Comparison

Little Free Library vs Readmax

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

Head to head
About

Little Free Library

Discover nearby book-sharing locations with this app. Find libraries using filters, get directions, and save your favorites. Track your visits and leave notes for stewards. If you manage a library, update its details directly.

Highlights
  • Find nearby book-sharing locations
  • Search filters by location
  • Get directions and create routes
  • Favorite and track visited libraries
  • Leave notes in guest books
  • Edit library listings in real-time
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The Little Free Library app makes it easy to find little library locations near you! Use the search filters to narrow in on little libraries you want to visit, easily get directions to the nearest ones, or create a route. See a library you like? Add it to your list of favorites. Track the libraries you visit using the handy check-ins feature. If you’re a Little Free Library steward, there’s a section of the app just for you that lets you edit your library’s listing in real time! Little Free Library Map:  Easy-to-use search filters help you find Little Free Libraries by zip code, city/state, charter number, or your current location. Favorite and Track the Little Libraries You Visit:  Keep a list of your favorite little libraries and track the ones you visit using check-ins. Get Directions or Create Routes:  Tap the Get Directions button to get step-by-step directions to the nearest Little Free Library book-sharing box, or add multiple little libraries to a route. Sign the Guest Book:  After you stop by a particular little library, leave a note for the steward (aka caretaker) in its guest book! The guest book is a fun way to connect with the little library steward and see what other visitors have to say. Features for Little Free Library Volunteer Stewards: If you’re the steward of a registered Little Free Library, the app lets you edit your library’s listing in real time! Add new photos, update your library’s story, include social media links, enable a guest book for your visitors, and much more… all from within the app.

About

Readmax

Features
Read full description

Readmax™ makes digital text easier to read, understand and remember. Just click on the Readmax app icon, and then go to a browser. Select text with your touchscreen cursor. Then, click “share” on the options shown for the selected text, and click the Readmax icon. In seconds, the selected text gets analyzed and reformatted into easy-to-read cascading phrases. Verbs are highlighted to boost comprehension. Readmax offers several backgrounds, font styles and sizes, and both vertical and horizontal screen views. You can also scan images of texts from your photo album and send them into Readmax. Low-vision readers can use Color Inversion for a dark background and lighter fonts. Readmax can also be licensed by teachers and tutors for groups of students, allowing each student to sign-on without disclosing their emails or other identifiable information. Based on over 20 years of research by investigators in cognitive science, vision science, and literacy technology at leading US universities, Readmax uses patented Live Ink® text parsing technology to instantly convert any user-selected text into a cascading-phrase layout. Live Ink® reveals and illuminates the structure of language that is masked by regular block formats. Our algorithms realign the words of a sentence into a powerful, compact, well-organized visual zone of information. By enlisting and activating the pattern recognition capabilities of the right brain, Live Ink frees up processing capacities in the left brain that focus on deeper dimensions of meaning. Live Ink's unique cascading layout maximizes "brain-width" by tapping the brain's natural powers of vision and grammar processing. Our technology is highly complex, technical, precise and nuanced, but the experience is natural and transparent. The research-proven results are greater comprehension, faster absorption of content and less eye strain. Designed to assist readers with low-vision and dyslexia, Live Ink has also been shown to strengthen students’ writing skills and reading proficiency, even after they return to regular formats. The Routledge Handbook of Corpora and English Language Teaching and Learning, (2022), recognizes Live Ink as the first and still the only technology using Automated Syntactic Analysis that has been scientifically proven to permanently strengthen English proficiency, with improvements persisting even after students are no longer using the technology. Live Ink has been recognized by the US Department of Educations’ What Works Clearinghouse as an effective and scientifically proven educational intervention that accelerates literacy growth, even after students return to block texts. Other groups reporting benefits include persons reading English as a non-native language, persons with brain injury and seniors. Learn more about our research at www.readmax.com

Screenshots

Little Free Library4 screens
Readmax4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Little Free Library at none against Readmax's 2. Little Free Library also leads on ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#83 vs unranked). On price, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Readmax sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Little Free Library asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Little Free Library ships an update every 3 weeks, Readmax monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Little Free Library versus Readmax: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLittle Free LibraryReadmax
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (199 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews47.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings199 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#83 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLittle Free Library, LtdWalker Reading Technologies, Incorporated

Bugs and requests

Little Free Library

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • App crashes on startup or after 2-3 clicks
  • Instant crash when opening app
  • Loading screen freezes indefinitely
  • Check-in submit button spins forever without submitting
  • Favorite feature causes immediate crash
Show 13 more
  • Search this area button disappears after use
  • Map not loading or displaying libraries
  • Login causes app to crash
  • App kicks user out after few seconds
  • Email confirmation links non-functional
  • Help ticket submission page broken
  • Check-in notifications appear but don't display in app
  • Dark mode purple text unreadable
  • Steward registration stuck in infinite loop
  • Location services not working
  • App incompatible with iOS updates
  • Routing doesn't follow selected library order
  • Incomplete form loading for stewards

Requested features

14 requests
  • Ability for non-stewards to add missing libraries
  • Retroactive check-in date editing
  • Children's book category indicator
  • Book genre/category specifications
  • Want-to-visit list separate from favorites
Show 9 more
  • Photo update capability for all users
  • Library condition status tracking
  • Goodreads integration
  • Little Pantry location support
  • Book availability search feature
  • Improved routing that respects selected order
  • Better steward portal UX for adding comments
  • Reduced banner size on map display
  • Full Google Maps integration

Readmax

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Little Free Library

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Readmax

Subscriptions2
  • ReadMax App$3.991 Month
  • ReadMax App$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Little Free Library free?
Little Free Library is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Readmax free?
Readmax is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Little Free Library or Readmax have ads?
Readmax shows ads; Little Free Library does not.
Which is updated more often, Little Free Library or Readmax?
Little Free Library ships an update every 3 weeks, and Readmax monthly. Most recently, Little Free Library was updated on November 7, 2026 and Readmax on November 4, 2026.

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