# MapleRead SE — EPUB+PDF reader+server

> EPUB and PDF reader with audiobook generation, library management, and cloud sync. (iPhone/iPad app by Maplepop LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mapleread-se/id860169741 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Maplepop LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/798017700)
- Category: Books, Education
- Price: $8.99 with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.10/5 from 125 App Store ratings · 167 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 17+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 30 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2014-05-28
- Data updated: 2026-09-05
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mapleread-se/id860169741/reviews.md

## What is MapleRead SE?

MapleRead is dedicated to enable unique audio-visual reading experience for everyone.

------------
Our MapleRead app family has 3 members, namely SE, CE and CX.
- SE is our flagship product with all features.
- CE is SE without PDF reader and built-in Library Server.
- CX is CE with some limitation. Free to try.
- No recurring subscription fees. No ads. Just buy it once. Gratuity optional.
- Moreover, SE and CE can be run side-by-side via split-view multitasking.
- Recommend SE for use on multiple devices with easy and fast book sharing via Library Server.
- Recommend the SE-CE bundle for the best value.
------------

MapleRead includes a superb audio-visual EPUB e-book reader.
- It lets you easily modify publisher's original book style to better suit your aesthetic taste.
- It lets you instantly generate pseudo audiobooks with a choice of narrator voices over 40 languages.
- It enables immersion reading so that you may read and listen to the same book in sync.
- Background listening works well too. Compatible with Lock Screen Music Player and CarPlay.

MapleRead UI is friendly to users of all ages.
- Books can be read in regular and large print.
- A choice of UI text sizes makes reading in non-book views much more comfortable.

MapleRead is a great learning tool.
- It lets you look up words, translate sentences, search text, highlight text and write notes.
- It helps you collect vocabulary and organize notes with various priorities.
- It provides hooks to user-defined dictionaries, translators, and other tools.
- Immersion reading improves your comprehension, especially of foreign-language books.

MapleRead is an effective and fast library management tool.
- It is designed for you, a book lover, who may own a huge and/or growing book collection.
- It lets you keep all your books in one place and well-organized automatically.
- It lets you display your books elegantly in style.
- It lets you easily repair individual book metadata.
- If supports multiple book sets and multiple tags.
- It offers multiple ways to import and export books, and works well with Calibre.

MapleRead supports secure sync across devices via MapleRead Cloud and iCloud.
- It syncs reading positions, notes, vocab, bookmarks, and book set membership (but not the books).
- It syncs reading positions additionally via iCloud for even better user experience.
- It enables web access to synced data via web browsers from desktop and mobile devices.

MapleRead offers unprecedented user-defined customization options.
- They include unlimited user-defined fonts, book themes, cover images and library scenes.
- Each book theme includes various types of user-defined highlight colors.
- Each book can have its own theme, and each EPUB book can have its own style.

MapleRead SE includes also a great PDF e-book reader.
- The PDF reader looks very similar to the EPUB reader for a sense of unified UI.

MapleRead SE has a zero-configuration Library Server for easy book sharing.
- All books in Library can be shared.
- Smart batch download makes transferring of multiple books very convenient.

[For more technical details, screenshots, FAQ and reviews, please visit our website.]

## Key features

- Audio-visual reading experience
- EPUB and PDF reader
- Pseudo audiobook generation
- Immersion reading (audio/text sync)
- Library management and organization
- Cross-device syncing
- User-defined customization

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: $8.99.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gratuity Level 1 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Gratuity Level 2 | $1.99 | one-time |
| Gratuity Level 5 | $4.99 | one-time |


## Chart rankings

- #25 in Top Paid · Book (US App Store)

## What do users think of MapleRead SE?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🚀 Highly customizable reading experience
- 🔒 Robust library management features
- 👍 Seamless integration with Calibre
- 👍 Excellent organization and tagging options
- 👍 Wide range of font and layout customization
- 👍 Responsive and helpful developer support

**Cons**

- 🐛 Sync issues between devices
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and performance problems
- 🔍 Complicated interface and setup process
- 🔍 Difficult to import large book libraries
- 🔍 Limited annotation and highlighting options

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Freezing and crashing issues, especially on iOS 14
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes
- Unreliable OPDS server integration and book downloads

**Most requested features**

- Automatic reading progress sync across devices
- Improved PDF handling and annotation support
- Expanded highlighting and note-taking capabilities
- Streamlined library import and management
- Cleaner and more intuitive user interface

## Recent user reviews (10 of 167)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mapleread-se/id860169741/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Dropbox on phone is terrible

*2026-09-01*

I am really enjoying MapleRead SE on my iPad. I love how it syncs with my iPhone so I don’t have to flip pages when I switch devices. I prefer to use Dropbox to load my ebooks, however their very annoying ads block me using it on the iPhone, I can’t minimize or remove the ad to see the books I have stored. So I can’t load new books onto my phone.

