# Smart Bookmark Compare

> Editorial rankings of seven reading apps for one question: saving your exact place in a book and helping you remember the story, across print, ebooks and audiobooks. Vendor facts read September 2026, updated 2026-10-11.

## Rankings and method

- [Home](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/): the short answer, the ranked shelf and where to start.
- [Smart bookmark rankings](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/smart-bookmark-rankings): full ranking with every criterion score, reason and head-to-head list.
- [How we rate](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/how-we-rate): criteria, weights, evidence, and limitations.
- [Pick-up calculator](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/pick-up-calculator): re-rank the apps for your phone, formats, breaks, budget and privacy, with yearly costs.
- [Shelf compare](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/shelf-compare): two to five apps side by side.

## Apps

- [Magic Bookmark](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/app/magic-bookmark): profile of Magic Bookmark: scores, formats, prices and key facts.
- [Bookly](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/app/bookly): profile of Bookly: scores, formats, prices and key facts.
- [Basmo](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/app/basmo): profile of Basmo: scores, formats, prices and key facts.
- [The StoryGraph](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/app/storygraph): profile of The StoryGraph: scores, formats, prices and key facts.
- [Literal](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/app/literal): profile of Literal: scores, formats, prices and key facts.
- [Goodreads](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/app/goodreads): profile of Goodreads: scores, formats, prices and key facts.
- [Fable](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/app/fable): profile of Fable: scores, formats, prices and key facts.

## Head to head

- [Basmo or Bookly](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/basmo-or-bookly): Basmo and Bookly compared criterion by criterion.
- [Basmo or Fable](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/basmo-or-fable): Basmo and Fable compared criterion by criterion.
- [Basmo or Goodreads](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/basmo-or-goodreads): Basmo and Goodreads compared criterion by criterion.
- [Basmo or Literal](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/basmo-or-literal): Basmo and Literal compared criterion by criterion.
- [Basmo or Magic Bookmark](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/basmo-or-magic-bookmark): Basmo and Magic Bookmark compared criterion by criterion.
- [Basmo or The StoryGraph](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/basmo-or-storygraph): Basmo and The StoryGraph compared criterion by criterion.
- [Bookly or Fable](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookly-or-fable): Bookly and Fable compared criterion by criterion.
- [Bookly or Goodreads](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookly-or-goodreads): Bookly and Goodreads compared criterion by criterion.
- [Bookly or Literal](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookly-or-literal): Bookly and Literal compared criterion by criterion.
- [Bookly or Magic Bookmark](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookly-or-magic-bookmark): Bookly and Magic Bookmark compared criterion by criterion.
- [Bookly or The StoryGraph](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookly-or-storygraph): Bookly and The StoryGraph compared criterion by criterion.
- [Fable or Goodreads](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/fable-or-goodreads): Fable and Goodreads compared criterion by criterion.
- [Fable or Literal](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/fable-or-literal): Fable and Literal compared criterion by criterion.
- [Fable or Magic Bookmark](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/fable-or-magic-bookmark): Fable and Magic Bookmark compared criterion by criterion.
- [Fable or The StoryGraph](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/fable-or-storygraph): Fable and The StoryGraph compared criterion by criterion.
- [Goodreads or Literal](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/goodreads-or-literal): Goodreads and Literal compared criterion by criterion.
- [Goodreads or Magic Bookmark](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/goodreads-or-magic-bookmark): Goodreads and Magic Bookmark compared criterion by criterion.
- [Goodreads or The StoryGraph](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/goodreads-or-storygraph): Goodreads and The StoryGraph compared criterion by criterion.
- [Literal or Magic Bookmark](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/literal-or-magic-bookmark): Literal and Magic Bookmark compared criterion by criterion.
- [Literal or The StoryGraph](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/literal-or-storygraph): Literal and The StoryGraph compared criterion by criterion.
- [Magic Bookmark or The StoryGraph](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/magic-bookmark-or-storygraph): Magic Bookmark and The StoryGraph compared criterion by criterion.

## Alternatives

- [Magic Bookmark alternatives](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/swap-magic-bookmark): the other six apps ranked as alternatives to Magic Bookmark.
- [Bookly alternatives](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/swap-bookly): the other six apps ranked as alternatives to Bookly.
- [Basmo alternatives](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/swap-basmo): the other six apps ranked as alternatives to Basmo.
- [The StoryGraph alternatives](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/swap-storygraph): the other six apps ranked as alternatives to The StoryGraph.
- [Literal alternatives](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/swap-literal): the other six apps ranked as alternatives to Literal.
- [Goodreads alternatives](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/swap-goodreads): the other six apps ranked as alternatives to Goodreads.
- [Fable alternatives](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/swap-fable): the other six apps ranked as alternatives to Fable.

