Comparison

MapleRead CX vs Storyteller Reader

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

Head to head
About

MapleRead CX

This app offers a unique audio-visual reading experience for EPUB ebooks. Customize book styles, generate pseudo audiobooks with various voices, and enjoy immersive reading with synchronized audio and text. It also functions as a powerful library management tool with extensive customization options.

Highlights
  • Audio-visual EPUB reader
  • Pseudo audiobook generation
  • Immersion reading (sync audio/text)
  • Customizable book styles and themes
  • Word lookup and translation
  • Library management and organization
  • User-defined fonts and highlight colors
Read full description

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

About

Storyteller Reader

This app allows you to read EPUB ebooks with guided narration on your device. It supports immersive reading features and can sync with a self-hosted backend for automatic audiobook and ebook alignment.

Highlights
  • Read EPUB books
  • Guided narration support
  • Immersive reading
  • Self-hosted backend pairing
  • Automatic audiobook/ebook alignment
Features
Read full description

Storyteller is a self-hosted platform for creating and reading ebooks with guided narration. You can use the app to read any EPUB books, including those with Media Overlays (also called “immersive reading” or “guided narration”) on your device, or you can pair it with the Storyteller self-hosted backend server, which can automatically align audiobooks and ebooks for immersive reading!

Screenshots

MapleRead CX4 screens
Storyteller Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Storyteller Reader at 4.9 against MapleRead CX's 3.4. Storyteller Reader also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (95% vs 62%). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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

Both are free to download. MapleRead CX sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Storyteller Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Storyteller Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24 and 44 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of MapleRead CX's written reviews are positive against 95% of Storyteller Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MapleRead CX ships an update every 5 weeks, Storyteller Reader every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
MapleRead CX versus Storyteller Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMapleRead CXStoryteller Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (24 ratings)4.9 (44 ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.5% of reviews95.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2444 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB72 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMaplepop LLCShane Friedman

Customer experience

MapleRead CX

All ratings24 ratings
Positive58.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews39 reviews
Positive61.5%
Neutral10.3%
Negative28.2%

Storyteller Reader

All ratings44 ratings
Positive97.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive95.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MapleRead CX

One-time1
  • Pro Upgrade$6.99
None

Storyteller Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MapleRead CX free?
MapleRead CX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Storyteller Reader free?
Storyteller Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MapleRead CX or Storyteller Reader?
Storyteller Reader is rated higher. MapleRead CX averages 3.4 out of 5 from 24 ratings, while Storyteller Reader averages 4.9 from 44 ratings.
Do MapleRead CX or Storyteller Reader have ads?
Neither MapleRead CX nor Storyteller Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MapleRead CX or Storyteller Reader?
MapleRead CX ships an update every 5 weeks, and Storyteller Reader every 2 weeks. Most recently, MapleRead CX was updated on October 5, 2026 and Storyteller Reader on October 13, 2026.

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