or Booktrace have ads?
SlowRead shows ads; Booktrace does not.
Which is updated more often, SlowRead or Booktrace?
SlowRead ships an update every 3 days, and Booktrace every 4 days. Most recently, SlowRead was updated on October 25, 2026 and Booktrace on October 25, 2026.

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