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Best ADHD Apps

Bench notebook. Scores follow a published rubric.

Checked 2026-10-29

What are the best ADHD apps for reading in 2026?

Reading stalls for different reasons, so this list is sorted by the job each app does. The reading-specific tools are new to the site and carry provisional desk scores on the criteria their official pages let us assess.

There is no single best ADHD reading app; pick by where you stall. To get back into a book after a gap, Magic Bookmark gives a spoiler-free recap up to your exact page (supported titles, iPhone only, first book free). To read by listening, Libby lends audiobooks free with a library card and Speechify reads text aloud with highlighting. To start a session, use a timer like Llama Life or a body-doubling session on Focusmate.

Every score on this page comes from the same published rubric. how we score

Which reading app fits where you stall?

  • You stall coming back to a book after a gap: Magic Bookmark recaps the story up to your exact page and shows a cast list of only the characters you have met. It works with print, ebook or audiobook, for supported titles, on iPhone. Reading on Kindle? Amazon’s Story So Far does a similar job free inside Kindle ebooks in the US.
  • The page itself is the obstacle: try listening. Libby lends audiobooks free with a library card, with playback up to 3x and a sleep timer. Speechify reads text aloud with the words highlighted, including a photo of a printed page; its free plan runs up to 1.5x with 10 robotic voices, and Premium is $29 a month or $139 a year. Your phone may already do this for free: see free ADHD reading tools.
  • You cannot get started: a timer makes the session small and specific. Llama Life puts one task and one countdown in front of you, which suits “read chapter 12”. More in focus timer apps for reading.
  • You read better with someone there: book a Focusmate session and make reading the task. See body doubling for reading.
  • The phone keeps pulling you out of the book: Forest grows a tree while you leave the phone alone; for harder limits see our app blocker list.

What does each tool cost?

Reading tools on this list, by cost model (checked 2026-10-29; Magic Bookmark 2026-10-27)

Reading tools on this list, by cost model (checked 2026-10-29; Magic Bookmark 2026-10-27)
ToolJobCost modelPlatforms
Magic BookmarkRecap after a gapFirst book free, then $4.99 per book or packs down to $1.40 eachiPhone
LibbyBorrow audiobooks and ebooksFree with a library cardiOS, Android, web
SpeechifyText to speechFree plan; Premium $29 a month or $139 a yeariOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome, Edge
Llama LifeTimer for one session$$ price band (see the review)iOS, Android, web
FocusmateBody doubling sessionFree for up to 3 sessions a week; Plus $8 a month billed yearlyWeb
ForestStay off the phoneOne-time price plus optional extrasiOS, Android

Full figures and dates: what reading apps cost.

What is not on this list, and why?

Kindle’s Story So Far, Recaps and Ask this Book are free features inside Kindle ebooks rather than standalone apps, so they appear in the guides rather than the table. General chatbots can summarize a book, but they do not know which page you are on and can spoil or invent details, so we do not list them as recap tools. Book trackers such as Goodreads or The StoryGraph log what you read; they do not help you get through it, so they sit outside this category.

How to read the scores: Llama Life and Focusmate carry the provisional scores they already have on our focus lists. Magic Bookmark, Speechify and Libby are new desk reviews scored only on the criteria their official pages let us assess, shown as points out of the points available (for example 55/70). Do not compare those numbers with totals out of 100.

