9 Best European Goodreads Alternatives in 2026
Sovereignty-first software picks, all built in Europe — hand-picked to replace Goodreads.
By the EU Alternatives team Last updated
Our top pick this year is Anobii — but every option on this list is European-owned, GDPR-native, and production-ready. Worth a closer look: Lubimy Czytać, Babelio, Literal, LovelyBooks.
Goodreads alternatives are mainly Content & Media. Browse any of those categories for a wider shortlist beyond this list.
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Italy's most popular book social network — 40M+ titles, reviews, and reading shelves for bibliophiles.
Anobii is an independent social network for book lovers — a place to catalogue personal libraries, rate and review titles, follow friends, and discover what other readers are enjoying. Members build shelves of read, reading, and wishlist books, join thematic groups, and browse community charts curated by millions of readers worldwide.
The platform runs as a web-based community with profile pages, discussion groups, reading challenges, and a bookstore directory connecting readers to independent shops. Users can propose new titles, contribute metadata, and follow an activity feed of reviews and ratings from people they trust, keeping book discovery human rather than algorithmic.
Key benefits:
- Personal library cataloguing read, reading, and wishlist collections
- Ratings and reviews surfacing honest feedback from a global readership
- Reader community with groups, discussions, and friend activity feeds
- Community charts ranking books by genuine member engagement
- Bookstore directory linking readers to independent local booksellers
- User contributions allowing proposals and edits to book metadata
Anobii is headquartered in Milan, Italy, founded in 2006 and now owned by Italian publishing group Mondadori. European-hosted and GDPR-compliant, Anobii offers readers a sovereign alternative to Amazon-owned Goodreads, keeping book data and community interactions inside the EU.
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Poland's biggest book community — 2M+ readers, reviews, shelves, and cover-scan book discovery.
Lubimy Czytać is Poland's largest book community platform, combining social networking, reviews, and catalog discovery for serious readers. The service lets users track reading progress, rate titles, and join annual reading challenges, while publishers and authors maintain an active presence alongside tens of thousands of engaged community members.
The platform operates as a comprehensive literary ecosystem with personal digital bookshelves, user and professional reviews, price comparison across retailers, forums, and native iOS and Android apps. A patronage program connects publishers directly with readers, and regular literary events such as the "Book of the Year" plebiscite drive community engagement year-round.
Key features:
- Personal libraries to build digital bookshelves and track what you read
- Reading challenges like "52 books in 2026" with 44,000+ active participants
- Community reviews with user ratings sitting alongside professional criticism
- Price comparison tool covering Polish book retailers in one place
- Mobile apps for iOS and Android to log books on the go
Lubimy Czytać is a Polish service operated from Poland, compliant with GDPR and European consumer protection rules. All community data, reviews, and user accounts remain within EU jurisdiction, and the platform is published in Polish with a strong focus on the domestic literary market and local publishers.
Ideal for Polish-speaking readers, book clubs, authors, and publishers looking for a sovereign European alternative to Goodreads.
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France's largest social network for book lovers — the French equivalent of Goodreads, founded in Paris in 2007.
Babelio is the leading French-language book community, combining reader reviews with personal libraries and book discovery across fiction, non-fiction, comics, manga, and youth literature. Founded in 2007, it has become the reference platform for Francophone readers to track what they read, rate it, and share critiques with a large community.
The site lets readers catalogue their books in a personal "Mes livres" library, write and browse critiques, explore curated lists, take literary quizzes, and join themed groups. Editorial programming includes author interviews, coverage of literary events, and the community-driven Babelio Prize, alongside the Babelio Jeunesse platform for younger readers.
Key features:
- Personal library catalogue, rate, and track every book you read
- Community critiques millions of reader reviews across genres
- Curated discovery lists, recommendations, and themed selections
- Babelio Prize community-voted literary awards
- Babelio Jeunesse dedicated platform for young readers
Babelio is a French company based in Paris and operates entirely under French and European law, including the GDPR and CNIL oversight. Reader data, reviews, and personal libraries remain under EU jurisdiction rather than the US-based platforms that dominate English-language book communities.
Through its partnership with France's Centre National du Livre on the youth platform, Babelio has become a trusted cultural institution for Francophone readers, offering a homegrown European alternative to Goodreads for anyone who wants to follow their reading life on a platform built in and for Europe.
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Germany's leading social reading platform — 1.9M monthly users, reading rounds, and book discovery in German.
The largest German-language book community with 1.9M monthly users. Share reviews, join moderated reading rounds, discover new titles, and connect with authors. Operated by aboutbooks GmbH (a Hugendubel subsidiary) since 2006.
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Elegant European book tracker and reading community — import your Goodreads library and discover through friends.
The companion app for your bookshelf — track, rate, and review books with friends. Import from Goodreads, build personalized collections, see what your reading community is enjoying, and unlock personal reading stats. Built by a small European team (London and Oslo), formerly known as Readng.
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UK book recommendation platform — ethical discovery and buying direct from local independent bookshops.
UK-built book recommendation platform that helps readers discover titles and buy from local independent bookstores. Pays authors and retailers fairly with an 8% commission model (versus 35% on rival platforms), enabling ethical book discovery and community reading lists.
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GDPR-compliant ebook cloud library and reading tracker — Dropbox meets Goodreads for DRM-free readers.
Your ebook cloud library — store DRM-free ebooks, comics, magazines, and RPGs alongside reading tracking and discovery. GDPR compliant, private by default, with 500MB free storage and direct links to independent bookstores.
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Track reading habits, get AI-powered book recommendations based on mood and preferences, and discover your next perfect read with comprehensive filters.