## Reading tips

- [Reading tips](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-tips): ten short lessons in three tracks.
- [What a smart bookmark does](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-tips/what-a-smart-bookmark-does): A smart bookmark app saves your place in a book and helps you remember the story. The four ways apps save a place, and what none of them can do.
- [Print books](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-tips/marking-your-place-in-a-print-book): A ribbon, a page number in an app, a timed session or a photo of the page: four ways to keep your place in a print book, and when each one fails.
- [Audiobooks](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-tips/keeping-your-place-in-an-audiobook): Audiobook players remember a timestamp, not a page. How readers who mix listening and print can carry their place across, and which apps help.
- [E-reader sync](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-tips/e-reader-progress-sync): Ebooks keep your place on the device. What the Kobo and StoryGraph integration sends, when it went live, and what it means for readers who also read print.
- [After a long break](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-tips/coming-back-after-a-long-break): Weeks away from a book and lost the thread? A step-by-step way back in, what to do before you stop, and which app features help you remember the story.
- [Notes and highlights](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-tips/notes-highlights-and-journals): Your own notes are the safest reminder of a story. Which apps capture notes by voice or photo, scan highlights from print pages, or keep a reading journal.
- [Who is who](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-tips/cast-lists-and-who-is-who): Forgetting characters is the main reason readers stall after a break. Ways to check who is who without reading ahead, and the app that stops at your page.
- [Switching formats](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-tips/switching-formats-mid-book): Reading the paperback at home, the ebook on the bus and the audiobook in the car? How to carry your place across formats, and which apps cover all three.
- [Pay per book or subscribe](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-tips/pay-per-book-or-subscription): Credits per book, a yearly plan or free: how the seven apps here charge, with worked examples from published US prices for light and heavy readers.
- [Phones and platforms](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-tips/will-it-run-on-your-phone): iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac or web: which of the seven bookmark apps run where, what the minimum iOS version is, and what to do if yours is not listed.

## Reference

- [Reading words](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reading-words): a plain glossary for bookmark apps.
- [Reader FAQ](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/reader-faq): short answers to common questions, grouped by topic.

## Bookmarked

- [Bookmarked](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookmarked): dated notes from The Margin Desk.
- [Why this question](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookmarked/why-we-lead-with-picking-up-where-you-left-off): Why this site scores reading apps on one question, how the weights were set after the scores, and what changes if you weight things differently.
- [A year of bookmarks](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookmarked/what-a-year-of-bookmarks-costs): A light, a steady and a heavy reader: what each of seven reading apps would cost them in a year, from published US prices read 27 September 2026.
- [Kobo and StoryGraph](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookmarked/kobo-storygraph-sync-explained): Since June 2026 Kobo progress and finished books flow into a linked StoryGraph account. What changed, what it covers, and what it does not do for print readers.
- [Updates, March to September](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookmarked/reading-app-updates-march-to-september-2026): Eleven dated updates from the reading apps we follow, March to September 2026, from a Did Not Finish shelf to Kobo sync and Magic Bookmark's first version.
- [Library books](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookmarked/library-books-and-borrowed-copies): Library loans end, sometimes mid-book. How to keep your place and your notes when the copy goes back, and which apps work with borrowed books.
- [Myths, checked](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookmarked/smart-bookmark-myths-checked): Do you need a subscription, does every app handle audiobooks, can apps find your page in any book? Six common assumptions checked against public listings.
- [Long books, short bursts](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookmarked/reading-a-long-book-in-short-bursts): Ten minutes at a time is a real way to finish a long book. How to stop each session so the next one starts easily, and which app features support it.
- [On Android](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/bookmarked/bookmark-apps-on-android-in-2026): Five of the seven bookmark apps we compare run on Android. Which ones, what each offers for keeping your place, and how they rank when the iPhone-only apps are set aside.

## Reviewed, not scored

- [Amazon Kindle app: Recaps and Story So Far (reviewed, not scored)](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/smart-bookmark-rankings#outside): listed on the rankings page without a score; no profile or pair page.
- [Audible clips and bookmarks](https://smartbookmarkcompare.com/smart-bookmark-rankings#outside): listed on the rankings page without a score; no profile or pair page.

## Site

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