The table

Scored comparison of apps in What are the best ADHD apps for reading in 2026?
#AppScoreVerdictTapsPriceLitmus
01Magic Bookmark55/70 partialTRIAL FIRSTNot yet measuredfirst book free, then $ per book
  • Setup friction 15 out of 20
  • Capture friction 12 out of 15
  • Forgiveness 14 out of 15
  • Reward design not assessed
  • Notification quality not assessed
  • Price honesty 8 out of 10
  • Accessibility not assessed
  • Staying power 6 out of 10
02Libby16/20 partialTRIAL FIRSTNot yet measuredfree with a library card
  • Setup friction not assessed
  • Capture friction not assessed
  • Forgiveness not assessed
  • Reward design not assessed
  • Notification quality not assessed
  • Price honesty 9 out of 10
  • Accessibility 7 out of 10
  • Staying power not assessed
03Speechify24/35 partialTRIAL FIRSTNot yet measuredfree + $$$
  • Setup friction not assessed
  • Capture friction 11 out of 15
  • Forgiveness not assessed
  • Reward design not assessed
  • Notification quality not assessed
  • Price honesty 6 out of 10
  • Accessibility 7 out of 10
  • Staying power not assessed
04Llama Life080/100KEEPNot yet measured$$
  • Setup friction 17 out of 20
  • Capture friction 12 out of 15
  • Forgiveness 12 out of 15
  • Reward design 9 out of 10
  • Notification quality 8 out of 10
  • Price honesty 7 out of 10
  • Accessibility 8 out of 10
  • Staying power 7 out of 10
05Focusmate079/100KEEPn/a (session-based)free tier + $
  • Setup friction 16 out of 20
  • Capture friction 11 out of 15
  • Forgiveness 13 out of 15
  • Reward design 8 out of 10
  • Notification quality 8 out of 10
  • Price honesty 8 out of 10
  • Accessibility 7 out of 10
  • Staying power 8 out of 10
06Forest078/100KEEPNot yet measuredone-time $ + optional
  • Setup friction 17 out of 20
  • Capture friction 12 out of 15
  • Forgiveness 9 out of 15
  • Reward design 7 out of 10
  • Notification quality 8 out of 10
  • Price honesty 9 out of 10
  • Accessibility 8 out of 10
  • Staying power 8 out of 10

Entry by entry

Magic Bookmark

TRIAL FIRST55/70 partial (partial desk score)

Magic Bookmark: Book Recaps is an iPhone app from Yomu Inc. that works alongside your own copy of a book; it does not contain the book. You snap a photo of the page you are on or type the page number, or for an audiobook you enter the last phrase you heard. It then gives you a recap that stops exactly where you are, a cast list built only from what you have read, spoiler-free answers to questions about the story so far, and a chat where characters answer in character and only know the story up to your page. It covers a catalog of supported titles, mostly the romance, fantasy, romantasy, YA, sci-fi and historical fiction books popular on BookTok and Bookstagram, and you can request others in the app.

Best for
Readers who lose the story after a break and want back in without spoilers, in print, ebook or audio.
Watch out
Supported titles only, iPhone only, pay per book after the first, English only, and the privacy label lists tracking identifiers.
Price
first book free, then $ per book

Read the full Magic Bookmark review →

Libby

TRIAL FIRST16/20 partial (partial desk score)

Libby is OverDrive’s library reading app. With a library card you can borrow ebooks, audiobooks and magazines for free, download them for offline use or stream them, and read or listen on the web at libbyapp.com. OverDrive lists playback speed up to 3x and a sleep timer that can run to the end of the chapter or for a set number of minutes. What you can borrow depends on your library. Provisional desk review.

Best for
Trying a book in audio before paying for anything, and borrowing instead of buying books you might not finish.
Watch out
What you can borrow depends on your library, and popular titles may be checked out when you want them.
Price
free with a library card

Speechify

TRIAL FIRST24/35 partial (partial desk score)

Speechify reads text aloud with the words highlighted as it goes, so you can listen and follow along. Its site says it handles PDFs, EPUB, DOCX and TXT files, web links, scanned pages and pasted text, and that you can snap a photo of a printed page and have it read aloud. It runs on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, and as Chrome and Edge extensions. The free plan covers text to speech at speeds up to 1.5x with 10 robotic sounding voices. Premium ($29 a month, or $139 billed yearly) adds 1000+ voices, 60+ languages, faster speeds, Scan & Listen, and AI summaries and chats. Provisional desk review.

Best for
Readers who keep going better when they hear the words and see them highlighted at the same time.
Watch out
The free plan is capped at 1.5x speed with 10 robotic sounding voices; the full version is a subscription.
Price
free + $$$

Llama Life

KEEP080/100

Built on one idea: you get one task and a timer, and the rest of the list waits its turn. Playful without being patronizing, with time estimates that add up to an honest "your list ends at 6:40pm". Weak as a system of record; superb as a doing tool next to whatever stores your tasks.

Best for
People whose lists are honest but whose time sense is not.
Watch out
Not a system of record; pair it with wherever tasks live.
Price
$$

Read the full Llama Life review →

Focusmate

KEEP079/100

You book a session, a real person shows up on video, you both state a goal and work. Show-up mechanics do what streaks never did. The free tier covers a few sessions a week; the paid tier is cheap for what it replaces. Awkward for the first ten minutes, effective after.

