If you found Quranly, tried it for a few weeks, and still ended up back on Instagram before opening the Quran — you are not alone. Quranly has over a million users and a clean interface. It does some things genuinely well. And yet a lot of people end up searching for an alternative.
This post explains why, and what to try instead.
What Quranly Does
Quranly is a habit-tracking app for Quran reading. The core loop is simple:
- You set a daily reading goal — from 2 minutes ("Break The Egg") up to 60+ minutes ("Beast Mode")
- You open the app, tap to start reading, and it tracks your time and verses
- You build a streak. You lose it if you miss a day.
- You can add friends and family to a leaderboard ranked by weekly reading volume
It is polished, free, and well-marketed. Mufti Menk endorsed it. It has strong brand recognition in the Muslim app space.
Where Quranly Falls Short
Here is the honest problem with Quranly — and with most Quran habit apps built the same way:
It tracks behavior it cannot enforce.
Quranly can log your streak and send you a notification at 9 PM reminding you to read. But when you unlock your phone at 8:58 PM, nothing stops you from opening TikTok instead. The notification is easy to dismiss. The streak is easy to rationalize breaking. The leaderboard only matters to you if it matters to you.
This is not a criticism of Quranly specifically — it is a fundamental limitation of the tracker model. Trackers are great for motivated people who just need accountability. But the research on habit formation is clear: motivation fades. The apps that win long-term are the ones that change the environment, not the ones that add another layer of willpower.
Quranly has not changed your phone environment. Instagram is still one tap away. YouTube still autoplays. The Quran is still three apps over, in a folder, past the lock screen.
The Gamification Problem
Quranly's leaderboard ranks you against your friends and family by reading volume. The intention is accountability. But competitive leaderboards introduce a subtle distortion: you start reading to stay ranked, not to connect with the Quran. When a friend pulls ahead on the leaderboard, does that make you read more sincerely — or just faster?
There is also the "Hasanat counter" — tracking your spiritual rewards inside an app. Many users find this uncomfortable, and reasonably so. Hasanat are between you and Allah. Quantifying them on a dashboard is, at best, a motivation hack that may not age well spiritually.
Free With No Roadmap
Quranly is free with no premium tier. That sounds good — but it also raises the question of how it sustains development. Apps that do not monetize tend to stagnate, deprioritize maintenance, or eventually pivot to ads.
What Quran Gate Does Differently
Quran Gate is built on a different premise entirely: the Quran should come first in your phone, not alongside everything else.
Instead of adding a tracker on top of your existing phone habits, Quran Gate places your Quran reading between you and the apps you already open every day — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, WhatsApp. You complete your daily reading session, and those apps unlock. You skip it, they stay gated.
This is not about willpower. It is about architecture.
How It Works
- You set your daily Quran reading target — a few minutes, a juz, whatever fits your life
- Quran Gate uses Apple's Screen Time framework to gate the apps you select
- Before those apps open, you complete your reading in Quran Gate
- Your position in the Mushaf advances sequentially — you always pick up where you left off
- The apps unlock. You continue your day.
The Quran becomes a gate, not a reminder.
Sequential Progress Through the Mushaf
Quranly tracks time and verse counts, but your reading experience is fragmented — you open it when you feel like it, read from wherever, and close it. Quran Gate maintains a continuous position in the Mushaf. Every session advances you forward. Over months, you work through the entire Quran, surah by surah, page by page.
This is how the Quran was meant to be read — in order, with continuity.
A Habit That Survives After Ramadan
Most Quranly users report strong streaks during Ramadan that collapse in Shawwal. This is the tracker paradox: the external motivation (Ramadan, the leaderboard) was doing the work, not an internalized habit.
Quran Gate's structure works differently. Because your daily apps are gated, the habit is not optional — it is built into how you use your phone. The structure that gets you through Ramadan is the same structure that keeps you reading in Shawwal, Dhul Hijjah, and beyond.
Quranly vs. Quran Gate — Side by Side
| Quranly | Quran Gate | |
|---|---|---|
| Core mechanism | Tracker + reminders | App gating (Quran first) |
| Enforcement | Willpower-dependent | Structural (Screen Time) |
| Progress in Mushaf | Time/verse count | Sequential position |
| Gamification | Leaderboards, Hasanat counter | None |
| Social features | Friends leaderboard | None |
| Habit durability | Motivation-dependent | Environment-based |
| Pricing | Free | Free + Pro |
| Platform | iOS & Android | iOS (Android coming) |
Who Should Use Quranly
Quranly is a reasonable choice if:
- You are already disciplined and want a clean reading log
- You enjoy friendly competition with family on Quran goals
- You are on Android (Quran Gate is iOS-only for now)
- You want a completely free option with no subscription
Who Should Use Quran Gate
Quran Gate is the better choice if:
- You keep starting and stopping Quran reading habits
- Your phone is your biggest distraction from the Quran
- You want to read the Quran sequentially and track your actual position
- You have tried tracker apps before and they did not stick
- You want a habit that does not depend on motivation staying high
The Real Question
Both apps want to help you read the Quran more consistently. The difference is how they try.
Quranly believes a tracker, a streak, and a leaderboard will motivate you enough to build the habit. That works for some people.
Quran Gate believes that for most people, motivation is not the problem — the phone environment is. If you remove the friction from reading and add friction to scrolling, the Quran wins by default. You do not need to be more disciplined. You need a better-designed environment.
Download Quran Gate free on the App Store →
Related reading:
- 7 Best Apps for Reading Quran in 2026
- Why Quran Reading Habits Fail (And How to Fix Yours)
- I Replaced Instagram With the Quran for 30 Days
- The Science of Habit Replacement
Download Quran Gate free on the App Store →