Readability vs Bookshare Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Readability
This app uses AI-powered voice technology to provide personalized reading tutoring for children. It listens as kids read aloud, offers pronunciation correction, and assesses comprehension through interactive questions. The app also builds vocabulary and allows parents to track progress.
- AI-powered voice recognition for reading practice
- Real-time pronunciation correction
- Interactive voice-based comprehension questions
- Personalized vocabulary lists
- Parent dashboard for progress tracking
- Engaging grade-level stories with illustrations
Read full descriptionHide full description
Readability’s award-winning Smart Reading & Comprehension Learning App gives your child the effectiveness of 1-on-1 tutoring. Our breakthrough voice-based technology LISTENS while your child READS, highlighting, and correcting any problem words. Kids from kindergarten to 6th grade will improve their reading, vocabulary, and comprehension skills all in the convenience of a mobile app. IMPROVE READING WITH 1-ON-1 TUTORING Readability prompts your child to read aloud and listens while providing reading help and real-time pronunciation correction as your child reads. If they get stuck, they can tap on the speaker icon to have Readability read the selected passage or word aloud. Readability automatically selects the right reading material for each child to maximize improvement and minimize the reading struggle. Your child will be eager to learn as these fun and educational grade-level stories come to life with bright illustrations. IMPROVE CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS Our industry-first comprehension with Interactive Voice-based Questions & Answers (IVQA™) asks your child questions verbally about the story they just read to improve their critical thinking skills. Your child then is prompted to answer the question verbally to ensure they fully understand what they read. Comprehension is as important as reading fluency, we deliver both in our smart reading app for kids. IMPROVE VOCABULARY Readability makes it easy to learn new words and their meaning with a personalized vocabulary list for your child. Your child can long-press on any word while reading to learn its pronunciation, meaning, and add it to their vocabulary list. Their vocabulary list is neatly organized A-Z and by book to further practice, review, and perfect new or difficult words. SET AND TRACK READING GOALS Set goals and follow your child’s progress with your very own Parent Dashboard detailing what they have read, reading duration, accuracy, comprehension, and speed. It also provides daily and weekly reading reports for accountability that can be shared with a teacher. ENGAGING BOOKS A massive selection of age-appropriate stories and educational works keep kids engaged and learning. Readability is the perfect reading app for kids. Getting started is easy with a 30-day free trial. Just download the app to sign up for your free trial. Cancel anytime. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS To access all app features, please subscribe to the 30-day free trial. Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your account will automatically be charged at the subscription price for renewal, within 24-hours prior to the end of the current billing period. You can manage your subscription and/or turn off auto-renewal by visiting your Account Settings after purchase. • Visit https://www.readabilitytutor.com/payment-policy/ for payment terms • Visit https://www.readabilitytutor.com/terms-of-use/ for terms of use Copyright 2023 Readability
Bookshare Reader
Access a vast library of ebooks designed for individuals with reading barriers. Enjoy high-quality audio narration and customize your reading experience with adjustable fonts, colors, and speeds. Continue reading seamlessly from where you left off.
- Access millions of ebooks
- High-quality audio narration
- Customizable reading experience
- Adjustable font size and colors
- Follow along with highlighted text
- Offline reading
Read full descriptionHide full description
Get the official Bookshare Reader app. Access millions of ebooks from Bookshare, the world's largest library of ebooks for people with reading barriers like dyslexia, blindness, low vision, and physical disabilities. Listen to books in high quality audio and customize your reading experience in ways that work for you. Read bestsellers, new releases, textbooks and educational books, children’s books, young adult, mysteries, biographies, and more. Read your way with these customizable features: • Listen to books in high quality audio • Adjust reading speed, font size, and colors • Follow along with highlighted text • Navigate by page and chapter • Stop reading and pick up from your last spot • Download books and read offline To use Bookshare Reader, you must have a Bookshare membership. Learn more by visiting the Bookshare website.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Readability at 4.6 against Bookshare Reader's 3.3. Readability also leads on ratings volume (25K vs 67) and review sentiment (56% vs 36%). Bookshare Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. Readability sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Bookshare Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
Readability holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Readability has 25K ratings behind it against 67, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Readability's written reviews are positive against 36% of Bookshare Reader's.
