Comparison

Clever vs Read

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

Head to head
About

Clever

Provides secure access to digital learning resources for students through a single sign-on portal. Enables easy access to classroom tools and applications on iOS devices, requiring school or district setup.

Highlights
  • Single sign-on for digital learning
  • Secure access to classroom resources
  • Student portal on iOS devices
  • Login via Clever Badge or credentials
  • Powers digital learning experiences
Currently charting
Read full description

Clever powers secure digital learning experiences for more than 100,000 schools worldwide. Clever’s single-sign on portal makes it easy for teachers and students to securely access all classroom resources from a single place. This application enables students to access digital learning via Clever Portal on iOS devices. Students will be able to login to a dedicated Clever student portal within the application by scanning their Clever Badge or signing in with their Clever credentials. Using this application requires that your school or district is set up with Clever. If you don't have Clever, ask your school or district technology team to sign up at clever.com/signup.

About

Read

This app helps students track their reading time for school Read-A-Thon events. Log sessions with a stopwatch, monitor progress towards goals, and view school leaderboards. Discover fun reading facts to stay motivated.

Highlights
  • Log reading time with stopwatch
  • Track progress towards reading goals
  • View school leaderboards
  • Discover reading facts
  • Add notes to reading sessions
Features
Read full description

Your school's Read-A-Thon just got a whole lot more fun! If your school is hosting a Read-A-Thon with ForOurSchool.org, this app provides everything you need to reach your goals. Before you download it, you first need to join your school's event and create an account at ForOurSchool.org. To do that, you will need a sign-up link provided by your school. If you don't have it, reach out to your teacher or contact us at ForOurSchool.org/contact and we'll help you get set up. Here is everything in the app you have to look forward to: * Log Reading Time Record past reading sessions or use the built-in stopwatch to track exactly how many minutes you've read. You can also add notes to any reading session so you can remember all your past reading adventures. Note: If your school requires parents to approve reading time, they can do so through their parent account on ForOurSchool.org. * Track Your Goals Watch the bar fill up as you get closer to reaching and surpassing your reading goals! * Did You Know? Reading Facts Check the app regularly for new and surprising reading facts. Did you know that printed books date back to the year 868? It's true! * School Leaderboards If your school has chosen to incorporate some friendly competition, see how you stack up against your classmates and other classes.

Screenshots

Clever2 screens
Read4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Read at 5.0 against Clever's 2.7. Clever's advantage is ratings volume (9.9K vs 2) and chart position (#88 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Read holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Clever has 9.9K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Clever ships an update every 5 weeks, Read every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Clever versus Read: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCleverRead
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.7 (9.9K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings9.9K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#88 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperClever Inc.ForOurSchool.org

Customer experience

Clever

All ratings9,736 ratings
Positive40.3%
Neutral4.1%
Negative55.6%
Written reviews394 reviews
Positive33.0%
Neutral7.1%
Negative59.9%

Read

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

Bugs and requests

Clever

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App crashes or freezes frequently
  • Compatibility issues with older devices or operating systems

Requested features

3 requests
  • Allow login without badge
  • Improve mobile functionality and app experience
  • Provide more engaging and customizable learning content

Read

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Clever

No in-app purchases

None

Read

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Clever free?
Clever is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Read free?
Read is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Clever or Read?
Read is rated higher. Clever averages 2.7 out of 5 from 9.9K ratings, while Read averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Clever or Read have ads?
Neither Clever nor Read shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Clever or Read?
Clever ships an update every 5 weeks, and Read every 3 weeks. Most recently, Clever was updated on October 18, 2026 and Read on October 11, 2026.

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