# Five Star Study App vs Cengage Read

The clearest difference is rating: Cengage Read at 4.2 against Five Star Study App's 3.0. Cengage Read also leads on ratings volume (4.1K vs 416). Five Star Study App's advantage is iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

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 4.1K ratings behind it against 416, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 24% of Five Star Study App'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.

Five Star Study App ships an update every 6 weeks, Cengage Read every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Five Star Study App | Cengage Read |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.0 (416 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/five-star-study-app/id1550915849/reviews) | **[4.2 (4.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cengage-read/id6444260893/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 416 | **4.1K** |
| Positive reviews | **23.9% of reviews** | 19.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 204 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.6** | 18 |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [ACCO Brands USA LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/594765823) | [Cengage Learning](https://appshunter.io/developer/371168145) |

## What reviewers say

### Five Star Study App

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/five-star-study-app/id1550915849)

Organize your notes and schedules to enhance your study sessions. This tool allows you to manage your academic life efficiently, enabling you to study effectively from any location.

**Highlights:** Note organization, Schedule management, Study anywhere, Study anytime, School year tool

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Quick scanning
- 📁 Organized note-taking
- 🔋 Helpful for studying
- 💡 Integrates with Google Drive

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Scanning issues
- 🔍 Poor image quality
- 🤯 Buggy and crashes often
- 🤔 Confusing flashcard feature

**Reported bugs**

- App gets stuck on loading screen
- Scans not saving properly
- Camera not working
- Flashcards not functioning as expected

**Requested features**

- Handwriting to text conversion
- Ability to edit scanned notes
- Better iPad support
- More customization options


### 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 Five Star Study App free?

Five Star Study App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Cengage Read free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Five Star Study App or Cengage Read?

Cengage Read is rated higher. Five Star Study App averages 3.0 out of 5 from 416 ratings, while Cengage Read averages 4.2 from 4.1K ratings.

### Do Five Star Study App or Cengage Read have ads?

Neither Five Star Study App nor Cengage Read shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Five Star Study App or Cengage Read?

Five Star Study App ships an update every 6 weeks, and Cengage Read every 2 months. Most recently, Five Star Study App was updated on October 14, 2026 and Cengage Read on October 13, 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.*