# Gutenberg Reader + Many Books vs Bright Passages

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Bright Passages at 100% against Gutenberg Reader + Many Books's 45%. Bright Passages also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.6) and ads (none vs shown). Gutenberg Reader + Many Books's advantage is price (Free vs $4.99) and ratings volume (120 vs 4). On in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Gutenberg Reader + Many Books is free to download; Bright Passages costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Bright Passages holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gutenberg Reader + Many Books has 120 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of Gutenberg Reader + Many Books's written reviews are positive against 100% of Bright Passages's.

Gutenberg Reader + Many Books ships an update every 3 weeks, Bright Passages every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Gutenberg Reader + Many Books | Bright Passages |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | [3.6 (120 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gutenberg-reader-plus-many-books/id1294103623/reviews) | **[5.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bright-passages/id6792161370/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **120** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 44.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 20 MB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 26.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Haven Tran](https://appshunter.io/developer/1291655261) | [Nathan Perry](https://appshunter.io/developer/6792161372) |

## What reviewers say

### Gutenberg Reader + Many Books

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gutenberg-reader-plus-many-books/id1294103623)

Access over 100,000 free public domain eBooks from Project Gutenberg. Enjoy a customizable reading experience with features like text-to-speech, auto-scrolling, and note-taking. Download books for offline reading on any device.

**Highlights:** Unlimited eBook downloads, Customizable reading experience, Text-to-Speech (TTS) mode, Auto-scrolling mode, Bookmark, highlight, and notes, Offline reading

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💰 Free access to classics
- 📚 Large library of classic books
- 📖 Ability to adjust text (font, size)
- 🎧 Audiobook option available
- 🔖 Bookmark functionality

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App hangs often
- 🐛 Speed of moving text uncontrollable
- 😵 Difficult to navigate/understand
- 🖼️ No illustrations shown
- 🚫 No summary before download

**Reported bugs**

- App hangs often
- Speed of moving text uncontrollable
- Illustrations do not show up
- Does not sync between separate devices
- Search function is not working correctly

**Requested features**

- Fix app hanging issues
- Improve search functionality
- Allow users to rate & review books
- Add book summaries before download
- Fix illustrations not showing


### Bright Passages

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bright-passages/id6792161370)

Capture and organize highlights from physical books using your camera. Automatically detects highlighter colors and allows manual text selection for unmarked passages. Creates a searchable, shareable digital library of your favorite book passages.

**Highlights:** Camera-based highlight detection, Automatic highlighter color categorization, Manual text selection, Searchable digital library, Customizable categories, Add personal notes, Export to CSV, Excel, Markdown

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Gutenberg Reader + Many Books free?

Gutenberg Reader + Many Books is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Bright Passages free?

Bright Passages costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Gutenberg Reader + Many Books or Bright Passages?

Bright Passages is rated higher. Gutenberg Reader + Many Books averages 3.6 out of 5 from 120 ratings, while Bright Passages averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.

### Do Gutenberg Reader + Many Books or Bright Passages have ads?

Gutenberg Reader + Many Books shows ads; Bright Passages does not.

### Which is updated more often, Gutenberg Reader + Many Books or Bright Passages?

Gutenberg Reader + Many Books ships an update every 3 weeks, and Bright Passages every 2 days. Most recently, Gutenberg Reader + Many Books was updated on November 6, 2026 and Bright Passages on October 31, 2026.

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