Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Reading List vs Beanstack Tracker

Reading List 4.8★ · Free + IAP 75
Winner Reading List
Beanstack Tracker 4.8★ · Free to download 60

Reading List is generally preferred for personal book tracking due to its ease of use and organization features, while Beanstack Tracker is better suited for library- or school-led reading challenges.

Full reviews: Reading List · Beanstack Tracker

Reading List excels as a personal book tracker, offering intuitive organization and statistics, though recent updates have introduced bugs with book adding and syncing. Beanstack Tracker is primarily used for structured reading programs, particularly for children, but struggles with user-friendliness and technical glitches.

Head to head

Features edge: Reading ListR9R15R37R40
Reading List Reading List users appreciate its ability to create custom lists, track reading progress, and view statistics, especially with the Pro version R9R40. However, some users wish for better series tracking and more advanced statistics R15. The app allows manual adding of books, which is a key feature for many R37.
Beanstack Tracker Beanstack Tracker's main features revolve around reading challenges, badges, and leaderboards, often integrated with libraries and schools . It allows tracking reading time and pages, and some users like that it has a wide selection of books . However, users report issues with tracking audiobooks by percentage and the inability to edit entries after submission .
Ease of Use edge: Reading ListR2R17R20R36
Reading List Many Reading List users find it very easy, straightforward, and simple to use for tracking books R2R17R20R36. Its clean interface and intuitive design are frequently praised R17R20.
Beanstack Tracker Beanstack Tracker is often criticized for being confusing, user-unfriendly, and not intuitive R82. Users find it too complicated to log reading, especially for multiple children or different library challenges R76R82.
Reliability tieR1R3R4R7
Reading List Reading List has recently experienced significant reliability issues, particularly with its scanning and online search functions, requiring manual entry for many books R1R3R4R10. Some users also report problems with widgets not working R7, syncing across devices R16, and glitches with reading logs and dates . One user reported losing all their lists .
Beanstack Tracker Beanstack Tracker also faces numerous reliability issues, including frequent app crashes, especially after updates or on newer devices . Users report being logged out of their library accounts , reading sessions disappearing or not saving , and difficulties with password resets .
Price/Value tieR3R5R13R19
Reading List Reading List offers a free version, which many users find sufficient for basic tracking R5. However, key features like statistics are locked behind a 'Pro' subscription R19R43. Some paid users express disappointment with recent bugs despite paying R3R13. There are also reports of unauthorized charges .
Beanstack Tracker Beanstack Tracker is free to download and use, often provided through libraries or schools for challenges . The value is in its integration with these programs, offering incentives like badges and prizes . However, some users feel the prizes in raffles have diminished in value .
Support tieR16
Reading List One Reading List user reported emailing the app creator about a syncing issue and never receiving a response R16.
Beanstack Tracker Beanstack Tracker reviews do not provide specific feedback on direct customer support interactions.
Pick Reading List if

You want a straightforward, personal book tracking app with good organizational features and statistics R2R40. You prefer a clean interface without social components R20. You are willing to pay for the Pro version to unlock all features, or are comfortable with the free tier's limitations R5.

Pick Beanstack Tracker if

Your local library or school uses it for reading challenges and you want to participate in those programs . You are looking for an app that motivates reading through challenges, badges, and leaderboards, especially for children .

Evidence note: Evidence for support is very thin for both apps, with only one specific mention for Reading List and none for Beanstack Tracker. Recent negative reviews for Reading List heavily focus on technical issues with adding books, which contradicts some older positive reviews about ease of adding books. Beanstack Tracker's reviews are heavily skewed towards its use in library/school programs, making direct feature comparison difficult.