### 5/5 — Very nice

*2026-08-29*

I am an avid kindle reader and I absolutely hate it when i have to use the built in books app instead of kindle. I'm so glad I found this app, which is a great alternative for reading epubs. It has a lot of nice features, including audio for epubs (but not pdf). 

Here are a few wish list items I hope you will consider...

-wish could change red color for highlighted word when using audio (I'd prefer blue or to be able to pick a color)

-when audio is active you can't highlight or make a note, even when the audio is paused. You have to completely exit out of audio and then make the note/highlight and return to audio

-wish there was a way to customize top menu (I will never use cloud so it's annoying to have that menu option always present & therefore subject to accidental presses)

Thanks for the much improved reading experience! It's greatly appreciated!

### 5/5 — The Best epub and PDF reader there is

*2026-07-16*

Over the last 2 years I had read 76 books using MapleRead and it’s the best reading experience I had on Ipad, Android or Kindle. It’s well worth the money, the developers are responsive and the app is getting regular updates. I wasn’t happy reading on ipads until I found this ereader

### 3/5 — Need more

*2026-06-23*

Would like to move books around in set in any order I want by tapping and hold at present not able to do this Would also like to draw with Apple Pencil pro on page of book also at this time unable to do this would give five stars if this could be addressed in the next update otherwise excellent app

**Developer response:** For your first request, switch to any book set other than “All Books” and “Ungrouped”, and sort by “Custom Order”.

### 5/5 — Fantastic - It’s simply a legendary class book reader

*2026-06-22, version 6.4.1*

Ok where do I begin? 
Cost - extremely reasonable. No subscription nightmares - u own it outright. There’s even different versions of the app to suit different needs. Personally I highly recommend the SE version.

MapleRead is highly customisable and for convenience sake, bulk import is a breeze. 
There’s support for many cloud drives but most importantly for ‘Calibre’. Calibre is the amazing open source way to manage ur ebook & manga libraries. 
Back to MapleRead, only today did I discover they’d fixed & have a super easy way to bulk import books using standard Apple’s File App. There’s all ur typical ways to add ur own fonts, backgrounds, covers. Just loads of cool Nic-Nacs for u all to tinker with :)

I just loathe DRM, it’s so incredibly offensive. That’s why I just love Calibre (who deals with DRM) so I can manage & read my purchased books exactly the way I desire. I’m not bound to some store’s app, only to find out one day, when the store abandons that app, I also lose access to all my books. Things I buy ought to be owned by me don’t u agree? U know, just like a physical book has always been!

BTW MapleRead guys are always updating and adding new features (at no extra cost), although I love dropping them a donation/coffee every now and again. Sure beats loathsome subscriptions doesn’t it 9/10

### 1/5 — Unhelpful

*2026-05-23*

Despite my best attempts, I have been unable to synch iPad library with my iPhone. I enquired with the help desk and I got an unhelpful reply, redirecting me to online help, which I had read already, but written so cryptically that I couldn’t get it working. By the way, the response took weeks to arrive. For single device use it might be ok, but for multiple devices it’s cumbersome and help desk unhelpful.

**Developer response:** You ask about why books are not automatically sync'ed from your iPhone to your iPad, or vice versa. It is because they are not supposed to happen in the first place. This is listed on both the App Store description page, and our website.

### 1/5 — Fails to import more than half of my books

*2026-05-17, version 6.4*

I got the paid version since the app did better than Books in terms of comics view. But when I actually went and import them, more than half of the books failed to import woth very vague errors saying “Error creating book.” Not helpful, as the failed ones included the ones whose MB were lower than the ones that are already imported. Tried every way possible - over wifi, PC, cloud, share through files, etc. Now I’m sitting here wondering what’s the use of paying for something I can’t even use 😭

### 5/5 — This app is an incredible secret!

*2026-05-03, version 6.3*

Why don’t more people know about MapleRead? I’ve been using this now for several years and couldn’t ever go back to Apple’s app. No way. Updates are regular and it truly deserves to be better known. A++++

Edit 12/21/2025: The best has gotten even better. I absolutely LOVE this app!

### 1/5 — Does Not Open Imported Books

*2026-03-08*

I import books and some won’t show up on the shelf. If I try to import it again, it still doesn’t show up and says it’s duplicated. I also cannot open the book with the app but it opens normally on other apps. This doesn’t happen with all books and sometimes the app will function normally 1 day and then the next day a book will be missing. I wish Moonreader+ was on the app store because I hate this app.

update: I am in the all books tab. I see the parenthesis say 8 books but it only shows 5 covers. It seems to only exclude pdfs. I have fixed this by immediately moving pdfs to a new shelf and tagging them after import. If I don’t, they do not show up on the shelf and I am not able to find them again once they are out of the queue.

