StoryGraph vs Goodreads: An Honest Comparison for Romance Readers

In short: Goodreads is the bigger, older and more social of the two, owned by Amazon, free to join and strongest at community reviews and finding a book's page. StoryGraph is an independent alternative built around reading stats, mood-based discovery and content warnings, with a free version and an optional paid Plus plan. Both now let you rate in quarter stars, and you can move your shelf between them with a file, so the choice is less permanent than it feels.

A disclosure: we make Cherry Books, a third option we mention near the end. Everything below about Goodreads and StoryGraph comes from their own pages, help articles and app store listings as of November 2026. Both apps change often, so check anything that matters to you before you decide.

At a glance

Ratings: both have quarter stars now

For years, quarter-star ratings were one of the main reasons readers tried StoryGraph, which lists half and quarter star ratings among its features. That gap has closed. On 5 October 2026, Goodreads announced that readers can rate in quarter-star steps from 0.25 to 5.0, or keep using whole stars. One difference remains on Goodreads: the rating bars on a book's page still show five whole stars, so fractional ratings are rounded to fit there.

If you are a reader who agonises over a 4 or a 4.25, either app will now let you say exactly what you mean.

Content warnings

This is StoryGraph's clearest advantage for many romance readers. Its listing describes author-approved and user-submitted content warnings attached to each book, which you can check before you start. On Goodreads, warnings live in what readers write: reviews, and the shelves readers create. Those can be thorough, but you have to go looking.

Whichever app you use, community warnings can miss things. Many readers keep a short list of their own as well; our guide to tracking content warnings shows how to do it without spoilers.

Stats and finding your next book

StoryGraph leans into numbers. Its listing includes reading charts and graphs, and Plus adds custom pie and bar charts, stats filtered to any time period, side-by-side comparisons and custom wrap-up graphics. It also lets you search and browse by mood and pace, so you can ask for something fast-paced and funny rather than a genre.

Goodreads leans on its community. It calls itself the world's largest site for readers and book recommendations, and its strength is that almost any book already has a page, ratings and reviews from other readers. It also runs a yearly Reading Challenge, and as part of Amazon it connects with Kindle: its ratings announcement notes that Kindle readers can rate books on their device.

Reviews, community and buddy reads

If you choose books by reading other people's reviews, or you want to see what your friends are reading, Goodreads' size is hard to match. Reading together there happens in groups, each with its own discussion boards.

StoryGraph builds reading together into the app itself, with buddy reads, readalongs and book clubs. Its listing describes adding live reactions to specific parts of a book without fear of spoilers. If you buddy read a lot, that is worth trying. Our guide to buddy reading without spoilers has tips that work in any app.

Ownership and cost

Amazon agreed to buy Goodreads in 2013, and the site carries the label An Amazon Company. Goodreads is free to join. For some readers the Amazon connection is a plus, because it ties in with Kindle. For others it is the main reason they look elsewhere.

StoryGraph is run by The StoryGraph Limited and describes itself as an independent Goodreads alternative. The core app is free, and the optional Plus plan, paid monthly or yearly, adds the extra stats features and, in its own words, helps keep the platform ad-free. Prices vary by country, so check the current price in your app store.

Moving between them

You do not have to pick forever. Goodreads lets you export your whole library as a CSV file from the website, under My Books and Import and export. StoryGraph can import that Goodreads data, and it has its own export under Manage Account. Our step-by-step guide to moving your Goodreads shelf covers both exports and what to check in the file.

Many readers keep both: Goodreads for friends and reviews, StoryGraph for stats and warnings. If you do, keep a copy of each export somewhere safe.

Which one suits a romance reader?

• Choose Goodreads if reviews, friends and finding any book's page quickly matter most, and you like being part of a very large reading community.
• Choose StoryGraph if you want content warnings on each book, choosing by mood and pace, more charts, and built-in buddy reads.
• Try both if you cannot decide. The import and export make it low-risk.

For a wider look that also includes Fable, see our comparison of book tracker apps.

Where Cherry Books fits

Cherry Books is not trying to be a bigger Goodreads or a different StoryGraph. It is a private reading tracker for romance and romantasy readers, with no public catalogue of reviews. Each book gets a spice meter and a tear meter from 0 to 5, trope tags and a separate Content warnings field, and your shelf filters by Spice at least. Every book has its own notebook and a quote wall with page numbers.

Buddy reads hold up to ten readers, with sealed notes and no spoilers. It imports Goodreads and StoryGraph CSV files, or any CSV with column mapping, and you can export a copy of everything in one file. It runs in the browser on your phone, tablet and laptop, works offline, and everything you write is private. Some readers use it alongside Goodreads or StoryGraph rather than instead of them.

The short version

1. Goodreads: owned by Amazon, free to join, strongest at community reviews and reach.
2. StoryGraph: independent, free with an optional Plus plan, strongest at stats, mood and content warnings.
3. Both now offer quarter-star ratings.
4. StoryGraph has buddy reads built in; Goodreads has groups.
5. Your library can move between them with a CSV export, so trying one costs little.

Pick the one that fits how you choose books today. You can always take your shelf with you.