A Bookly alternative with every feature free
Time your reading, keep your streak and see your stats, then share it all with friends and clubs. Nothing is behind a paywall.
Pemberley is a free book app for iPhone with a reading timer, a forgiving streak and detailed reading stats, plus book clubs, challenges and quotes saved from a photo of the page. Every feature is free, with no paid tier.
| Feature | Pemberley | Bookly |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Pemberley: Every feature free, no ads | Bookly: Free, with a paid tier (Bookly Pro) |
| Where it runs | Pemberley: iPhone (Android on the way) | Bookly: iPhone and Android |
| Account needed | Pemberley: Sign in with Apple | Bookly: No account needed |
| Reading timer | Pemberley: Yes | Bookly: Yes |
| Ambient sounds while you read | Pemberley: Yes | Bookly: Yes |
| Add books by barcode | Pemberley: Yes | Bookly: Yes |
| Track books you’ve lent and borrowed | Pemberley: Yes | Bookly: Yes |
| Reading stats and reports | Pemberley: Yes, all free | Bookly: Yes |
| Sync across devices | Pemberley: Yes, with your account | Bookly: Yes, through iCloud |
| Save quotes from a photo of the page | Pemberley: Yes | Bookly: Not listed |
| Book clubs, challenges and friends | Pemberley: Yes | Bookly: Not listed |
| Import from Goodreads | Pemberley: Yes | Bookly: Not listed |
Based on each app’s public listings and help pages as of October 2026. Apps change. If something here is out of date, tell us at support@getpemberley.com and we’ll fix it.
What you can do in Pemberley
- Time your reading, with the clock on your Lock Screen
- Keep a streak that forgives a rest day
- See your year in covers and play it back as a story
- Save quotes by snapping a photo of the page
- Read together: clubs with a reading plan, challenges and friends
- Get suggestions from your own shelves, each with a reason
- Connect Goodreads and keep it in step
- Every feature free, with no paid tier
What readers love about Bookly
Bookly is a focused reading tracker, loved for its one-tap reading timer, its stats and its infographic-style reports. It also has ambient sounds, lending tracking and doesn’t need an account. If a quiet, solo tracker is what you want, it does that well.
Every feature, free
Pemberley has no paid tier and no ads. The timer, stats, quotes, clubs and everything else on this page are yours from the first scan. Here’s how that works: books you don’t own yet have a link to buy them on Amazon, and when you use one, we earn a small commission at no cost to you. That’s the only way Pemberley makes money, and nothing about you or your reading is sold.
Moving over
Download Pemberley and sign in with Apple.
If you keep a Goodreads shelf, bring it over from there. Pemberley reads Goodreads, Libby and Kindle files.
Scan the rest of your shelves, and start your first session.
Questions
Can I import my Bookly data?
Not yet. Pemberley imports from Goodreads, Libby and Kindle today. If you kept a Goodreads shelf, that’s the quickest way over.
Does Pemberley have a reading timer?
Yes, with pause, a Lock Screen clock, optional rain, waves, fire or stream sounds, and a way to add a missed session.
Is Pemberley free?
Yes, every feature, with no ads. When you buy a book through one of our Amazon links, we earn a small commission at no cost to you.
Make reading easy again.
