Comparison

RFCReader Pro vs SimplyRead

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RFCReader Pro

Access and read technical internet standards documents efficiently. Features include keyword search, bookmarking, text styling, and offline reading. Supports PDF and HTML formats with navigation aids.

Highlights
  • List all RFC documents
  • Search RFC by keywords or number
  • Add RFC to favorites
  • Mark and style text
  • Offline RFC reading
  • Read RFC in PDF and HTML formats
  • Navigate via Table of Contents and thumbnails
Features
Read full description

Requests for Comments (RFC) document series contain technical and organizational notes about the Internet. RFC Reader plus is a tool which can provide user a more efficient way to read the RFC documents.  Difference between trial version and full functional version: Features for RFC Reader plus trial version and full functional version are almost the same, except that some advance feature in trial version can be used with limitation. All features below are available for try with limited times with trial version and are fully supported by full functional version if user purchased the product in the app. 1. List all RFC documents 2. Search RFC File by Keywords or RFC number 3. Add to favorite for the interested RFC 4. Support marking text with color when reading in text format 5. Support adding Bold, Itatic and Underline styles to RFC text when reading in text format 6. Support changing default Font name and Font size for RFC text reading 7. Support fast navigating to last reading position and can go back and forward several times 8. Support fast navigating with Table Of Contents (TOC) 9. Offline RFC reading: Once you read it once, it will be cached locally 10. Save your changes to the document in Document folder 11.Support both Landscape and Portrait reading mode on all supported devices. 12. Support cleaning up cached files 13. Support search by keywords in Text format RFC page and navigate to the found results 14. Support read RFC in PDF format 15. Support searching RFC content when reading in PDF format 16. Support navigate RFC content through Table Of Content when reading in PDF format 17. Support navigate RFC content through PDF thumbnail 18. Support view RFC content in thumbnail grid view 19. Support read RFC in HTML format 20. Support navigate back and forth when reading in HTML format 21.Support navigate through Table Of Content when reading in HTML format for some RFCs 22. Support add to favorite RFC list when reading both in PDF format and HTML format 23. Support system Dark Mode

About

SimplyRead

Transform any text file into an audiobook using natural-sounding voices. Organize your library with folders, import files, and edit text directly within the app. Securely back up your collection with iCloud.

Highlights
  • Text-to-audiobook conversion
  • Natural voice reading
  • Adjustable speech rate
  • Integrated book search and download
  • Smart library with folders
  • Built-in text editor
  • iCloud Drive backup
Features
Read full description

A book you can read — and listen to. SimplyRead opens TXT, EPUB and Markdown files as real books, with clothbound covers, expressive typography and paper textures. Read at your own pace, or listen with natural iOS voices. READ - Comfortable typography with five paper themes and Light or Dark appearance - Page by page, or one continuous scroll — whichever you prefer - Chapters found automatically, including Chinese numeral titles, with a panel to jump anywhere in the book - Bookmarks, find-in-book with highlighted matches, and a Continue Reading card that puts you back where you stopped - Adjust fonts, text size and line spacing, with layouts for iPhone, iPhone Duo and iPad LISTEN - High-quality iOS system voices, at a speed you set - The sentence being spoken is highlighted, and the page follows along - Sleep timer, plus Lock Screen and Control Center controls — keep listening with the screen off BUILD YOUR LIBRARY - Import from the Files app, create a file straight from your clipboard, or download from a URL and watch it arrive - Discover books from public catalogs and open-license sources, with clear labels for downloadable files, online reading and catalog pages - Book covers, clear author labels, folder sorting and destination folders to keep a long shelf tidy EDIT AND KEEP - A built-in editor with Find & Replace, undo for whole-book replacements, recovery after failed saves, and a Fix New Lines tool - iCloud Drive backup and restore for the whole library, reading positions included FREE AND PRO Your own files, the entire reader, themes, chapters, bookmarks and backup are unlimited and free. Pro lifts the daily listening allowance and the download limit. Download availability depends on the source and its access terms. Only import or download content you are entitled to use.

Screenshots

RFCReader Pro4 screens
SimplyRead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SimplyRead at Free against RFCReader Pro's $1.99. SimplyRead also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). RFCReader Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads, monetization model, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SimplyRead is free to download; RFCReader Pro costs $1.99 up front. SimplyRead sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. RFCReader Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RFCReader Pro ships an update every 3 months, SimplyRead weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
RFCReader Pro versus SimplyRead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRFCReader ProSimplyRead
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB145 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer飞 龙阳 张

Customer experience

RFCReader Pro

Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral25.0%
Negative12.5%

SimplyRead

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

RFCReader Pro

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

SimplyRead

One-time1
  • Pro User$1.99

Questions

Is RFCReader Pro free?
RFCReader Pro costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SimplyRead free?
SimplyRead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do RFCReader Pro or SimplyRead have ads?
Neither RFCReader Pro nor SimplyRead shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RFCReader Pro or SimplyRead?
RFCReader Pro ships an update every 3 months, and SimplyRead weekly. Most recently, RFCReader Pro was updated on October 24, 2026 and SimplyRead on October 30, 2026.

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