Frequently asked

Can I add books to Reading List by scanning a barcode?
While Reading List previously offered barcode scanning, many recent reviews indicate this functionality is no longer working reliably, often requiring books to be added manually R1R4R10R58.
Does Beanstack Tracker work for families with multiple readers?
Beanstack Tracker allows families to participate in reading programs, but users frequently find it challenging and time-consuming to log books for multiple children or across different library challenges within the app R76R82R85.
Do I need to pay for Reading List to see my reading statistics?
Yes, several users confirm that the statistics feature in Reading List is only available if you pay for the 'Pro' membership R19R43.
Is Beanstack Tracker available on iPad?
One user specifically noted that Beanstack Tracker is horrible on iPad and expressed a need for a dedicated iPad version, suggesting the current app is not optimized for larger screens R61.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R9] Reading List 3/5 · US Pretty Book Tracking App: This app has phenomenal at tracking books that you have read books that you would like to read. It does track by the book added date so you can easily go to the last book that you added or the first book that you’ve added to read them in a particular order. The pro option of the app allows you to see some reporting on your usage, including a breakdown by month, year, and
  2. [R15] Reading List 3/5 · US Need Series & Better Stats: This would be my favorite book tracking app, but I am still dependent on other apps for better statistics and connecting series. Hope improvements are implemented soon.
  3. [R37] Reading List 5/5 · US Love this app: My favorite part about this app is that you can manually add what you are reading. Other apps don’t really allow you to do that & you can make lists or “folders” that i absolutely LOVE
  4. [R40] Reading List 5/5 · US Best book tracker!: Easy to use. Love the stats. Can create book lists: friend recommendations, possible book club books, and so on. My favorite app!
  5. [R2] Reading List 5/5 · US Best book tracker: This app is very easy to use. Highly recommend!
  6. [R17] Reading List 5/5 · US The best reading tracker ever!: I been tracking my books for 3 years now in this app! It’s amazing, clean and not hard to use.
  7. [R20] Reading List 5/5 · US The best reading tracker: This is by far the best reading tracker available (and I’ve tried just about every one). I love that you can quickly add books, pause books, and create lists. Really intuitive. And there’s no social component, which personally I find freeing. I’m just trying to keep track of books I’m reading and that I’ve loved.
  8. [R36] Reading List 5/5 · US Great app: I’ve been using this app for 5 yrs and love it. It’s simple and easy to use. I like seeing what books I’m reading, keeping track of where I am and what I’ve finished.
  9. [R1] Reading List 2/5 · US Scanning functionality no longer works: The scanning barcode functionality does not work at all anymore. Every book now needs to be added manually. I will probably be switching to a different app if this is not fixed.
  10. [R3] Reading List 3/5 · US Used to Love it!: I’ve used this and paid for the pro membership for years. I’ve been disappointed that the last 7 out of 10 ebooks I read had to be manually added. The “search online” function used to work about 95% of the time, but not any more….
  11. [R4] Reading List 1/5 · US Inputting myself: Not sure what happened but it seems like any book I am reading/listening too I have to enter manually now. Even scanning its like no books can be found. Pretty frustrating.
  12. [R7] Reading List 2/5 · US It’s nice ..but..: Been using this app for a while. I like it … but the widget doesn’t work anymore. Kind of makes me not want to use it anymore.
  13. [R5] Reading List 5/5 · US Great to keep things organized!: It’s really a great app, I don’t have pro so I’m sure it only gets better from here! Keeps everything neat, pretty to look at, and organized!
  14. [R13] Reading List 2/5 · US Not Worth The Renewal Subscription: I am not sure why all the rave reviews, what am I missing. This app is rudimentary at best. The note section needs much improvement in the copy and paste function. Each time you copy a note from a book and try to paste it in a running stream of already inserted notes, the app scrolls you back to mid-section of the screen and then you have to scroll down to your
  15. [R19] Reading List 1/5 · US Not useful unless willing to pay for Pro version: Downloaded this so my son cold track how many pages he’s read this year. Was very disappointed to see that the “statistics” (the entire reason for an app like this), is only available if you are willing to pay a monthly or annual fee. So without a purchase, this is as useful as keeping a list in a note app of which books you have read.
  16. [R16] Reading List 1/5 · US I'd give it no stars if I could: I loved it until I couldn't get it to sync to my other device. I emailed the app creator a month ago and never received a response.
  17. [R10] Reading List 1/5 · US Will not work for me: I downloaded this app because it was recommended by a book BESTIE on TikTok, and the app will not allow me to upload any books while using the camera. It’ll scan the barcode and says that it can’t find the book or it just simply doesn’t exist. I restarted my phone because the camera wasn’t turning on before, I deleted the app and redownloaded it, I even paid for the yearly su
  18. [R58] Reading List 5/5 · US Lots of Bugs Recently: I’ve used this app for years at this points with zero complaints. It’s the only tracker I recommend! That said, lately there seems to be a lot of bugs. The barcode scanner doesn’t work (it only opens with the zoomed out camera and doesn’t scan the barcodes), when you add books they no longer pull with all the info (page count, isbn, publisher etc) and other things. I’ve dele
  19. [R76] Beanstack Tracker 2/5 · US Too time consuming: I have three readers in two library summer reading programs. Why can’t I log the books per child and it counts them towards each library’s challenges It just took me 40 min to log the books they’ve read this June, but only shows up on one of the library spheres That’s absurd to have to re enter the same books for the same child just to count for the other library challenge.
  20. [R82] Beanstack Tracker 1/5 · US Not a quick way to track: My library solely uses this and it makes it challenging to log for myself and my three children. It’s not user friendly or intuitive. You have to click way too many things before you can log minutes. I wish there was a way to do a quick log where you can select multiple days while looking at the calendar for 30 minutes for example for multiple readers.
  21. [R85] Beanstack Tracker 1/5 · US Oh no, summer reading with the worst app in existence again.: I can’t believe how much I hate this app. It’s just a reading tracker. I really wish summer reading was just done on paper again. My kid is not motivated by an app that lives on my phone, so she is not excited for summer reading, beyond her normal enjoyment of reading. Also, you are supposed to be able to sign up as a family for summer
  22. [R43] Reading List 4/5 · US Good but could be better: This is a great app but I do not like that you do have to have the pro to see your reading stats but other than that it’s pretty good but please try and change that to where you don’t need to pay for pro to be able to see your stats
  23. [R61] Beanstack Tracker 1/5 · US Horrible on iPad: Not sure if there is a iPad version in the works but it is needed so kids can log their own readings

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store