Comparison

Clear Spaces vs Retro Reader

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

Head to head
About

Clear Spaces

Personalize your device's home and lock screens with transparent widgets and custom elements. Organize information like weather, music, and time, and add quotes or stickers for a unique look. Easily switch between different styles and automate changes with shortcuts.

Highlights
  • Basic Transparent Spaces
  • Widget overlays (Weather, Now Playing, Time/Date)
  • Add quotes and stickers
  • Multiple Clear Spaces Styles
  • Lock Screen Transparent Spaces
  • Automate with Shortcuts
Read full description

Clear Spaces provides you with a wealth of customization options allowing you to create Basic Transparent Spaces, with the option to add Widget overlays to display quick information such as Weather, Now Playing and Time / Date. Clear Spaces also allows you to add quotes and stickers to your Home Screen. With the ability to make multiple Clear Spaces Styles, you can add all your different wallpapers into Clear Spaces and change your widgets with a tap, or automate it all with a Shortcut. Clear Spaces also takes customization to the Lock Screen with Transparent Spaces on the Lock Screen to allow you to move your widgets wherever you want. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at support@clearspaces.uk or @clearspaces_ on Twitter.

About

Retro Reader

Features
Read full description

Retro Reader is a guide reader built for classic gaming. Import your favorite text walkthroughs — GameFAQs-style ASCII guides for SNES, NES, Genesis, Game Boy, and beyond — and read them with pixel-perfect monospace rendering that preserves every piece of ASCII art exactly as intended. Read Your Way Customize font size, choose between fixed, panning, or hidden line number gutters, and enjoy smooth 60 FPS scrolling even through guides with 100,000+ lines. Jump to any line instantly or search across the entire guide with fuzzy matching. Stay Organized Double-tap any line to create bookmarks or pins. Add names and notes to mark boss strategies, puzzle solutions, or hidden item locations. Your reading position is saved automatically — pick up right where you left off. Build Your Collection Import .txt guides and organize them by game, platform, and author. Export your entire library as a backup and import it on another device with all bookmarks and pins intact. Offline & Private Everything is stored locally on your device. No accounts, no cloud, no tracking. Just your guides, available anytime — perfect for long gaming sessions away from WiFi. Authentic Retro Aesthetic Neon green text on a black background. Monospace fonts. A terminal-inspired interface that feels right at home next to your SNES.

Screenshots

Clear Spaces4 screens
Retro Reader3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Retro Reader at Free against Clear Spaces's $2.99. On ads, in-app purchases, 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

Retro Reader is free to download; Clear Spaces costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Clear Spaces versus Retro Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClear SpacesRetro Reader
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating3.3 (592 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews37.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings592 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEden Software LimitedBrett McGinnis

Bugs and requests

Clear Spaces

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Incompatibility with iOS 15 and newer devices
  • Widget labels not removable in recent updates
  • Inconsistent widget behavior across different iOS versions
  • Freezing/crashing issues on some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More widget customization options (fonts, colors, sizes)
  • Support for iPad and larger iPhone models
  • Ability to delete/remove old widget presets
  • Integration with Focus modes and dynamic wallpapers

Retro Reader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Clear Spaces

No in-app purchases

None

Retro Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Clear Spaces free?
Clear Spaces costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Retro Reader free?
Retro Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Clear Spaces or Retro Reader have ads?
Neither Clear Spaces nor Retro Reader shows ads.

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