BookstubBookstub vs Bookly: a stub for every book or a report for every month
Bookly is an established iPhone book tracker with a reading timer, goals, per-book and yearly reports, and iCloud sync, according to its App Store listing. Bookstub logs by page, saves short lines and prints a ticket-style stub for each finished book. Bookstub is in development; this comparison is as of October 2026.
Coming soon to iPhone
What is the main difference?
Both apps help you record what you read. Bookly leans toward measurement. Its listing describes real-time tracking with a timer, an estimated finish time at your current pace, goals in hours, pages or books, reading reports with graphs, and achievements. Bookstub leans toward keepsakes. It logs the page you reached, keeps short lines you type yourself, and prints a stub for each finished book.
Competitor facts were checked on October 10, 2026 against the US App Store listing. Apps change, so verify before you decide. Bookstub is made by the publisher of this site and is not on the App Store yet, so it has no rating and no listed price.
Bookstub vs Bookly at a glance
| Bookstub | Bookly | |
|---|---|---|
| Core idea | Page log, lines, rest-day streaks, stubs, weekly ledger | Timer, goals, reports, library and book management |
| Account | None | No online account or signup needed, per its listing |
| Sync | Data stays on the iPhone; backup file you export | Sync among devices using iCloud, per its listing |
| Rating of books | Half stars, drawn as squares | Half stars and custom ratings such as humor or heartfelt |
| Quotes | Lines up to 280 characters with page and colored tab | Thoughts and quotes per book, per its listing |
| Streak | One page counts, rest days earned, late filing until noon | Reading streak and days in a row among its stats |
| Friends | Pacts, bingo and stack matches by link | Share your progress from the app |
| Extras | Stubs, line cards, monthly stack, year archive | Ambient sounds, character tracking, readathons |
| Platform | iPhone | iPhone and iPad, per its listing |
| US App Store rating | New, in development | 4.61 from about 61,800 ratings (October 2026) |
What does Bookly do better?
It measures more and manages more. According to the listing, you can add books, e-books or audiobooks, collect them in custom collections, scan an ISBN barcode, mark a book as lent or borrowed, and sync the library through iCloud. It also tracks readathons and the characters you meet in a book. Reports and graphs per book, month and year are part of its pitch, and the app has been on the store since 2016. It has a paid Pro tier, which the listing describes, while the rest stays free.
What does Bookstub do better?
It keeps the experience small and private. Books, logs and lines are stored on the iPhone, encrypted with a key in the iOS Keychain, and the app has no analytics. A stub prints for each finished book, lines turn into share cards, and a weekly ledger prints on Sunday at 18:00. The streak counts one page, earns a rest day for every seven reading days and lets you file yesterday until noon.
Bookstub also has no covers. Titles, authors and page counts only, which keeps the shelf calm.
How do privacy and data differ?
Bookly says no online account or signup is needed, and it offers iCloud sync for your library, which means your data travels through your Apple account. Bookstub keeps everything on the iPhone and never syncs. That is a trade. iCloud sync helps if you own several devices, and local-only storage helps if you want nothing leaving the phone. Bookstub gives you a backup file to export, so a new phone is a manual move.
Looking up a book in Bookstub sends your search words to Google Books, or to Open Library if you pick it in Settings. No covers are fetched. The privacy policy lists every place data goes.
How do they handle a missed day?
Bookly lists a reading streak among its stats, and its listing does not describe rest days. Bookstub is built around the missed day: every seven reading days earn a rest day, up to three at a time, and one is spent when you skip. A broken streak never erases your longest run. If streak rules matter to you, read streaks and rest days and the guide to a streak that survives a missed day.
Who should pick which?
- Choose Bookly if you want timers, goal types, graphs and a library manager with iCloud sync across devices.
- Choose Bookstub if you want a quiet diary, saved quotes and a ticket for each finished book, with data on your phone.
- Moving between them is a manual job: Bookstub imports Goodreads and StoryGraph CSV files, so check what your current app can export.
Source, checked October 10, 2026: Bookly on the App Store.
Frequently asked questions
Does Bookstub have a reading timer like Bookly?
Yes. The timer is a full-screen clock that keeps counting while the phone is locked, and Stop and log attaches the minutes to a log.
Does Bookstub sync through iCloud?
No. Data stays on the iPhone, and you can export a backup file to Files or iCloud Drive yourself.
Is Bookstub free like Bookly?
Bookstub is planned as a free app with an optional Bookstub Pass. See pricing.
Can I import my Bookly library into Bookstub?
Bookstub imports CSV exports from Goodreads and StoryGraph. Check whether your Bookly export matches one of those formats before you try.