Book Tracker & Log vs Forewords
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Book Tracker & Log
This app helps you read more and understand your reading habits through private tracking. Log books, time your sessions, rate and review your reads, and discover new titles. It offers personalized recommendations and motivational features like streaks and challenges.
- Private reading journal
- Track reading sessions with timer
- Rate and review books
- Personalized book recommendations
- Reading habit motivation
- Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets
- Apple Watch integration
Read full descriptionHide full description
ReadShelf is a private reading tracker built to help you read more — and understand how you read — without ever giving up your data. Perfect for tracking the books you're reading, building a daily reading habit, timing your sessions, rating and reviewing what you finish, spotting patterns over time, and discovering your next great read. Your books, your habits — and yours alone. Private by design No account, no login, no sign-up — just open the app and start All your data is stored locally on your device by default No analytics, no tracking, no ads — book search only queries public book databases (Open Library, Google Books) Optional iCloud sync runs through your own private iCloud — never our servers Build your library Organize every book across shelves: Reading, Read, Want to Read and Did Not Finish Add a book in seconds — search by title or author, scan its barcode, or look up an ISBN Covers, author, page count, genres, series and custom tags, all in one place Create your own custom shelves to read your way Track your reading A built-in reading timer logs your minutes and pages, session by session See exactly where you are in every book with live progress Capture favorite quotes and highlights with page references Write rich reviews and journal entries for the books that stay with you Rate beyond five stars: plot, writing, characters, pacing and emotional impact Understand your habits Beautiful stats: total books, pages and time read at a glance Reading streaks, reading pace and your best time of day to read Genre breakdown, top authors and rating distribution Heatmaps and trends that show how your reading grows over time Year in Review — a shareable recap of your whole reading year Stay motivated Daily, weekly, monthly and yearly reading goals A forgiving reading streak: every 7 reading days earn an automatic rest day (up to 2 saved) — or count weekly and pick how many days a week you want to read Earn XP, level up from Beginner to Legend, and unlock dozens of milestones Challenges and milestones to keep the habit fun Discover your next read Personalized "For You" picks based on your taste and history Popular titles from Open Library, plus recommendations that tell you why On supported devices, on-device Apple Intelligence suggests your next book — privately, right on your iPhone Reading on your Home Screen Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for your current book, streak and daily goal A Live Activity tracks your reading timer straight from the Lock Screen Apple Watch On Apple Watch, start and pause a reading session, dial in your page with the Digital Crown and watch your daily goal ring fill — plus a complication for your watch face A session running on your wrist shows up live on your iPhone, where you can control it too Gentle reminders A daily reading reminder to keep your habit going A streak reminder so you never lose your run by accident Premium includes Full insights: advanced charts, heatmaps, trends and period comparisons All goals: daily, weekly and monthly targets All challenges and milestones iCloud sync across all your devices Data export Unlimited custom shelves ReadShelf stays simple while you log a session, and powerful when you want the full picture — track in seconds, understand in minutes. Subscriptions Auto-renewable Premium plans (1 month, 1 year) A one-time Lifetime unlock is also available Payment is charged to your Apple ID account Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple account settings Restore Purchases is available in-app Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://darianhanci-legal.web.app/datenschutz
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.
- 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
Read full descriptionHide 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
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Forewords at fortnightly against Book Tracker & Log's every 6 weeks. Forewords also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ads 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
Both are free to download. Book Tracker & Log sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 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.
Book Tracker & Log ships an update every 6 weeks, Forewords fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Book Tracker & Log | Forewords |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 57 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cengiz Darian Hanci | Forewords |
Customer experience
Book Tracker & Log
Forewords
In-app purchases
Book Tracker & Log
- ReadShelf Premium Monthly$0.991 Month
- ReadShelf Premium Yearly3 Days trial$9.991 Year
- ReadShelf Premium Lifetime$27.99
Forewords
- Forewords Plus Monthly$3.991 Month
- Forewords Plus Annual$29.991 Year
- 250 Recommendation Credits$4.99
Questions
Is Book Tracker & Log free?
Is Forewords free?
Do Book Tracker & Log or Forewords have ads?
Which is updated more often, Book Tracker & Log or Forewords?
Other comparisons















