# Revel by Pearson vs Cengage Read

The clearest difference is rating: Revel by Pearson at 4.7 against Cengage Read's 4.2. Revel by Pearson also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Revel by Pearson holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8.9K and 4.2K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 12% of Revel by Pearson's written reviews are positive against 20% of Cengage Read's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Revel by Pearson ships an update every 3 months, Cengage Read every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Revel by Pearson | Cengage Read |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (8.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/revel-by-pearson/id1088745696/reviews)** | [4.2 (4.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cengage-read/id6444260893/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **8.9K** | 4.2K |
| Positive reviews | 12.4% of reviews | **19.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 261 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 18 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Pearson Education, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/329060244) | [Cengage Learning](https://appshunter.io/developer/371168145) |

## What reviewers say

### Revel by Pearson

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/revel-by-pearson/id1088745696)

Access interactive course materials offline and online, with progress syncing across devices. Listen to audio versions of texts, complete quizzes, and set reminders to stay on track with deadlines.

**Highlights:** Offline course material access, Cross-device progress syncing, Audio playback of texts, In-app quizzes, Customizable reminders and notifications, Highlighting and note-taking

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Convenient app for accessing textbook
- 👍 Good learning tool with interactive features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Poor user experience and interface
- 🔇 Audio playback issues
- 📱 Not optimized for mobile devices
- 💾 Unreliable sync and data saving

**Reported bugs**

- Orientation issues when switching between pages
- Highlighting and text selection problems
- Inconsistent audio playback controls
- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Add portrait mode and zoom options
- Improve highlighting and note-taking features
- Implement bookmark/progress saving
- Allow offline access to textbook content


### Cengage Read

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cengage-read/id6444260893)

Access and study your digital textbooks from anywhere. This app allows students to read, take notes, highlight, bookmark, and use text-to-speech for a flexible learning experience on the go.

**Highlights:** Read eTextbooks on the go, Take notes and highlight, Bookmark important sections, Text-to-speech functionality, Search keywords, Navigate via table of contents

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to read textbooks
- 🚀 Convenient for on-the-go learning
- 👍 Useful for listening to audio while commuting
- 👍 Allows highlighting and note-taking

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
- 🔥 Poor text formatting and layout
- 👎 Difficult to navigate and use
- 🔒 Login and account issues
- 🔍 Missing key features like split-screen and assignment tracking

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes and sign-outs
- Inconsistent highlighting and note-taking functionality
- Inability to view full pages and content
- Text-to-speech feature not working properly

**Requested features**

- Improve text formatting and layout
- Add split-screen support for note-taking
- Enhance accessibility features like text-to-speech
- Integrate assignment and due date tracking


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Revel by Pearson free?

Revel by Pearson is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Cengage Read free?

Cengage Read is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Revel by Pearson or Cengage Read?

Revel by Pearson is rated higher. Revel by Pearson averages 4.7 out of 5 from 8.9K ratings, while Cengage Read averages 4.2 from 4.2K ratings.

### Do Revel by Pearson or Cengage Read have ads?

Neither Revel by Pearson nor Cengage Read shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Revel by Pearson or Cengage Read?

Revel by Pearson ships an update every 3 months, and Cengage Read every 2 months. Most recently, Revel by Pearson was updated on November 2, 2026 and Cengage Read on November 3, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*