GoodNovel Review

What Is GoodNovel?

GoodNovel is a web novel app and site, free to download, where later chapters unlock with coins. The App Store text says it "has collected popular web novels and books", and the site's genre list runs through romance, werewolf, mafia, fantasy, urban, LGBTQ+, paranormal, mystery and sci-fi. The operator is Singapore New Reading Technology Pte. Ltd., named in the Terms and as the seller on the App Store. The iPhone and Android apps were both updated in October 2026, and the site runs in a browser too.

The same company sells at least one other app under a different name, covered in our investigation of the same reading app under different names.

GoodNovel review: who it suits

It suits a reader who wants a very large romance and fantasy serial library, on a phone or in a browser, and who accepts paying for later chapters in coins. It does not suit a reader looking for explicit content, because the rules on paper ban it, or one who wants a published price per chapter, which is not given. The App Store text itself says "GoodNovel is unfortunately not a totally free online novel platform", and explains why: "we at GoodNovel need to ensure that our authors can obtain a stable income".

What the rules say about sexual content

Readers who search for steamy romance apps may arrive here expecting it, so it helps to see the written rules next to the ratings. We read the Terms on October 27, 2026.

So the rating does not clash with the rules here: both describe a service for a broad audience in which sexually explicit text is not permitted. The gap is between the reader who arrives expecting steamy scenes and what the rules allow. Note that the Terms clause is worded as a limit on user content, not as a description of the catalogue, and the help-centre line that some titles are fine "for readers above 18+" shows that some content is meant for adult readers. We have not read the catalogue, so we cannot say what any particular novel contains. For the stores' side of this, see our guide to why erotica apps disappear from the app store.

Is GoodNovel free?

No fully free reading, in the app's own words. The first chapters of a novel are free, and the App Store text says "GoodNovel has a lot of in-app tasks that you can easily complete to obtain coins to continue reading new chapters." How many chapters are free is not published. Whether logged-out reading works is not confirmed. Our glossary entry on the cliffhanger paywall explains why the end of the free chapters is the number to ask for.

How much GoodNovel coins and memberships cost

Checked October 27, 2026. Source: apps.apple.com. Prices change with region, promotions and the store you buy through.

The seven coin packs on the US App Store run at almost exactly 100 coins a dollar, between 100.0 and 100.5: 200 coins for $1.99 is 100.5, 500 for $4.99 is 100.2, 1,000 for $9.99 is 100.1 and 5,000 for $49.99 is 100.0, with 600, 1,500 and 2,000 coins in between. A coin is about a cent whatever the pack, and a chapter that costs N coins costs about N cents. N is not published on the pages we read, so we cannot give a price per chapter. Our guide to how story app credits work and the glossary entry on credit-based reading cover the model.

The memberships are the expensive part. The listing prints a "Weekly Subscription" at $9.99 and a "Weekly Membership" at $19.99, and neither entry says what it unlocks. Left to renew every week, they come to $519.48 and $1,039.48 over 52 weeks. The App Store text also describes an auto-renewing "GoodNovel Bundle" without a price, and no monthly plan is listed. One oddity: the list prints the $19.99 membership twice, once spelled "Weekly" and once as "WeekIy" with a capital I, a typo we use as the lead clue in the investigation linked above. The App Store prints at most ten purchase items, so the list may be partial, and Google Play shows only a price range. A separate in-app currency, Gems, is a reader-to-author gift that raises an author's place on the Gem Ranking, according to the help centre. See what GoodNovel costs for the fuller breakdown.

iPhone, Android and the web

Google Play shows 10M+ downloads. The App Store listing carries an advertising flag. In-app audio, interactive stories, AI-written stories and offline reading are not confirmed on the pages we read.

For writers

The Writer's Reward Plan 2026 offers exclusive and non-exclusive contracts. Exclusive: a $100 signing bonus when a book reaches 30,000 words, a $150 monthly attendance bonus under stated conditions, plus completion and standing-out bonuses. Non-exclusive: a $50 reward plus a profit share when a book is completed on the platform first at 150,000 words or more. The royalty percentage is not published. Payment is processed on the 10th of each month, with income expected within fifteen working days. Our page on how erotica platforms pay writers compares what other services say.

Privacy, billing and age

The Terms set the minimum age at 13 and describe no document check. The Terms are not dated on the page. We looked for a statement that all characters are adults in the Terms, the help-centre policies, the About page and the App Store text and did not find one; that describes the pages we read. The App Store text says to cancel by choosing the GoodNovel Bundle in your Apple ID subscription settings, and that the renewal fee is deducted automatically if you do not cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. Fees are non-refundable under the Terms (section 7.1). The site's privacy policy is dated December 12, 2023. Our guide to cancelling a story app subscription covers the general steps.

Best GoodNovel alternatives

Dreame is the closest in model, at the same cent per coin, but its App Store rating is 18+ and its Terms ban explicit content too; our Dreame vs GoodNovel page puts them side by side. Webnovel is fantasy-heavy, prices coins at about two cents each, and is compared in GoodNovel vs Webnovel. If you want a romance serial reader that is rated 18+ on the App Store, Roma: Romance Novels uses coin packs too. More are in GoodNovel alternatives, and the apps section lists every review.

Final verdict