Comparison

Literary vs Glance

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
Read 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

Literary4 screens
Glance4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Literary is free to download; Glance costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Literary versus Glance: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLiteraryGlance
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating3.7 (13 ratings)4.9 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13 — better8
Update frequency—Every 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#88 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.2 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJonathan BanksPETER ZDANKIN

Customer experience

Literary

All ratings13 ratings
Positive61.5%
Neutral7.7%
Negative30.8%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative57.1%

Glance

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Literary

No in-app purchases

None

Glance

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Literary free?
Literary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Glance free?
Glance costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Literary or Glance?
Glance is rated higher. Literary averages 3.7 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while Glance averages 4.9 from 8 ratings.
Do Literary or Glance have ads?
Neither Literary nor Glance shows ads.

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