Readability ships an update fortnightly, Bookshare Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Readability | Bookshare Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (25K ratings) — better | 3.3 (67 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 55.8% of reviews — better | 35.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 25K — better | 67 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #163 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 282 MB | 81 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | e4site Inc. | Benetech |
Customer experience
Readability
Bookshare Reader
User reviews
Readability
From 25K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful for struggling readers
- 🚀 Improves reading fluency
- 💡 Engaging for kids
- 👍 Useful data and progress tracking
Room to improve
- 🐛 Voice recognition issues
- 🐛 Inaccurate comprehension tests
- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🐛 Glitchy performance
Bookshare Reader
From 67 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great for dyslexic readers
- 👍 Realistic text-to-speech voices
- 👍 Offline book downloads
- 👍 Essential for blind users
- 👍 Significant improvements made
Room to improve
- 🐛 Prolonged pauses in speech
- 🐛 Library not syncing across devices
- 🐛 Reading lists don't sync
- 🐛 Progress not saved across devices
- 🐛 Stuck on copyright page (manga)
Bugs and requests
Readability
Reported bugs
4 issues- App charges for free trial
- Subscription cancellation issues
- Inconsistent app behavior
- Compatibility problems on some devices
Requested features
4 requests- More customization options for text and background
- Improved voice recognition accuracy
- Expanded book selection
- Better comprehension testing
Bookshare Reader
Reported bugs
42 issues- Prolonged pauses in text-to-speech
- Library not syncing across devices
- Reading lists not syncing
- Reading progress not saved across devices
- Manga stuck on copyright page
Show 37 moreShow fewer
- Pages disappear during reading
- Trouble downloading books
- Frequent app crashes
- App won't load books
- App shuts down when typing
- App crashing repeatedly
- Books disappearing from library
- Cannot download added books
- Search tab closes the app
- Poor VoiceOver compatibility
- App crashes on any click
- Text-to-speech voice change kicks user out
- Copyright issues preventing audio playback
- Download errors
- Playback stops when screen is locked
- Clunky user interface
- Picture books not displaying images
- Unable to play videos from other sources
- Form controls not coded correctly for VoiceOver
- Cannot delete searched titles from library
- App requires screen to be on for reading
- Blank screen after orientation change
- Too many bugs and crashes
- Next chapter fails to load
- Blank white page after pausing and resuming
- Table of Contents only shows first few chapters
- App displays as phone screen on iPad
- Cannot access reading lists
- Synthesized speech has limited control
- Speech randomly cuts off
- Reading stops if phone ringer is off
- Pause/Play restarts from chapter beginning
- Text-to-speech voices do not indicate language
- Voice selection process is cumbersome
- No functional stop and start button
- Limited speaking speed options
- Paragraph by paragraph reading limitation
Requested features
38 requests- Fix prolonged pauses in text-to-speech
- Sync library across devices
- Sync reading lists across devices
- Save reading progress across devices
- Fix manga page navigation
Show 33 moreShow fewer
- Fix disappearing pages bug
- Improve book download reliability
- Fix app crashes
- Fix app shutdown when typing
- Improve VoiceOver compatibility
- Allow adjustment of speaking rate by specific value
- Make reading lists accessible
- Add highlighting for textbooks
- Improve navigation of Contents menu
- Highlight current location in Contents menu
- Include missing video content in textbooks
- Fix copyright issues for audio playback
- Allow background playback
- Add ability to listen to human-narrated audiobooks
- Add 'Read Now' for periodicals
- Add VoiceOver gestures for page turning
- Add percentage of reading completed on mobile devices
- Make downloaded books tab default on opening app
- Fix inability to delete searched titles
- Add 'where am I' feature (page/percentage)
- Fix blank screen after orientation change
- Make app accessible for students without teacher assignment
- Fix next chapter loading issue
- Fix blank white page after pause
- Fix incomplete Table of Contents
- Improve app scaling on iPad
- Fix inability to access reading lists
- Allow users to choose which word reader begins reading
- Fix paragraph by paragraph reading limitation
- Indicate language for text-to-speech voices
- Improve voice selection process
- Add functional stop and start button
- Increase speed options for text-to-speech
In-app purchases
Readability
- Readability Tutor1 Month trial$19.991 Month
- Readability Tutor Annual1 Month trial$139.991 Year
Bookshare Reader
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Readability free?
Is Bookshare Reader free?
Which has better reviews, Readability or Bookshare Reader?
Do Readability or Bookshare Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Readability or Bookshare Reader?
Other comparisons















