Best apps for reading: 12 for book lovers

TL;DR

To read more on your phone, you usually need two or three apps rather than one: something to read in, something to listen in, and something to keep track of what you've finished. The 12 best apps for reading below are grouped by that logic.

Read ebooks: 1. Kindle · 2. Apple Books · 3. Kobo · 4. Google Play Books

Borrow and browse a catalog: 5. Libby · 6. Everand

Listen: 7. Audible · 8. Libro.fm

Track and discuss: 9. Goodreads · 10. The StoryGraph · 11. Fable

Nonfiction in short form: 12. Blinkist

If you want one setup to start with: Kindle to read, Libby for anything your library carries, and The StoryGraph to see what you've been reading.

Most people who read on a phone don't pick a single app and stay there. They read in one, listen in another, and keep a running list somewhere else, because no app is strong in all three areas. Pew Research found that 75% of U.S. adults read all or part of a book in the past year, with 31% reading an ebook and 26% listening to an audiobook — so plenty of readers are already moving between formats.

This list is organized around that: what each app is actually built to do, what it does well, and where it gets in your way.

What to look for in a reading app

Reading apps fall into four groups, and the right one depends on which part of reading you want help with.

E-readers hold your books and control how they look on screen - font, spacing, background, page turns. The main question here is which store your library lives in, because most ebooks are locked to the app you bought them in. Switching later means leaving books behind.

Borrowing apps connect you to a catalog instead of a purchase history. Libby links to your public library; Everand runs its own catalog across ebooks and audiobooks. What you gain in range you give up in certainty - titles come and go.

Audiobook apps are judged on catalog and playback: speed control, sleep timers, car support, and whether your progress survives switching devices mid-chapter.

Trackers don't contain books at all. They record what you've read, what you thought, and what's next. This is where Goodreads alternatives have grown quickly, because readers wanted better statistics and a database that isn't tied to a retailer.

One thing worth deciding before you install anything: whether you want to read more books or get more out of the ones you read. Those pull in different directions, as the RiseGuide team explored in the reading habit that builds wisdom, which looks at how Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger paired steady reading with time to think.

The best apps for reading ebooks

These four are where your ebooks live. They cover the same core job, so the deciding factor is usually which ecosystem you're already in and how much control you want over files you bring in yourself.

1. Kindle - best for the largest ebook catalog

Ratings: App Store 4.9 ⭐ · Google Play 4.8 ⭐

Best for: Readers who want the widest selection and read across several devices.

Kindle carries over six million titles and syncs your place, notes, and highlights across phone, tablet, browser, and Kindle e-readers. X-Ray lets you pull up characters and terms without losing your page, and the built-in dictionary and translation work inline. If you own the Audible edition of a book, you can switch between reading and listening and keep your position.

Strengths:

• The deepest catalog of any app here
• Whispersync keeps your page, notes, and highlights aligned across every device
• X-Ray, dictionary, translation, and page flip built into the reader
• Reads and listens in one app when you own both editions

Limitations:

• Books are locked to Kindle, so your library can't move with you if you switch apps
• Importing your own EPUB files means converting them first
• Reviewers report recurring Whispersync and audiobook loading glitches

2. Apple Books - best for iPhone readers who want reading goals

Ratings: App Store 4.4 ⭐ · not available on Android

Best for: People who read on Apple devices and like a daily target.

Apple Books keeps ebooks and audiobooks in the same place and adds Reading Goals with daily streaks, which some readers find is the thing that gets them past the first chapter. Typography control is unusually detailed - fonts, themes, line height, and letter spacing. It also opens DRM-free EPUB and PDF files directly, so anything you download or receive can go straight into your library alongside purchases. Family Sharing covers up to five people, and audiobooks play through CarPlay and Apple Watch.

