Literary vs Glance
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Literary
Boost your reading speed and comprehension with this app that uses Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP). It allows for adjustable speeds, progress tracking, and personalized reading experiences for EPUB files.
- Adjustable reading speeds (50-950 WPM)
- RSVP playback technique
- Progress tracking and charts
- Customizable colors, fonts, and themes
- Dropbox, Google Drive, and iTunes syncing
- Library management with search and filters
Read full descriptionHide full description
Literary helps to significantly increase reading speed using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) playback techniques. Leveraging these methods will result in reading more books, faster, and with reduced effort while maintaining subject comprehension. Literary only works with the EPUB format; convert other filetypes into EPUB before synching with the Literary app Features of Literary include: * Fully adjustable reading speeds from 50-950 words per minute. * Intuitive controls to quickly access chapters as well as discrete sections within chapters; rewind/fast forward by sentence, paragraph, and chapter. * Automatic speed-interval training to build endurance and help make rapid speed improvements. * Preview function enables one-click access to multiple paragraphs surrounding the current RSVP word. Halt the speed reader and easily re-read previous and upcoming content to improve cognition and comprehension. * Track reading progress and speed improvements across time for individual books as well as your entire library using beautiful charts and graphs. * Personalize the entire RSVP reading experience including custom colors, fonts, and themes. * Simple synching of books directly from within the app using Dropbox, Google Drive, or via iTunes. * Take control of large library collections with simple searching, multiple-filters, and sectioning by last read, alphabetical, last synced, author name, etc.
Glance
This app offers a minimalist reading experience using RSVP technology to display text word by word. It helps users focus by eliminating distractions and entering a state of flow. Import your own books and customize the reading experience with various fonts and color schemes.
- RSVP speed reading technology
- Import EPUB, MOBI, and save Texts/URLs
- Two reading modes (overview and speed)
- Customizable fonts and color schemes
- Ad-free and tracking-free experience
Read full descriptionHide full description
Read your books one word at a time — calm, focused, and as fast as you like. Glance shows text word by word at a single point, so your eyes stay still and your attention stays on the story. Import your own EPUB and MOBI books or save articles from the web, then read at the speed that feels right — from a gentle 100 to 1,000 words per minute. Your library, your way • Import DRM-free EPUB and MOBI books, or save any web article or pasted text to read offline • Two ways to read: scroll the full text, or switch to word-by-word speed reading — turn your phone sideways for a distraction-free view • Glance remembers where you stopped and carries you straight into the next chapter Made for reading, not for scrolling • Tap to pause, double-tap to go back a sentence, swipe to change speed • Many fonts and colour schemes, including high-contrast and colour-blind-friendly options • Reading stats and goals to build a daily habit • Translate any sentence with one long press • Works on iPhone and iPad, in English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Ukrainian Respectful by design Pay once, keep it forever. No ads. No tracking. No subscriptions. No account. Your books never leave your device. Just you, the words, and the moment. Note: books bought from Kindle or Apple Books are copy-protected (DRM) and can't be opened by any third-party reader.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Glance at 100% against Literary's 29%. Glance also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.7) and chart position (#88 vs unranked). Literary's advantage is price (Free vs $3.99) and iOS requirement (11.2 vs 18.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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
Literary is free to download; Glance costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Glance holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of Literary's written reviews are positive against 100% of Glance's.
| Parameter | Literary | Glance |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 3.7 (13 ratings) | 4.9 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 28.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 13 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | — | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #88 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.2 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 102 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jonathan Banks | PETER ZDANKIN |
Customer experience
Literary
Glance
In-app purchases
Literary
No in-app purchases
Glance
No in-app purchases








