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Publishing · head to head

Goodreads vs Sigil

Goodreads logo

Goodreads

Publishing

Amazon-owned book cataloguing, review and recommendation app

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sigil logo

Sigil

Publishing

Open source EPUB editor for working directly on the file, not generating it

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Goodreads being owned by Amazon since 2013, the platform is structurally oriented toward driving Kindle and Amazon purchases rather than existing as an independent literary community, even though it remains free to use.; Sigil it produces no print output whatever, so any book that needs a paperback interior requires a completely separate tool and a second workflow.
  • They diverge on capability: Goodreads covers Reading tracking and shelves, Sigil covers Direct EPUB editing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Goodreads and Sigil actually diverge.

Attributes where Goodreads and Sigil differ
AttributeGoodreadsSigil
Pricing modelFree, no subscription or in-app purchases; funded by Amazon as a commerce and data feederOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWindows, macOS, Linux

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Publishing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Goodreads

  • Reading tracking and shelves
  • Reviews and ratings
  • Reading Challenge
  • Groups and discussions
  • Author profiles and Q&A
  • Kindle and Amazon purchase links

Only in Sigil

  • Direct EPUB editing
  • Code and preview views
  • EPUB 2 and EPUB 3
  • Regex across files
  • Validation
  • Python plugins

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Goodreads

  • A reader wanting a personal log of books read with ratings and notes over timenot Sigil
  • Someone checking aggregated reviews before buying or borrowing a booknot Sigil
  • A book club coordinating discussion in a dedicated group spacenot Sigil
  • A reader setting and tracking an annual reading goal through the Reading Challenge featurenot Sigil

Sigil

  • Fixing an EPUB that a retailer validator has rejected, without re-exporting from the tool that generated itnot Goodreads
  • Correcting the table of contents, reading order or metadata in a file supplied by a conversion servicenot Goodreads
  • Preparing a back-catalogue title where the only surviving source is the EPUB itselfnot Goodreads
  • Applying a consistent stylesheet or a bulk text correction across every chapter of a book at oncenot Goodreads

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Goodreads

  • Being owned by Amazon since 2013, the platform is structurally oriented toward driving Kindle and Amazon purchases rather than existing as an independent literary community, even though it remains free to use.
  • Interface and feature development have seen limited meaningful investment since the acquisition, and long-standing user complaints about outdated design and moderation tools have gone largely unaddressed for years.
  • Review and rating manipulation, including review bombing and coordinated fake reviews, has been a persistent, documented problem with limited effective moderation response.
  • The recommendation engine and reading data are used to inform Amazon retail and advertising systems, which is a real data use consideration for readers who value privacy around their reading habits.
  • There is no official API for third-party developers since Amazon deprecated the previous public API, which has limited independent tools and integrations that used to exist around the platform.

Sigil

  • It produces no print output whatever, so any book that needs a paperback interior requires a completely separate tool and a second workflow.
  • Meaningful use requires reading and writing HTML and CSS, which puts it out of reach of most authors who simply want a finished file.
  • There is no cloud storage, sync or collaboration, so the book exists as a file on one machine and version control is whatever you set up yourself.
  • Development depends on a small number of volunteer maintainers, so release timing and platform builds follow their availability rather than a roadmap, and a lapse in maintenance would leave no obvious successor.
  • It provides no distribution, no retailer connection and no Kindle-native output, so it sits in the middle of a workflow that other tools have to complete on both sides.

Pricing, plan by plan

Goodreads

Free
  • GoodreadsFree
    • Full cataloguing, review and group features at no cost
    • No ads sold directly within the reading experience beyond Amazon purchase links
    • No premium tier exists

Sigil

Free
  • SigilFree
    • GPL licensed with no cost or account required
    • Full functionality with no feature gating
    • Community support through forums and the issue tracker

Which should you pick?

Choose Goodreads if

  • You need reading tracking and shelves.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want reviews and ratings.
Goodreads review

Choose Sigil if

  • You need direct epub editing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want code and preview views.
Sigil review

Questions people ask

Is Goodreads or Sigil better?
Neither clearly leads. Goodreads starts at Free and Sigil at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Goodreads or Sigil?
Goodreads starts at Free and Sigil at Free.
Does Goodreads or Sigil run on more platforms?
Goodreads runs on iOS, Android, Web. Sigil runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Can I use Goodreads for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Goodreads best used for?
Goodreads is most often used for a reader wanting a personal log of books read with ratings and notes over time, someone checking aggregated reviews before buying or borrowing a book, a book club coordinating discussion in a dedicated group space, a reader setting and tracking an annual reading goal through the reading challenge feature. Of those, a reader wanting a personal log of books read with ratings and notes over time and someone checking aggregated reviews before buying or borrowing a book are not what Sigil is typically brought in for.
What can Goodreads do that Sigil cannot?
Goodreads covers Reading tracking and shelves, Reviews and ratings, Reading Challenge, Groups and discussions. Sigil covers Direct EPUB editing, Code and preview views, EPUB 2 and EPUB 3, Regex across files.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Goodreads: Is Goodreads free?

Yes, there is no subscription or premium tier; all cataloguing, review and group features are free.

Sigil: Can I write my book in Sigil?

You can, but you should not. It is an EPUB editor, not a word processor, and writing long-form prose in it is unpleasant. Write elsewhere, import, then finish in Sigil.

Goodreads: Who owns Goodreads?

Amazon, which acquired it in 2013.

Sigil: Does it make Kindle files?

Not natively. Produce a valid EPUB in Sigil and let Amazon convert it, or use a separate conversion tool for other Kindle formats.

Goodreads: Does Goodreads have an API for developers?

Amazon deprecated the previous public Goodreads API, so third-party tool development is now much more limited than it once was.

Sigil: Is it safe to rely on a volunteer project for commercial work?

The files it produces are standard EPUB, so nothing is locked in. The risk is that maintenance stops, not that your books become unreadable.

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