Strengths:

• Reading Goals and streaks built into the app
• Fine-grained typography and theme controls
• Opens DRM-free EPUB and PDF files without conversion
• Family Sharing across five accounts

Limitations:

• Apple devices only, with no Android version and no web reader
• The app offloads downloaded books to save space and sometimes fails to re-download them
• Highlight notes in PDFs have been reported to disappear when a file is reopened

3. Kobo - best for readers who bring their own files

Ratings: App Store 4.5 ⭐ · Google Play 4.5 ⭐

Best for: Readers with EPUB files from several sources who want them in one library.

Kobo handles both Adobe DRM and DRM-free EPUBs, so books from independent stores, publisher direct sales, and public-domain archives sit next to Kobo purchases without conversion. The reading settings go deep on typography and Night Mode, and the app syncs with Kobo e-readers if you also read on e-ink. Audiobooks play with a sleep timer and CarPlay support, and the interface runs in 11 languages.

Strengths:

• Reads sideloaded EPUB files alongside store purchases
• Detailed typography and Night Mode controls
• Syncs with Kobo e-ink readers
• Available on both iOS and Android, with split-screen support on iPad

Limitations:

• A recent redesign broke things reviewers relied on, including footnote links and marking a book as finished
• Android users report the app hanging and freezing
• The audiobook catalog is thinner than Amazon's, and browsing it by genre is awkward

4. Google Play Books - best for comics, manga, and PDF uploads

Ratings: App Store 4.4 ⭐ · Google Play 4.7 ⭐ · 1B+ downloads

Best for: Android readers who mix books with comics, manga, and their own documents.

Play Books takes uploads of your own EPUB and PDF files up to a generous limit and treats them like any other book, with offline downloads and custom shelves. Comics and manga get panel-by-panel zoom, which most general e-readers handle poorly. Notes and highlights sync to Google Drive, so they're searchable outside the app, and audiobooks have speed control and a sleep timer.

Strengths:

• Upload your own EPUB and PDF files into the same library
• Panel zoom for comics and manga
• Notes sync to Google Drive and stay searchable
• Ebooks and audiobooks in one app, on both platforms

Limitations:

• No real desktop app - reading on a computer happens in a browser, which reviewers find unreliable
• Discovery and recommendations lag behind Kindle and Kobo
• Readers who move countries have lost access to books they already owned because of region locking

The best reading apps for borrowing and browsing a catalog

The two apps here work differently from the e-readers above: you're reading from a shared catalog rather than a shelf you've built. That means more range and less permanence.

5. Libby - best for reading from your public library

Ratings: App Store 4.9 ⭐ · Google Play 4.8 ⭐

Best for: Anyone with a library card who reads widely and doesn't mind waiting.

Libby connects your library card to your library's collection of ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines, and you can hold several cards in one app if you have access to more than one system. Borrow, hold, and renew all happen in the app. Audiobooks play from 0.6x to 3.0x with a sleep timer and CarPlay, ebooks have the usual text and background controls plus notes and highlights, and US libraries can send borrowed ebooks straight to a Kindle.

Strengths:

• Full library collections, including magazines, in one app
• Multiple library cards in a single account
• Wide audio speed range, sleep timer, and CarPlay
• Send to Kindle for US library systems

Limitations:

• Popular titles sit in hold queues for weeks, and series are often incomplete depending on your library's collection
• Android users report crashes during audiobook playback and with the sleep timer, which OverDrive has a dedicated help page for
• Searching by author is weak, and the app asks you to re-verify your card more often than most people expect

6. Everand - best for reading and listening from one catalog

Ratings: App Store 4.3 ⭐ · Google Play 3.5 ⭐

Best for: Readers who want ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines in one catalog and switch between them often.

Everand, formerly Scribd, puts ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, sheet music, and documents in a single catalog you browse rather than buy from title by title. It works online and offline across devices, with highlights and notes, audio speed control, and a sleep timer. Since Everand acquired Fable in June 2025, Fable's book clubs and social reading features are bundled in as well.

