Comparison

Cambridge Reader vs Rast Education

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

Head to head
About

Cambridge Reader

Access your Cambridge University Press ebooks offline on your mobile device. Download videos and audio to prepare for classes. Requires web registration and login details.

Highlights
  • Access Cambridge ebooks offline
  • Download videos and audio
  • View enhanced online content
  • Requires web registration
  • Supports iOS 11.0+
Features
Read full description

Developed for Cambridge University Press online subscription services, the Cambridge Reader App allows you to access your Cambridge Elevate, Go and Cambridge Learn Premium ebooks wherever you are. Downloading the Cambridge Reader app allows you to: • Access all of your favourite Cambridge ebooks directly from your mobile device • Have confidence that your content will be there - even if you lose internet access • Prepare for classes by downloading videos and audio to the app in advance To use the app you first need to register your account on the web using a PC or Mac. The minimum OS version supported by the Cambridge Reader App is iOS 11.0. If you already have a student or teacher account, you can log in, view your books from a phone and download enhanced online content, including videos, files, interactive activities and image galleries. This app will work once you have been sent login details and accepted the EULA and Terms of Use online.

About

Rast Education

Features
Read full description

Rast Education connects families with their children's school in one place. Accounts are created by the school - there is no public sign-up. A family signs in with a family code issued by the school. FOR PARENTS AND STUDENTS • Day-by-day attendance, and requesting an absence in advance • Grades and report cards, once the school has released them • Homework, class timetable and exam schedule • Fees, invoices and payment history • Follow the school bus on a map while it is on its route • Message teachers and the office directly, with voice notes and attachments • The class feed: posts, photos and activity albums • Circulars, school news and the school calendar • Booking parent-teacher meeting slots • Meal menu and the school library • Nurse visits recorded by the school nurse • Instant notifications about your own children FOR TEACHERS AND STAFF • Take the daily register - it works with no signal and sends automatically once you are back online • Enter grades and homework, and share lesson plans and teaching resources • Message parents and run the class feed • Staff clock-in and leave requests • Tools for heads of department and management LANGUAGES Arabic • English • Kurdish, with full right-to-left support. PRIVACY No adverts, no selling of data, no marketing use. Student data belongs to the school and is managed through it. Location is collected from staff devices only, for two things: recording a staff member's clock-in at school, and sharing the bus position while a driver is running a route so families can follow the bus. Only the bus route uses location in the background, and the driver sees a clear disclosure before any permission is requested. Parents' and students' locations are never collected. A guardian can ask, inside the app, for their account to be closed: Profile > Request to leave. The school reviews the request, and on approval the sign-in account is closed. The pupil's school record stays with the school, as its own rules require. Privacy policy: https://sms-schools.com/privacy Data requests: https://sms-schools.com/data-deletion SUPPORT Contact your school office for a family code or help signing in.

Screenshots

Cambridge Reader4 screens
Rast Education4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Rast Education at daily against Cambridge Reader's every 6 months. Cambridge Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cambridge Reader ships an update every 6 months, Rast Education daily. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Cambridge Reader versus Rast Education: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCambridge ReaderRast Education
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (52 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews9.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings52 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size96 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCambridge University Press & Assessment (App)Sami Abdullah

Bugs and requests

Cambridge Reader

Reported bugs

42 issues
  • Randomly goes back a page
  • App doesn't fit screen
  • Cannot split screen
  • App glitches and freezes
  • App crashes frequently
Show 37 more
  • Books disappear or don't load
  • Login issues (invalid credentials, password problems, spaces in password)
  • App reloads after switching apps
  • Textbooks not showing up
  • Outdated codes
  • Cannot register/add books
  • Pages not loading
  • App resets when closed
  • Notes disappear
  • Cannot scroll horizontally
  • Lack of landscape mode
  • Lack of zoom functionality
  • App is slow and laggy
  • App doesn't support split screen
  • App quits unexpectedly
  • Book codes not working
  • Book codes need to be entered every time
  • Cannot download more than a few books
  • Page select/scroll bar is difficult to use
  • Books not appearing in account after login
  • App doesn't show full page
  • Password reset not available
  • App doesn't work on iPad
  • App is worse than previous version
  • Cannot zoom out
  • App doesn't allow horizontal scrolling
  • Updated version available but book doesn't update
  • Cannot flip to next pages
  • App pauses the screen
  • Login loop with Cambridge.go account
  • Book disappears after adding both workbook and student book
  • Bookmark not showing
  • App is not compatible with iPhone 7 screen size
  • UI is clunky
  • Page closes when touched the wrong way
  • App is skunk
  • User interface looks like ayoos

Requested features

11 requests
  • Add landscape mode for iPhones
  • Allow split screen functionality
  • Improve scrolling (horizontal and vertical)
  • Fix page loading issues
  • Enable note-taking within the app
Show 6 more
  • Improve zoom functionality
  • Add animations
  • Fix issues with adding books/resources
  • Allow access to all subscribed titles on mobile
  • Make the app fill the whole screen on iPad Pros
  • Add password reset functionality

Rast Education

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Cambridge Reader

No in-app purchases

None

Rast Education

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cambridge Reader free?
Cambridge Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rast Education free?
Rast Education is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Cambridge Reader or Rast Education have ads?
Neither Cambridge Reader nor Rast Education shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cambridge Reader or Rast Education?
Cambridge Reader ships an update every 6 months, and Rast Education daily. Most recently, Cambridge Reader was updated on October 14, 2026 and Rast Education on October 4, 2026.

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