# Speed Reading UpRead — user reviews

> 41 indexed App Store user reviews of Speed Reading UpRead by Alain caltieri, rated 4.20/5 from 116 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speed-reading-upread/id1454094961/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speed-reading-upread/id1454094961.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 78 · 4★ 14 · 3★ 5 · 2★ 6 · 1★ 13

## Newest reviews (11 of 41)

### 4/5 — App

*2022-10-19*

Great

### 2/5 — Aplicación

*2021-03-27, version 1.5.1*

Es buena

### 2/5 — The reading part of the app works really good but by the time...

*2020-04-02*

By the time I save an article to the app, open the app then load the articles... I could’ve just read it at the source. Too many steps. Also I don’t want to download the whole internet to the app and keep it all. 
Plus find a way to skip over the in-article ad blocks of text.

**Developer response:** Hello, thank you a lot for the suggestions. I will definitely make sure to keep them at hand for my next release. I appreciate such a constructive and specific feedback.
Have a great day

### 3/5 — Slow features Missing words Grouping and 1000 words per minute is to slow

*2020-01-15*

I like the app it’s very confortable. If only you can add some features that a will tell you I will buy lifetime membership and recommend to my 170k followers of my speed reading community.

. SHOULD BE AT LEAST 5000 WORDS SPEED. (1000 words per minutes is too slow).

. WORDS GROUPING ( ability to do up to 50 words grouping to train your eye )

. FILE COMPATIBILITY pdf epub and html 

I hope you can get this going soon thank you and keep the good work

**Developer response:** Hi,

Thanks a lot for the feedback and the support!

The app already allows you to set a custom reading speed without limits. Just go to “More” and “Settings”. You can set a minimum and maximum speed and fine tune that in the Reader page.

Also the app already supports pdf files, txt files, raw text and html webpages. I’m looking to implement also epub support in the future and maybe offer a library of books included in the subscription.

About words grouping that’s a great idea. I’ll look into that too.

Shall you need any help or if you have more feedback, please send me an email at help.chapps@gmail.com. 

Thank you again,
Alain

### 3/5 — Probably not for me

*2019-11-17*

I know it’s up to the developer to determine the price of his work, but unless you are a researcher or reporter who *has* to read large amounts of material, this is just too expensive.

As far as the reading experience is concerned ... it does well on normal text. If you are reading something with a lot of citations, references, or footnotes, the reading experience is interrupted while it sputters out all the details that I would normally skim over when I’m doing a quick read.

The only way around this would be for the app to automatically strip out citations etc., or for the developer to add the ability to edit the text of the article after it has been imported. But, if you are someone who needs to read a lot, this probably defeats the purpose of the app.

**Developer response:** Hi, thanks a lot for the suggestions!
You are right: I made the app primarily thinking about professionals that need to read a lot. 
I’m puzzled about the reaction to the pricing: the app costs 4$ a month and can potentially improve a lot your professional life. I wonder if this is not worth the equivalent of a couple cups of coffee a month... there is very often a bias toward considering software as something cheap that should be provided for free, but that simply kills our work.
Nonetheless I’ll consider your point, thanks a lot for sharing it.
Have a great day,
Alain

### 5/5 — Absolutely Remarkable

*2019-09-07*

This app is the one thing I never knew I needed so desperately. I’m constantly reading articles on my phone, but the sprawling text I see every time I begin to get into one can make the scroll ever more wearisome. With Blast, I can avoid that altogether, and I’m able to take in even greater amounts of information without losing anything in comprehension, thanks to its customizable setting for words per minute. For my fellow columnist hounds, Blast is absolutely essential.

**Developer response:** Hey, thank you a lot for the review! I’m super happy you like it. I’m currently working on an even better version, can’t wait to release it!
Enjoy your reading :)

### 3/5 — Two Yearly Prices

*2019-08-15, version 1.1.0*

What is the difference between the $9.99 and $14.99 versions?

### 5/5 — Absolutely awesome!

*2019-08-07*

I’ve tried so many apps and this is by far my favorite! I love that I can choose anything I want to read and change the font,speed,color and size of the text. They definitely should be charging more for this app.

**Developer response:** Hey thanks a lot for the suggestion 🤪
Honestly I’ll probably charge more as I add more features as make the app more robust.
Thanks a lot for the review and the support. I really appreciate it!