**Developer response:** You’ve probably forgot to switch the current book set back to All Books (the default) after switching to another book set. Don’t hesitate to contact us by email if you need more help.

Update: make sure you have selected All in Tag Filter.

### 5/5 — Kick's Apple Books App's Digital Butt

*2026-02-28*

There aren't enough words to describe how much i hate the Apple Books App. What a piece of trash.  Maple read SE is complicated but such an improvement.  I can see my important books and documents on the first page and set up my very own tags.  What a revolution! And thanks for eschewing the subscription model.  That doesn't wash with me.

Having said that:  DUDE you need to learn how to design a GUI.

**Developer response:** Regarding your comment about a unified "Annotations" view — a place where all highlights and notes across a book can be seen together, we think this feature has been available for years. Please visit www.maplepop.com, and look at Overview | Organize & Search Notes. You may also contact us by email if you need more help.

## Frequently asked questions about MapleRead SE

### What does MapleRead SE do?

MapleRead SE is a comprehensive reading application that supports both EPUB and PDF e-books. It aims to provide a unique audio-visual reading experience by allowing users to customize book styles, generate pseudo-audiobooks with various narrator voices, and engage in immersion reading where audio and text are synchronized. It also includes robust library management features and cross-device syncing capabilities.

### What are the key features of MapleRead SE?

Key features include a superb EPUB and PDF reader with extensive style customization, instant generation of pseudo-audiobooks in over 40 languages, immersion reading, background listening compatible with lock screen players and CarPlay, and effective library management for organizing large book collections. It also offers secure syncing across devices via MapleRead Cloud and iCloud, and extensive user-defined customization options for fonts, themes, and more.

### How much does MapleRead SE cost?

MapleRead SE is a paid application with no recurring subscription fees or ads. Users purchase it once to access all its features. The description also mentions a "SE-CE bundle for the best value," suggesting potential package deals.

### What devices is MapleRead SE compatible with?

The app is designed for mobile devices and supports split-view multitasking, allowing SE and CE versions to run side-by-side. It also offers web access to synced data via web browsers from desktop and mobile devices. Background listening is compatible with Lock Screen Music Player and CarPlay.

### What are common use cases for MapleRead SE?

Common use cases include reading e-books and PDFs with a highly personalized visual and auditory experience, creating audio versions of books for on-the-go listening, efficiently managing and organizing large personal book libraries, and enhancing comprehension, especially for foreign-language books through immersion reading. It's also useful for language learning and academic study due to its note-taking and vocabulary collection features.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 7.0 — 2026-09-04

This is a major release.
- Add optional per-book EPUB style and theme
- Add optional per-book PDF theme
- Add Page Layout EPUB style parameters for Modern Scroll viewer
- Fine-tune Page Layout EPUB style parameters for Modern Book viewer
- Polish EPUB toolbar, menu, setting UI including new icons
- Polish PDF toolbar, menu, setting UI including new icons
- Add a draggable floating view in Library for the last-opened book
- Add Reverse Sort option in Library views
- Add OPDS Prefer menu to single book (vs batch) download view
- Be more fault-tolerant in handling some malformed EPUB 3 books
- Make other minor enhancement
- Fix bugs

### 6.5 — 2026-07-07

- Fix bugs occurred when downloading from some book websites
- Fix other bugs

### 6.4.1 — 2026-06-16

Fix bugs

### 6.4 — 2026-05-11

- Facilitate in-app web access to synced data after Sign In and when Diagnostics is turned on
- More compatibility with iOS 26
- Fix bugs

### 6.3 — 2026-03-27

- Support “Mark as Never Read” and its sync implication for any book, unintentionally read or not
- Reduce power consumption after TTS is paused
- More compatibility with app window resizing features of iPadOS 26
- Improve stability for iOS 26 and later
- Fixed bugs

## Apps similar to MapleRead SE

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Epub Reader -read epub,chm,txt](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/epub-reader-read-epubchmtxt/id1296870631) | 4.5 (11,089) | Free | Books |
| [Manobook: My Good Story Reader](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/manobook-my-good-story-reader/id1436687796) | 4.6 (36,594) | Free | Books |
| [EPUB Reader - justread](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/epub-reader-justread/id6757948605) | 4.6 (27) | Free | Books |
| [i2Reader Cloud](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/i2reader-cloud/id968326317) | 4.1 (74) | Free | Books |
| [BookFusion](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookfusion/id1141834096) | 4.7 (495) | Free | Books |
| [BookShelves eBook Reader](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshelves-ebook-reader/id6756848973) | 3.8 (11) | Free | Books |

## More apps by Maplepop LLC

- [MapleRead CE](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mapleread-ce/id860180350)
- [MapleRead CX](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mapleread-cx/id1128582526)

All apps by Maplepop LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/798017700

## Related topics

[mapleread se](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/mapleread-se) · [mapleread](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/mapleread)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-05.*