What does our research cover?

Why a reading journal publishes data

Most advice about reading apps is opinion, and most of it is written once and never checked again. ADHD readers pay for that more than most: a feature that is missing, a trial that quietly turns into a subscription, or a recap that gives away the ending can be the difference between finishing a book and abandoning it. So we count what the makers themselves publish, on a stated date, and show our sources.

Both studies are desk research. Every number comes from an app's own listing, help pages or pricing page, read on 4 November 2026 in the US. Nobody was paid to be included, and no app saw the results before publication. Neither study is medical research, and nothing in them is a treatment recommendation.

The two studies

Recap and spoiler-safety features in 30 reading apps. Which apps can tell you what happened so far without telling you what happens next. The short version: 4 of 30 apps publish a recap limited to your place, and only one of them works with a print book. Our summary focuses on coming back to a book after a gap, which is where most ADHD reading stalls. Full study: bookrecapapps.com.

What reading apps cost: the Q4 2026 price index for ADHD readers. Monthly and annual prices for audiobook services, ebook subscriptions, trackers, summary apps and recap apps, with cost per credit, per hour and per book where that helps. Our summary focuses on the plans that are easy to forget about, which is where an ADHD budget leaks. Full study: bestbookapps.com.

How to use these numbers

• As a shortlist, not a verdict. A feature that exists on paper still has to suit you. Our tool scores, in the toolkit, weigh distraction and start friction as well as features.
• With the date in mind. Prices and features change without notice. Each summary says when it was checked, and the full studies keep the evidence quote for every row.
• Next to a method. Data tells you what a tool can do. Our methods, such as coming back to a book you abandoned and externalize the plot, tell you how to use it on a bad-focus day.

What the recap study found, in five lines

• 4 of the 30 apps publish a recap that stops at your place: Magic Bookmark, Kindle (Story So Far), Google Play Books (Catch me up) and Spotify (audiobook Recaps).
• Only one of those four, Magic Bookmark, works with a print book. The Kindle, Google and Spotify recaps run only inside their own stores.
• 2 of 30 generate a cast list: Magic Bookmark, built only from what you have read, and Kindle X-Ray.
• 8 of 30 offer some protection against spoilers tied to your place, half of them social features such as book club chapter rooms.
• 12 of 30 list at least one kind of data used to track you on their App Store privacy label.

The full summary explains what each of these means when you come back to a book after a gap.

What the price index found, in five lines

• A library card is still $0, and covers ebooks and audiobooks through Libby and, where your library offers it, Hoopla.
• One audiobook credit you keep costs between $9.56 (Audible's 24-credit annual plan) and $15.99 (Audible bought inside the iPhone app).
• In 9 plans sold both on the web and in the iPhone app, 4 cost more in the app.
• Every reading tracker we checked has a free tier.
• No headline price we had published went up. Kindle Unlimited is now Kindle+, still $11.99 a month, and Audible Plus is open only to existing members.

The full summary shows the plans most likely to keep charging you after you stop using them.

Which summary should you read first?

How the studies were built

Both studies were built the same way. We listed the apps readers most often ask about, then read each one's own App Store or Google Play listing, help pages and official pricing page on 4 November 2026, in the US. Every cell in the data has a source link and a date. Where a maker did not publish something, the data says "not published" instead of filling the gap with a guess. Nothing was tested hands-on and nobody was surveyed, which is why the summaries count what makers say, not how well a feature works. The full studies give a source and a date for every row, so anyone can check one.

Three more numbers from the recap study

• 14 of 30 apps know your place automatically, because you read or listen inside their own app. That is convenient, and it is also why the in-store recap tools only work on books bought or borrowed in that store.
• 2 of 30 accept a photo of a printed page to set your place: Magic Bookmark at page level, and Thus Far at chapter level.
• 10 of 30 document a way to export your data. If you keep reading notes for the long term, that number matters more than any feature: a tool you cannot leave is a tool you will eventually lose your notes in.

What changed since earlier checks on our sister sites

None of these is a price increase. Two are plans that changed shape at the same price, which is easy to miss if you only watch the number.

What these studies cannot tell you yet

They cannot tell you whether a recap is accurate, whether a cast list is complete, or whether a feature works on a bad-focus evening. Those are hands-on questions, and we have not measured them. They also cover the US only: prices, plans and features differ by country, and some features here are US-only. Read them as a map of what exists and what it costs, then use our methods to decide how a tool fits into your reading.

How to cite these summaries

If you quote a number, link the summary page and give the checked date, 4 November 2026. For the full dataset and method, link the canonical study instead: the recap features study or the price index.

What we do not claim

We did not use every app hands-on for these studies, we did not time anything, and we did not survey readers. Where a maker's page was vague, the studies record that as "not published" rather than guessing. If a later check finds a change, the summary's changelog will say so.