### 5/5 — Best designed speed reading app

*2019-07-05*

This app has been excellently designed. I particularly appreciate the “hold to read” feature and the sharing sheets. There is one significant reason that I cannot give the app 5 stars—I use speed reading apps to improve my normal speed reading ability (on paper) and in order to do this, there must be a “word grouping” feature. In other words, the *only* option is for the app to present one word at a time. I badly want that app to show me 3 or 4 words at a time (a word-chunk) to train my eyes to chinch words. Any way, this is simply a better way of reading. So I’ll wait till this feature is added and re-download and subscribe then.

**Developer response:** Thanks a lot for the feedback! I’ll make sure to add that feature to the next update!
Cheers

### 5/5 — I see improvement in my reading

*2019-06-28*

I feel that I’m reading better.  It makes reading fun for me.  It did take a minute to get use too.  When I needed help someone was always the to respond to my concerns. I’ll be glad when I can down load my books from kindle and readily start reading and improving my reading comprehension.

**Developer response:** Thanks a lot for the review! Very appreciated

### 5/5 — Finally!

*2019-06-23*

Unlike other ‘flash’ reading apps I’ve tried this one loads material easily and keeps track of where you are so you can stop and review formatting information.  Super! But — 1000 word per minute maximum is WAY too slow.  10,000 would be better.  Reading technical or boring material very fast, two or three times is provides better comprehension in a much shorter time.  Only reason I don’t give it 5 stars.

**Developer response:** 🤯 I didn't think about that! 
I like the idea of super-fast reading, seems promising in the way you present it. I'll see how to add that nicely in the UI.
Thanks a lot for the suggestion and for the review!

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 1/5 — Didn’t work

*2024-09-02*

Didn’t work, froze on the intro page, tried to import a pdf and it didn’t display any text, pretty much useless to me

### 1/5 — Fake free app

*2024-05-10, version 1.5.6*

Cant enter the app. On start screen it already asks me to purchase the app

### 1/5 — Falta de contenido

*2023-09-27, version 1.5.4*

Me parece muy bien practicar la lectura a través de una app de este tipo, lo que no me gusta es que no tiene  contenido, si yo mismo debo buscar textos, cargarlos y aparte debo pagar para poder utilizarlo, no me parece lógico, esperaba encontrar contenido dispuesto o acorde a niveles, temas de interés o textos por tiempo y programas pedagógicos. 

 La idea y principio de funcionamiento de la app es bueno.

### 1/5 — Unable to operate it

*2023-09-06, version 1.5.4*

Unfortunately I have not been able to figure out how to use this,  Had hoped to read kindle books on my iPad on the way into work,  very very very disappointing,

### 1/5 — Lack of subscription options

*2022-11-09*

No weekly or monthly options as advertised. They’re straightaway asking for lifetime. I even downloaded it for a second time using the weekly option. But still it took me back to lifetime. Pity you can’t even try it. And then they say “Are you serious?”. Well how serious are the people behind this app when they’re narrowing down options?

### 1/5 — Español?

*2021-04-04, version 1.5.1*

Se ve buena... pero no está disponible en español.

### 1/5 — Why offer Lifetime if it isn’t available?

*2020-11-05, version 1.5.1*

Your lifetime subscription does not exist in the app.

### 1/5 — Nonfunctional without a subscription

*2020-06-16*

The app is free, but it’s absolutely nonfunctional without a subscription or trial, and nothing to indicate this until you open the app or check the very end of the many-paragraphs-long description.

**Developer response:** I’m sorry you’re disappointed. The app is free to try. Afterwards, if you like it, I ask you to support my work. I prefer to let users know this as soon as possible, so payment options are listed here in the App Store, conditions are written in the description and all the info is shown right on launch.
Again, the app is free to try and you can cancel anytime, no questions asked. If you need help managing your subscriptions, please see this link: https://desk.zoho.com/portal/crazyhorseapps/kb/articles/cancel-a-subscription-on-ios. If you need further help, please write me an email at help.chapps@gmail.com, I’ll do my best to help you out!

### 1/5 — Reading rate appears way off

*2019-06-23, version 1.0.5*

App concept is nice and I like how it has natural pauses with sentence structure. However, I noticed articles taking significantly longer to read than the estimated reading time provided. Usually around a factor of 2-2.5. That’s WAY OFF! So I did a couple experiments timing a actual number of words being shown on to me (read) per minute. I had to use slower rates than usual otherwise I couldn’t count that quickly. Results:
-100 wpm was generally actually closer to 60
-250 wpm was generally around 150-160

So no wonder the estimated reading time is way off. What’s up with this?
Also would like to see ability to use this app in landscape mode. But that is less bothersome. 

