# Octo vs Cengage Read

The clearest difference is rating: Cengage Read at 4.2 against Octo's 3.0. Cengage Read also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (4.2K vs 2). Octo's advantage is review sentiment (50% vs 20%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Octo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cengage Read asks for nothing beyond the download.

Cengage Read holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cengage Read has 4.2K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Octo's written reviews are positive against 20% of Cengage Read's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Octo ships an update weekly, Cengage Read every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Octo | Cengage Read |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/octo-learn-base-conversion/id1505766480/reviews) | **[4.2 (4.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cengage-read/id6444260893/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **4.2K** |
| Positive reviews | **50.0% of reviews** | 19.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 32 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 18 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [VESIGN d.o.o.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1505766479) | [Cengage Learning](https://appshunter.io/developer/371168145) |

## What reviewers say

### Octo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/octo-learn-base-conversion/id1505766480)

Master number base conversions with this educational tool. It offers step-by-step solutions for decimal to any base conversions and provides over 12,000 practice assignments to solidify your understanding.

**Highlights:** Binary, octal, decimal, hexadecimal conversion, Step-by-step decimal to any base solutions, Over 12,000 practice assignments, Supports iPhone and iPod

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Octo Plus | $1.99 | one-time |


### Cengage Read

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cengage-read/id6444260893)

Access and study your digital textbooks from anywhere. This app allows students to read, take notes, highlight, bookmark, and use text-to-speech for a flexible learning experience on the go.

**Highlights:** Read eTextbooks on the go, Take notes and highlight, Bookmark important sections, Text-to-speech functionality, Search keywords, Navigate via table of contents

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to read textbooks
- 🚀 Convenient for on-the-go learning
- 👍 Useful for listening to audio while commuting
- 👍 Allows highlighting and note-taking

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
- 🔥 Poor text formatting and layout
- 👎 Difficult to navigate and use
- 🔒 Login and account issues
- 🔍 Missing key features like split-screen and assignment tracking

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes and sign-outs
- Inconsistent highlighting and note-taking functionality
- Inability to view full pages and content
- Text-to-speech feature not working properly

**Requested features**

- Improve text formatting and layout
- Add split-screen support for note-taking
- Enhance accessibility features like text-to-speech
- Integrate assignment and due date tracking


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Octo free?

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

### Is Cengage Read free?

Cengage Read is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Octo or Cengage Read?

Cengage Read is rated higher. Octo averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Cengage Read averages 4.2 from 4.2K ratings.

### Do Octo or Cengage Read have ads?

Neither Octo nor Cengage Read shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Octo or Cengage Read?

Octo ships an update weekly, and Cengage Read every 2 months. Most recently, Octo was updated on November 3, 2026 and Cengage Read on November 7, 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.*