Comparison

Cantook by Aldiko vs Readest

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

Head to head
About

Cantook by Aldiko

This app consolidates all your eBooks, comics, and audiobooks into a single platform. It offers seamless integration with public libraries, access to public domain titles, and the ability to import your own files. Customize your reading experience with various fonts, themes, and organization tools.

Highlights
  • Unified library for eBooks, comics, audiobooks
  • Public library integration
  • Import EPUB, CBZ, PDF files
  • Access public domain books
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Organize bookshelf with categories
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Cantook! The favorite reading app for the true bookworms. Bring all your eBooks, comics and audiobooks in the same place, no matter where they're coming from. Available on iPhone, iPad or macOS. With Cantook, we make it easy to bring all your books in the same place: • Built-in support for public libraries, allowing you to easily browse your library's catalog and borrow books from them • Thousands of public domain books from the Cantook Bookstore • Import your own EPUB, CBZ or PDF files • Add your own catalogs, for example using Calibre Cantook provides an extensive set of features for both casual and power users: • Customize your reading experience with multiple fonts and themes • Full support for dark mode throughout the app • Organize your bookshelf with categories and collections Our philosophy is to contribute to and leverage open standards: • Read EPUB files via a Readium Mobile based reading experience • Explore catalogs using OPDS • Full support for Readium LCP based on EPUB, PDF and audiobooks

About

Readest

This app is a powerful ebook reader designed for deep thinkers and researchers. It offers advanced annotation tools, seamless device syncing, and robust library management with OPDS and Calibre support. Enjoy a distraction-free reading experience with customizable modes and multi-book viewing for enhanced study and analysis.

Highlights
  • OPDS Online Libraries
  • Calibre Integration
  • Sync Across Devices
  • Bookshelf Management
  • Customizable Reading Modes
  • Multi-Book View
  • Advanced Annotations & Highlights
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Readest is an ebook reader for people who read a lot, and who want their books, notes and reading position on whatever device is nearest. Open EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, CBZ, TXT and Markdown in one library. Pull books from OPDS catalogs or from your own Calibre server. Read, annotate, listen, translate. Made for iPhone and iPad • CarPlay, so you can keep listening on the road with playback controls on the dashboard • Download read-aloud voices per book and listen with no connection at all • Add books from Files, Mail or any share sheet, and read them in place instead of copying them into a second library • Open up to four books at once on iPad and arrange them how you like Reading • Paginated or scrolling, with custom fonts, themes, spacing and margins • Vertical text for CJK books • Contrast and refresh tuned for e-ink screens • Full-text search inside a book Your library • Browse, search and download from OPDS catalogs and public libraries • Connect to Calibre or Calibre-Web, covers and metadata included • Organize with bookshelf groups you can rename Notes • Highlights, bookmarks and structured notes • Copy a highlight together with a deep link back to the passage • Export your annotations Listening and languages • Text-to-speech with downloadable offline voices • Translate a sentence, a page, or an entire book • Wikipedia and dictionary lookup without leaving the page Sync • Readest Cloud, or bring your own: iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, WebDAV, S3 • KOReader sync keeps your progress in step with your e-reader • iPhone, iPad, Mac, all other platforms and the web Readest is open source. Support: support@readest.com Privacy Policy: https://readest.com/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Cantook by Aldiko4 screens
Readest4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Readest at 84% against Cantook by Aldiko's 39%. Readest also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.3) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Cantook by Aldiko's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9). On price, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Readest sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Cantook by Aldiko asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Readest holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Readest has 199 ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 39% of Cantook by Aldiko's written reviews are positive against 84% of Readest's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cantook by Aldiko ships an update every 2 months, Readest fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Cantook by Aldiko versus Readest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCantook by AldikoReadest
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (32 ratings)4.5 (199 ratings) — better
Positive reviews38.7% of reviews83.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings32199 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#207 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB58 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperDe MarqueBilingify LLC

Customer experience

Cantook by Aldiko

All ratings32 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral9.4%
Negative40.6%
Written reviews119 reviews
Positive38.7%
Neutral16.0%
Negative45.4%

Readest

All ratings191 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral5.2%
Negative8.4%
Written reviews290 reviews
Positive83.8%
Neutral5.9%
Negative10.3%

In-app purchases

None

Cantook by Aldiko

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Readest

Subscriptions4
  • Subscribe to Plus Plan$4.991 Month
  • Subscribe to Pro Plan$9.991 Month
  • Subscribe to Plus Plan$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Subscribe to Pro Plan$99.991 Year
One-time5
  • 1 GB$9.99
  • 2 GB$14.99
  • Full Customization$19.99
Show 2 more
  • 5 GB$29.99
  • 10 GB$49.99

Questions

Is Cantook by Aldiko free?
Cantook by Aldiko is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Readest free?
Readest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cantook by Aldiko or Readest?
Readest is rated higher. Cantook by Aldiko averages 3.3 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while Readest averages 4.5 from 199 ratings.
Do Cantook by Aldiko or Readest have ads?
Neither Cantook by Aldiko nor Readest shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cantook by Aldiko or Readest?
Cantook by Aldiko ships an update every 2 months, and Readest fortnightly. Most recently, Cantook by Aldiko was updated on November 3, 2026 and Readest on November 4, 2026.

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