Was the goal to just make people think they are reading faster by falsely giving inaccurate information? I don’t understand why the basic function of the app would be so off like this.

### 1/5 — Super difficult to use

*2019-06-12, version 1.0.5*

The concept is great, but really poor execution. I wanted to start right away but after configuring my settings, I didn’t know what else to do or how to start ‘reading fast’. I also can’t find the user guide anywhere, nor was able to figure out how to add your own text from web pages. And I have to sign up for a subscription BEFORE I actually try it out? Ridiculous. And now I have the pleasure of trying to figure out where I can find the information to cancel my subscription, which I’m sure will be just as easy as actually using the actual product.

## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — Great app

*2024-10-24*

Is is one of the most basic human skill requirements

### 5/5 — Easy UI and Useful Tool

*2024-01-26*

I used speed reading when I was getting my Bachelor's degree. Now that I'm getting my Master's degree, I've rediscovered just how much time speed reading can save me. This app does an excellent job of providing the tools for turning long boring articles into something that can be read in a matter of just a few minutes while also making it easy to manage your subscription and other settings. I purchased the lifetime because I know a really well-developed app when I see it. Thank you!

### 5/5 — 1 app of mine.

*2022-12-17*

I currently have hundreds of apps on my phone and this is the best app I have ever used. I read four to five times faster then when I started.

### 5/5 — Great app for people who are lazy

*2022-05-25, version 1.5.1*

I always put off reading articles and papers, but this app changed all of that, literally. It’s easy to sync what you wanna read with the app, and I’ve increased my daily reading by 300000% it’s insane what a simple change can do! I recommend it.

### 5/5 — Best speed reading app out there -

*2020-07-12*

I've search high and low for a simple that will help me improve my speed reading. I would install one and become disappointed because it was lacking one aspect of another. This app is well with the price and not only that- after reaching out to Alain with a request, he not only quickly responded, but created the exact update!  Take a chance on this one- you won't regret it!

**Developer response:** Wow, thank you a lot for the review!

### 5/5 — Please add...

*2020-06-26*

I'm liking the app so far. I like that it's linked to the share button and I can just send the reading material directly to the app. 

Please add a setting to allow us to read more then one word at a time. And also the option to include articles (i.e. a, an, the) and punctuations as part of the word. Thanks!

**Developer response:** Hello! Thanks a lot for the review and the support! I’ll be looking at the “multiple words at once” feature hopefully very soon. Thanks for letting me know you need it.
Have a great day!

### 5/5 — Wonderful tool, I only wish I could upload books

*2020-06-19*

I honestly feel like if you had the right person run this by Kindle or iBooks or others they would gladly jump on it, it increases reading time by so much that honestly they would make so much more money just simply because people would buy more books. It’s seriously some of the best technology of our day! So disappointing that I can’t read through the books in my library of ebooks.  Keep up the good work though, maybe in a few years this will be more available, as of right now it’s great for reading articles online!

**Developer response:** Hey, thanks a lot for your support! We’ll do our best :)

### 5/5 — Good

*2020-02-14, version 1.3.0*

Great for reading articles on line. The import function works well for consuming web content. Makes it easy to read quickly

### 5/5 — Like it very much

*2019-10-29*

Like to practice focus speed reading techniques and same time learning your professional reading for faster updating reading phenomenal

**Developer response:** Love that! Thanks for the support

### 5/5 — This is it.

*2019-10-27*

Tried the majority of the speed readers on the App Store. This is the best.  

- Would love a search feature to find places in the text easily,

- Would be great, when using the always-on double tap reading stream to be able to pause it by pressing and holding,

- Would be cool if instead of plaintext displayed below the reading box (which is a perfect arrangement) you could see pictures and diagrams,

- Would be super useful to have a voice feature. Then could be huge for use in schools for kids with reading disabilities. 

- Would love the option for a red focus character and a frame around the reading box to improve focus. 

Best one so far. I hate the subscription model, but the price is fair.

**Developer response:** Hey, thanks a lot for the review, I appreciate it!
I love the list of features you provided, I’ll do my best to include some of those features soon.
By the way, I’m about to release a big update later in November, which will include the focus character and a lot more (dark mode, new icon style, new name, more settings…). I hope you’ll enjoy that!
Thanks again, also for supporting my work.
Have a great day,
Alain

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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 2026-08-21.*