Strengths:

• Ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines in one catalog
• Offline reading and listening across devices
• Book clubs and social reading included through Fable
• Broad range outside books, including documents and sheet music

Limitations:

• Titles rotate out of the catalog, sometimes while you're partway through one
• The reading experience is basic next to Kindle or Kobo - one highlighter color, limited typography, weak navigation, and page breaks that don't hold
• No way to send an ebook to a Kindle or Kobo, and the lowest Android rating on this list

The best book apps for listening

Audiobooks are now a normal part of how people read rather than a separate hobby, and these two take opposite approaches to the same job.

7. Audible - best for the biggest audiobook library

Ratings: App Store 4.9 ⭐ · Google Play 4.6 ⭐

Best for: Heavy listeners who want exclusives and a catalog that covers everything.

Audible holds more than a million audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals you won't find elsewhere. Whispersync for Voice moves you between the Kindle ebook and the audio edition without losing your place, which is the closest thing to reading and listening as one activity. Playback covers variable speed, offline downloads, sleep timer, bookmarks, and clips, with CarPlay and Android Auto for driving.

Strengths:

• The largest audiobook catalog, including Originals
• Whispersync for Voice moves between Kindle text and audio
• Clips and bookmarks for saving passages as you listen
• CarPlay and Android Auto support

Limitations:

• Audiobooks stay locked to Audible and won't play in other apps
• An Android bug launches the app whenever you connect to a car over Bluetooth, regardless of your settings
• Sample previews often play opening credits instead of the book, with no way to skip

8. Libro.fm - best for audiobooks you keep and control

Ratings: App Store 4.9 ⭐ · Google Play 4.9 ⭐

Best for: Listeners who want DRM-free files and want their purchases to support an independent bookstore.

Libro.fm carries over 600,000 audiobooks and hands you DRM-free downloads, so the files play in whatever app you like and stay yours if you stop using the service. Each purchase is split with an independent bookshop you choose from more than 4,000 stores. The player has bookmarks, a sleep timer, variable speed, cross-device sync, Apple Watch, and CarPlay, and recommendations come from booksellers rather than an algorithm.

Strengths:

• DRM-free downloads that play in any audio app
• Purchases support an independent bookstore you pick
• Bookseller-curated recommendations and audiobook gifting
• Identical 4.9 ratings on both platforms

Limitations:

• The catalog has gaps, and Audible exclusives aren't available here
• Sync between desktop and mobile is unreliable, according to reviewers who use both
• A much smaller user base than the others, so there are fewer ratings to judge a title by

The best book tracking apps

None of these three contain books. They keep the record - what you've read, what you thought, what's waiting - and they're where most readers end up spending their reading conversation. Keeping notes as you go also makes what you read easier to recall later, which is the idea behind the memory palace technique.

9. Goodreads - best for reviews and the largest reader community

Ratings: App Store 4.8 ⭐ · Google Play 4.6 ⭐

Best for: Readers who want long reviews and the biggest book database before deciding what to read next.

Goodreads has the deepest database and the most reviews of anything here, which is why most readers check it even when they track elsewhere. You build shelves, scan barcodes to add physical books, follow friends, and run an annual Reading Challenge. The Choice Awards and the groups feature are the closest thing to a general-purpose book club online.

Strengths:

• The largest book database and review archive
• Barcode scanner for adding physical books
• Annual Reading Challenge and friend activity feed
• Groups and online book clubs across almost every genre

Limitations:

• Tracking only - there's no reading or listening in the app
• The interface is dated and takes several taps for simple actions like shelving a book
• Still no half-star ratings, and duplicate book records are common

10. The StoryGraph - best for reading statistics and mood-based recommendations

Ratings: App Store 4.5 ⭐ · Google Play 4.6 ⭐

Best for: Readers who want to see patterns in what they read and pick books by mood and pace.

The StoryGraph is the tracker most people move to when Goodreads stops being enough. Recommendations run on mood and pace rather than popularity, and the statistics page breaks your reading down into charts covering genre, length, pace, and how your year is going. It supports half-star ratings, DNF tracking, custom tags, community-sourced content warnings, buddy reads, and a one-click Goodreads import, and it's independent rather than retailer-owned.

