Aurora Reader vs ZenReader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Aurora Reader
Save, read, and organize articles from the web with a clutter-free reading experience. Look up word definitions, add notes, and listen to articles hands-free. Syncs across devices via iCloud.
- Save articles from web
- Clutter-free reading view
- Offline article access
- Word definition lookup
- Highlighting and note-taking
- Article-to-speech functionality
- iCloud sync across devices
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Save articles, read articles, learn new words, record new thoughts… Aurora Reader is a premium Read-It-Later app that builds with latest technologies and packs a ton of exciting features. SAVE ARTICLES • Find Aurora Reader’s extensions from Share sheet in Safari, Twitter, Medium and many other apps, and use them to view or save articles • On iPad, use Drag & Drop to import multiple articles from another app at once • With automatically iCloud Sync, you can save articles on your iPhone and read them later on your iPad, iPod touch or Mac* READ ARTICLES • Article view automatically removes clutter from webpage and shows only the main article content for you • Immersive reading experience let you keep focus • No network, no problem: saved articles can be read at anytime, even without network • Customize your reading experience with multiple fonts and themes • Reading progress is automatically sync with iCloud, so you can easily switch device and continue reading from where you left off LEARN NEW WORDS • On article view, you can check word definitions simply by one tap. To close definitions view, it’s also as simple as a tap or swipe • Check word definitions in multi-language dictionaries • Aurora Reader can get you a great amount of definitions in least amount of time, thanks to the customized search engine with special optimization • Words you look up can be automatically saved to Aurora Reader’s companion app: Aurora Dictionary • Install or delete dictionaries from Dictionary Manager view RECORD NEW THOUGHTS • Select, swipe, highlight, and add notes • Save unlimited highlights and notes • Choose the highlight color that match your style REWIND • Rewind your reading journey with Search • Search saved articles, notes, folders and more from iOS home screen or in-app search bar • Accurately locate sentences and paragraphs with Full-Text Search ORGANIZE • Organize your articles and notes with Folders • Enjoy the freedom to create unlimited folders and subfolders • Quickly find your folders with Search • Use Drag & Drop to move and reorder your folders, articles and notes RELAX • Listen to articles with high fidelity voice, hands-free and eyes-free • Check currently reading paragraph on in-app Now Playing view. Find some unfamiliar words? just tap to look up • Listen with just your Apple Watch (requires watchOS 6.0 or later, and a pair of Bluetooth headphones) • Switch between multiple speech languages and voices * Aurora Reader for Mac is available on Mac App Store
ZenReader
This app is a versatile ebook reader and document manager supporting numerous file formats. It offers a customizable reading interface, note-taking capabilities, text-to-speech functionality, and robust library management features. Track your reading progress and protect your privacy with advanced security options.
- Supports EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT, ZIP, RAR, and more
- Customizable reading interface with night mode
- Note-taking, highlighting, and dictionary integration
- Text-to-speech with multiple language options
- Wi-Fi transfer, iCloud, and AirDrop import
- Gesture and facial recognition for privacy
- Reading statistics and goal setting
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极简阅读器 - 文档整理、笔记、朗读、解压 作为一款好用易上手文档管理APP,它的主要的亮点在于 ● 丰富的格式支持,Txt、Epub、Pdf、Mobi、Azw、Zip、Rar、7z等 ● 支持wifi传书、iCloud导入、隔空传送,即传即到 ● 舒适养眼的阅读界面,很护眼夜间模式,提供多种翻页模式,仿真、平移、滚动、覆盖模式等 ● 强大的自定义功能,自定义文字间距、段落间距、首行缩进,图片背景 ● 好用的笔记记录,长按文字,支持划线、笔记、词典、网页、全文搜索、分享等功能 ● 多种听书朗读功能,支持中文、广东话、英语、德语、意大利语诸多语系 ● 隐私保护,通过手势或者人脸识别解锁 ● 统计您的阅读记录,通过数据来感受你的阅读进展,设置您的阅读目标、阅读时长等 ● 强大的书籍管理功能,支持自定义分组,修改书名,阅读进度,导入导出 ● 自动分章节,你会发现即使你下载的是TXT格式,也能看到完美的章节 ● 提供了所有系统自带的字体,也自己导入字体文件,阅读更善心悦目 让你在沉浸式阅读中获得的最纯粹的体验~ ===== 极简阅读 可以按年订阅或一次性购买。在选择订阅模式时,免费试用或确认购买后,我们将从您的 iTunes 帐户中收取费用。除非在账单周期结束前至少 24 小时关闭自动续订,否则将自动续订。您可以转到 iTunes 帐户设置来管理订阅并关闭自动续订。 政策和使用条款 https://simplereader.super.site/%e9%9a%90%e7%a7%81%e6%94%bf%e7%ad%96
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Aurora Reader at none against ZenReader's 4. Aurora Reader also leads on ads (none vs shown). ZenReader's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (82% vs 62%). On price, 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
Both are free to download. ZenReader sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per year. Aurora Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
ZenReader holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ZenReader has 366 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of Aurora Reader's written reviews are positive against 82% of ZenReader's.
Aurora Reader ships an update every 6 weeks, ZenReader every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 12, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Aurora Reader | ZenReader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (12 ratings) | 4.7 (366 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 61.5% of reviews | 82.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 366 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 64 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Junyu Kuang | LexyTech Ltd. |
Customer experience
Aurora Reader
ZenReader
Bugs and requests
Aurora Reader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
ZenReader
Reported bugs
10 issues- Text replacement shows success but reverts after reopening
- Duplicate chapters in segmentation
- File parsing errors on valid documents
- Audiobook stops when screen locks
- Voice narration language changed to Cantonese after iOS 18
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- Import failure notifications appear repeatedly
- Deleting one file with same name deletes both (EPUB and AZW3)
- Cannot select text across multiple HTML sections
- Settings arrows not clickable, only text is
- QQ file import broken in recent versions
Requested features
19 requests- Simplified audiobook playback controls
- Flexible audiobook starting point selection
- Include audiobook listening time in statistics
- English language UI support
- Direct TXT file editing capability
Show 14 moreShow fewer
- Footnote/link navigation support
- Faster audiobook speed options beyond 3x
- Better quality AI voice narration
- Vertical text layout option
- Auto-page turning feature
- Customizable note colors
- Cross-file text selection and highlighting
- Annotation page navigation
- Instant translation feature for English books
- Customizable tap zones for left-handed users
- Document sorting options
- File management through Files app
- Smarter chapter segmentation
- Compatibility with book formatting standards
In-app purchases
Aurora Reader
No in-app purchases
ZenReader
- 1年订阅$6.991 Year
- 限时特惠$9.99
- Pro专业版$14.99
- Pro渠道优惠$39.99