Best for
Deadline days and anyone streaks have failed.
Watch out
Requires camera-on comfort; first session feels odd, works anyway.
Price
free tier + $

Read the full Focusmate review →

Forest

KEEP078/100

Plant a tree, stay off the phone, watch it grow. One-time price, high polish, no subscription pressure. The dead tree is a guilt mechanic and we score it as one.

Best for
Gentle, visual focus sessions with a one-time price.
Watch out
The guilt mechanic (dead trees) lands badly for some ADHD users; we score that honestly.
Price
one-time $ + optional

Read the full Forest review →

Cards, if you scan

  1. 01Magic Bookmark55/70 partialTRIAL FIRSTSpoiler-free recaps, a cast list and Q&A that stop at the exact page you are on, for supported titles.first book free, then $ per book · Not yet measured
    • Setup friction 15 out of 20
    • Capture friction 12 out of 15
    • Forgiveness 14 out of 15
    • Reward design not assessed
    • Notification quality not assessed
    • Price honesty 8 out of 10
    • Accessibility not assessed
    • Staying power 6 out of 10
  2. 02Libby16/20 partialTRIAL FIRSTBorrow ebooks, audiobooks and magazines free from your local library.free with a library card · Not yet measured
    • Setup friction not assessed
    • Capture friction not assessed
    • Forgiveness not assessed
    • Reward design not assessed
    • Notification quality not assessed
    • Price honesty 9 out of 10
    • Accessibility 7 out of 10
    • Staying power not assessed
  3. 03Speechify24/35 partialTRIAL FIRSTReads text aloud with the words highlighted, including a photo of a printed page; AI summaries on Premium.free + $$$ · Not yet measured
    • Setup friction not assessed
    • Capture friction 11 out of 15
    • Forgiveness not assessed
    • Reward design not assessed
    • Notification quality not assessed
    • Price honesty 6 out of 10
    • Accessibility 7 out of 10
    • Staying power not assessed
  4. 04Llama Life080/100KEEPOne task, one timer, and a list that tells you when your day actually ends.$$ · Not yet measured
    • Setup friction 17 out of 20
    • Capture friction 12 out of 15
    • Forgiveness 12 out of 15
    • Reward design 9 out of 10
    • Notification quality 8 out of 10
    • Price honesty 7 out of 10
    • Accessibility 8 out of 10
    • Staying power 7 out of 10
  5. 05Focusmate079/100KEEPBook a video session with a stranger; you both state a goal and work.free tier + $ · n/a (session-based)
    • Setup friction 16 out of 20
    • Capture friction 11 out of 15
    • Forgiveness 13 out of 15
    • Reward design 8 out of 10
    • Notification quality 8 out of 10
    • Price honesty 8 out of 10
    • Accessibility 7 out of 10
    • Staying power 8 out of 10
  6. 06Forest078/100KEEPStay off the phone and a tree grows; leave and it dies.one-time $ + optional · Not yet measured
    • Setup friction 17 out of 20
    • Capture friction 12 out of 15
    • Forgiveness 9 out of 15
    • Reward design 7 out of 10
    • Notification quality 8 out of 10
    • Price honesty 9 out of 10
    • Accessibility 8 out of 10
    • Staying power 8 out of 10

Questions people actually ask

What is the best app for reading with ADHD?

It depends on where you stall. For coming back to a book after a gap, a page-locked recap such as Magic Bookmark. For getting through the words, Libby audiobooks or Speechify text to speech. For starting, a timer such as Llama Life. None of these are ADHD treatments; they lower the friction of reading.

Is there an app that tells me what happened so far in my book?

Yes. Magic Bookmark recaps up to your exact page for supported titles on iPhone, whatever format you read in. Kindle’s Story So Far does the same inside Kindle ebooks in the US. A general chatbot can summarize, but it does not know your page and can spoil or invent details.

Are there free ADHD reading apps?

Libby is free with a library card. Speechify has a free plan limited to 1.5x speed and 10 robotic sounding voices. iPhone Speak Screen and Android Select to Speak are built in. Magic Bookmark’s first book is free. Kindle’s recap features come free with Kindle ebooks bought or borrowed through Amazon.

Why do some apps show scores like 55/70 instead of a total?

Those are provisional desk reviews. We score only the criteria the official listing lets us assess and show the points against the points available. A total out of 100 waits until we run the full protocol.

Sources

Related lists

Changelog

  • 2026-10-29 · New list: reading and memory category. New reading tools entered as provisional desk reviews with partial scores.

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