Strengths:

• Detailed reading statistics with charts
• Mood and pace recommendations instead of bestseller lists
• Half stars, DNF tracking, and community content warnings
• Imports your Goodreads history in one step

Limitations:

• Tracking only, with no reading or listening
• The apps wrap the web version, so they feel slower and less native than the others here
• A smaller database means missing editions on niche titles, and there's still no Libby or Kobo integration, which sits open on the public roadmap

11. Fable - best for book clubs and reading with other people

Ratings: App Store 4.8 ⭐ · Google Play 4.7 ⭐

Best for: Readers who want conversation attached to the book rather than a review posted after finishing.

Fable is built around clubs. Discussion happens inline, tied to the passage being talked about, so a club reads more like an ongoing conversation than a monthly meeting. It imports from Goodreads and Kindle, tracks goals and streaks, produces year-in-review statistics, and hosts creator-led clubs alongside private ones you set up with friends. Fable is now part of Everand, so the two connect.

Strengths:

• Book clubs with threaded discussion attached to specific passages
• Imports history from both Goodreads and Kindle
• Reading goals, streaks, and year-in-review statistics
• Creator-led public clubs as well as private ones

Limitations:

• Duplicate records for the same book mean marking one as read leaves the other unmarked
• Its own in-app catalog is small, so most members read the book somewhere else
• Search and selection are the most common complaint in recent reviews

The best app for nonfiction in short form

One app on this list isn't for reading books at all - it's for getting the argument of a nonfiction book in the time it takes to make coffee. That's a different job from the eleven above, and worth knowing about if your reading list is mostly nonfiction.

12. Blinkist - best for the core argument of a nonfiction book

Ratings: App Store 4.8 ⭐ · Google Play 4.6 ⭐

Best for: Readers deciding which nonfiction books deserve the full read.

[Screenshot: Blinkist summary player]

Blinkist condenses more than 9,000 nonfiction books and podcasts into roughly 15-minute text and audio summaries. Most people use it as a filter - listen to the summary, then buy the ones worth the hours. Highlights send to Kindle and Evernote, summaries download for offline listening, and there's a curated daily pick.

Strengths:

• Over 9,000 nonfiction titles in 15-minute summaries
• Text and audio versions of every summary
• Highlights export to Kindle and Evernote
• Offline listening and a daily curated pick

Limitations:

• You get the argument, not the book, so examples, nuance, and narrative are gone
• Nonfiction only, weighted heavily toward business and self-help
• Reviewers have complained about summary quality declining, with padded and repetitive text

At a glance: the best apps for reading compared

Ratings are an August 2026 snapshot and shift over time.

Which reading app should you choose?

Start with where your books already are. If you've bought ebooks before, that store is your reader, and moving means leaving them behind — Kindle if you're in Amazon's catalog, Apple Books on an iPhone, Kobo if you have EPUB files from several places, Play Books if you read comics or upload your own documents.

Add Libby next, whatever else you use. A library card covers a large share of what you'd otherwise buy, and the hold queue is easier to live with once you keep four or five books on hold and read whatever arrives. For audio, Audible has the catalog and the Whispersync link to Kindle; Libro.fm gives you files that stay yours and sends part of each purchase to a bookstore you choose.

The tracker is the one worth thinking about, because it shapes what you read next. Goodreads has the reviews, The StoryGraph has the statistics and the recommendations, Fable has the conversation. Most readers pick one and check Goodreads for reviews anyway.

If your reading is mostly nonfiction and you're trying to get more out of it rather than get through more of it, the format matters less than what happens afterward. Books you don't apply fade quickly, which is the same reason spacing and self-testing beat rereading when you're learning anything. Picking a few titles from a list like the 12 best productivity books and working through them slowly tends to do more than a longer finished-books count.

FAQ