# Readibu vs Read Bean

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Readibu at 13.0 against Read Bean's 15.1. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Readibu sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Read Bean sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Readibu against 4.9 for Read Bean. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 152 and 369 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of Readibu's written reviews are positive against 91% of Read Bean's.

Readibu ships an update every 8 days, Read Bean weekly. The most recent releases landed on August 31, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Readibu | Read Bean |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (152 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readibu-chinese-novel-reader/id1474518982/reviews) | **[4.9 (369 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/read-bean/id6736993989/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 152 | **369** |
| Positive reviews | 88.9% of reviews | **90.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 88 MB | 113 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lingyi Chen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1443252218) | [Refond, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1774270517) |

## What reviewers say

### Readibu

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readibu-chinese-novel-reader/id1474518982)

Access a vast library of Chinese web novels, short stories, and children's tales. Enhance your learning with integrated dictionary lookups, text-to-speech, and pinyin display. Premium features offer advanced tools like sentence translation and offline reading for an immersive language learning experience.

**Highlights:** Explore Chinese web novels, Tap for character definitions, Reader mode for web pages, Pinyin/zhuyin display, Text-to-speech, Offline reading (Premium), Sentence translation (Premium)

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Readibu Monthly Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| Readibu 3-Month Premium | $9.99 | per 3 months |
| Readibu Yearly Premium | $47.99 | per year |


### Read Bean

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/read-bean/id6736993989)

Master Chinese with authentic, graded readings and interactive exercises. Tailored lessons adapt to your HSK level, offering vocabulary drills, grammar practice, and AI-powered speaking roleplays. Get instant translation and pronunciation support.

**Highlights:** Authentic graded readings, HSK 1-6 level adaptation, Interactive drills and exercises, AI-powered speaking roleplays, On-demand translation and pronunciation, Spaced repetition flashcards

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Premium | $14.99 | per month |
| 6 Month Premium | $79.99 | per 6 months |
| Annual Premium | $99.99 | per year |
| Annual Premium | $119.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Intuitive UI
- 🚀 Effective learning experience
- 💡 Relevant and engaging content
- 🎉 Helps improve reading comprehension
- 🌟 Better than Duolingo

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Design issues on iPad
- 🔍 Auto-correct issues when searching

**Reported bugs**

- Login screen freezes
- Incompatibility with older devices

**Requested features**

- Full-screen mode for iPad
- Ability to use reading assistance on any website


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Readibu free?

Readibu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Read Bean free?

Read Bean is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Readibu or Read Bean?

Read Bean is rated higher. Readibu averages 4.8 out of 5 from 152 ratings, while Read Bean averages 4.9 from 369 ratings.

### Do Readibu or Read Bean have ads?

Neither Readibu nor Read Bean shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Readibu or Read Bean?

Readibu ships an update every 8 days, and Read Bean weekly. Most recently, Readibu was updated on August 31, 2026 and Read Bean on September 20, 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.*