StoryGraph maps how you read.
Viraldico runs your book club.
The StoryGraph is a lovely solo reading tracker: mood tags, pacing, content warnings, and the best stats around, and we mean every word of that as praise. Viraldico does the thing it was never built for, running your real-life book club, with meetings, a vote, and a roster, on a calm, private, no-AI footing.
Two good apps, built for different things.
Stay on StoryGraph for your own reading.
If what you love is tracking your own reading, mood and pacing tags, community content warnings, quarter-star ratings, and stats that go deep, StoryGraph does that as well as anyone, and it is independent and thoughtfully built. We are genuine admirers, and we are not trying to replace it.
Come to Viraldico for the club.
StoryGraph is built around one reader. A book club is a group: a meeting with a date and a place, an RSVP, a vote on the next book, a roster, a queue. StoryGraph has buddy reads, but not a standing club with all of that. That is the whole reason Viraldico exists, and plenty of people happily use both, StoryGraph for their shelf, Viraldico for their club.
Where each one is stronger.
An honest, side-by-side look between two independent apps. StoryGraph wins a whole section here, and we have marked it as plainly as the rows where we do.
| Capability | Viraldico | StoryGraph |
|---|---|---|
| Running a real-life club | ||
| A meeting with a date, time, and place | Built inPhysical or virtual, with a map. | NoneBuilt around one reader. |
| RSVPs and a member roster | Yes | None |
| Add a meeting to your own calendar | YesOne-tap .ics. | None |
| Ranked-choice vote on the next book | YesThe club picks together. | None |
| A shared reading queue for the club | Yes | Personal TBR only |
| Read a book together, spoiler-safe | Yes, as a clubWith a pinned guide. | Yes, buddy readsA genuine StoryGraph strength. |
| A discussion guide pinned to each meeting | Yes | None |
| Attendance history | Yes | None |
| Your shelf and your reading | ||
| A personal shelf of what you've read | Spine shelfBooks stand as spines. | Yes |
| Fine-grained star ratings | Half-star | Quarter-starEven finer than ours. |
| Mood and pacing tags | Mood, lighter; no pacing | Yes, its signature |
| Community content warnings | None | YesLoved by romance and YA readers. |
| Rich stats and charts | Calm and private, by design | The best around |
| Import your library | Yes, freeVia a Goodreads CSV. | Yes, but Plus only |
| Values and ownership | ||
| Who owns it | An independent team | Independent, founder-ledBootstrapped, like us. |
| Where it sends you to buy | Bookshop.org and Libro.fmNever Amazon. | No buy links |
| AI or ML features | None at all, by choice | Some in-house ML, opt-out |
| Your reading data | Aggregate by default | Account-based, powers your stats |
| Price | Free · Plus $50/yr | Free · Plus about $50/yrAbout the same. |
Where StoryGraph is the better choice.
Mood and pacing tags
Its signature, and deeper than ours. If you choose books by vibe and pace, StoryGraph reads your taste better than anything else out there.
Community content warnings
Crowd-sourced warnings that romance and YA readers rely on every day. We don't have these, and for some readers that alone is the whole game.
The best stats around
StoryGraph's charts and year-in-review are genuinely the best in the category. Ours are quiet on purpose, so this is a real trade, not a tie.
Independent and award-winning
Black-woman-owned, bootstrapped, and a winner of a 2025 Apple App Store Award. We're fans. We just point a similar set of values at the club instead.
You don't have to choose.
Keep tracking on StoryGraph if you love it. Run your book club on Viraldico. They do different jobs, and they get along fine. Plenty of readers keep both open: one for their shelf, one for their club.
The quiet differences, on purpose.
No AI at all
No summaries, no recommendations from a model, no in-house ML. Your reading never runs through one. Our stance on AI →
Buy indie always
Every buy link goes to Bookshop.org or Libro.fm, which support independent bookshops, or to your local library. Why indie →
Your reading is yours always
Aggregate by default, sold to no one, exportable whenever you like. Privacy is the architecture, not a setting. Our privacy promise →
Viraldico and StoryGraph.
Can I use Viraldico and StoryGraph together?
Yes, and many people do. Track your own reading on StoryGraph, run your book club on Viraldico. Nothing stops you keeping both.
Does Viraldico have mood and pacing tags like StoryGraph?
It has mood tags and genre tags, but lighter than StoryGraph's, and no pacing tags. If deep mood and pacing tagging is what you love, StoryGraph does it better.
Does Viraldico have stats like StoryGraph?
Some, but quietly. Calm personal stats live in Plus and stay private to you. We don't build the deep charts StoryGraph is known for, and that's a deliberate choice rather than an oversight.
Is Viraldico independent, like StoryGraph?
Yes. A small independent team, no Amazon, no ads, no selling your data. We share a lot of StoryGraph's values; we just point them at the club.
Does Viraldico use AI?
No, none at all. No summaries, no recommendations from a model, and your reading never becomes training data.
A calmer home for your book club.
Start with your shelf, or bring the whole club. Free to begin, and quiet by design.
Start a club, freeor just build your shelf →