Comparison

Readstead vs Simply TBR

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

Head to head
About

Readstead

Features
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Readstead is the reading tracker built for people who want to read more and actually stick with it. Whether you're chasing an annual goal, exploring a new genre, or just logging your progress, Readstead gives you the tools to build a real reading habit and keep your entire library in one place. TRACK YOUR READING Log pages as you go and watch your progress in real time. Add books by searching or by scanning the barcode on the back cover. Organize everything into Currently Reading, Finished, Want to Read, and Did Not Finish. BUILD A READING STREAK Your home screen shows your reading streak, a daily heatmap, and all the books you're actively reading. Everything you need to stay motivated and pick up where you left off. READING CHALLENGES Join curated challenges across genre, author, era, and award winners - from Stephen King's complete works to the BookTok essentials to the 2025 Hugo winners. Or create your own challenge and share it with friends. Track your progress book by book and earn a badge when you finish. MONTHLY RECAPS Create a beautiful, shareable reading recap any time of year. Choose from multiple themes and layouts to highlight your books read, pages logged, and stats. Save to your camera roll or share directly. BADGES & ACHIEVEMENTS Earn badges as you hit milestones - streaks, books finished, genres explored, and more. MORE - Import your Goodreads library to get started in minutes - Rate every book you finish - Full reading activity history at a glance Readstead is built for people who take their reading seriously. Start your first streak today.

About

Simply TBR

Organize your diverse reading list from various sources into a single, visual stack. Easily add books, track reading progress, and get gentle nudges to pick your next read without pressure.

Highlights
  • Aggregate books from multiple sources
  • Visual book stack organization
  • Track reading progress (Unread, Started, Finished)
  • Random book selection tool
  • Exit Ceremony for finished books
  • Widgets for quick access
Features
Read full description

A NetGalley ARC with an archive date creeping closer. The Libby suspended hold you keep meaning to check on. The Kindle book you bought on sale and forgot about. The paperback sitting third from the top of the nightstand pile. Your books live everywhere, which makes picking the next one strangely hard. Simply TBR gathers them into one calm, cover-forward stack... not a catalog of what you’ve read, but a clear view of what you could start right now. No ratings. No streaks. No shame about the size of the pile. ------- What it does for you. See your whole reading pile in one place. Bring in NetGalley ARCs (with archive dates, so future you isn’t surprised), Libby loans and holds, and your Amazon and Audible libraries. Connect a self-hosted library through any OPDS catalog, like Grimmory or Calibre-Web, or pull books straight from Hardcover. Turn screenshots of other library apps, like Apple Books, into visible books in your stack. Add physical books by barcode scan, manually, or through a list. Keep an eye on favorite authors with Author Watch, which checks NetGalley for their new books whenever you’re ready to look. Can’t decide what to read? Use Lucky Spin to deal you a small hand of covers. Pick one or spin again. Move books through four honest states: Unread, Started, Didn’t Finish, and Done. Pause or set one aside while you decide. Putting a book down is a choice, not a failure, and the app treats it that way. Close the loop when you’re done. Didn’t finish? Let it go, no ceremony needed. Finished? The Exit Ceremony copies your notes to your clipboard with links to log the book on Goodreads, StoryGraph, or Hardcover, leave NetGalley feedback, or return your loan. Then it wraps up with a small, satisfying animation. Widgets give you a quick glance at what you’re reading, or a peek at your stack with a few options, without opening the app. ------- The free version works well on its own as a manual stack: add books by hand or barcode, spin, read, finish, and sync across your Apple devices through iCloud. Connected adds importing from NetGalley, Libby, Amazon, Audible, Hardcover, and your own self-hosted OPDS library, plus turning library app screenshots into books, for when your reading life gets more complicated. It also includes Author Watch, which checks NetGalley for new books from your favorite authors. Whichever you choose, your books stay in your stack. ------- When you import from NetGalley, Libby, Amazon, or Audible, you log in on that service’s own website... those credentials never touch the app. Hardcover connects with an API token you paste in, and an OPDS library with an address and login you provide, both kept on your device. Everything is read right on your device. No tracking. No analytics. Simply yours. ------- Simply TBR is built by one indie developer with currently 708 books on her own TBR who needed a kinder way through it. It sits alongside Simply Remember It and the rest of the SimplyKyra family: soft structure, for real life. Read your way out. ------- Questions or feedback? Email mail@simplykyra.com 
Learn more: simplykyra.com/simply-tbr Newsletter: simplykyra.com/simply-tbr/#/portal/account Terms of Use: simplykyra.com/simply-tbr-terms-and-conditions/ Privacy Policy: simplykyra.com/simply-tbr-privacy-policy/

Screenshots

Readstead4 screens
Simply TBR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Readstead at none against Simply TBR's 2. Readstead also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly). Simply TBR's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads 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. Simply TBR sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Readstead asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Readstead ships an update every 6 days, Simply TBR fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Readstead versus Simply TBR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadsteadSimply TBR
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.5 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB17 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperDavid SchulerSimplyKyra LLC

In-app purchases

None

Readstead

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Simply TBR

Subscriptions2
  • Connected Monthly3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Connected Annual7 Days trial$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Readstead free?
Readstead is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Simply TBR free?
Simply TBR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Readstead or Simply TBR have ads?
Neither Readstead nor Simply TBR shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Readstead or Simply TBR?
Readstead ships an update every 6 days, and Simply TBR fortnightly. Most recently, Readstead was updated on October 24, 2026 and Simply TBR on October 25, 2026.

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