Comparison

Literal vs Bionic Reading®

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

Head to head
About

Literal

Organize your reading with a personal library, track books you've read and want to read. Discover new titles by following trusted sources and share impactful reading moments and highlights.

Highlights
  • Personal library management
  • Track read and to-read books
  • Discover new books via trusted sources
  • Archive highlights and notes
  • Share reading moments and passages
  • Seamless social media sharing
Features
Read full description

Literal is where readers track their books, discover their next favourite, and share the moments that move them. TRACK YOUR READING Build your library with shelves for what you've read, are reading, and want to read next. Set a yearly goal and watch your stats. DISCOVER YOUR NEXT BOOK Go beyond bestseller lists and algorithms. Follow readers you trust, browse by genre and mood, and find hidden gems through people who share your taste. SAVE HIGHLIGHTS & NOTES Capture the passages that stay with you. Scan them straight from a physical book with your camera, or add them by hand. WRITE & READ REVIEWS Share what you thought, and see what friends made of a book before you start. READ FREE BOOKS Thousands of public-domain ebooks and audiobooks, free in the app. BRING YOUR LIBRARY Import your books and ratings from Goodreads in a couple of taps. Independent and community-first. No ads, no selling your data.

About

Bionic Reading®

This app enhances reading speed and comprehension by highlighting the most concise parts of words. It offers customizable reading modes to aid users with reading difficulties and improve focus for all.

Highlights
  • Text revision for faster reading
  • Customizable reading modes
  • Save reading position across platforms
  • Bookmarks for favorite pages
  • Upload files, text, or websites for conversion
  • Export to EPUB, PDF, WORD
  • Light and Dark Mode
Features
Read full description

All 6 Bionic Reading® Apps are available as a free or a Premium version – 6 for 1 Price. The one and only from Switzerland is a “Life Changer” for Lisa, a “Game Changer” for Tommy and “Absolutely Mind Blowing” for Kelly. Bionic Reading® Faster. Better. More focused. Reading. Bionic Reading® for Apple iOS, iPadOS, macOS, other platforms and web. We offer you the free version “Discover” and the subscriptions “Premium” and “Premium Plus”. BIONIC READING® IN NUMBERS. • 882+ Million: TikTok search results • 1+ Billion: Mentioned in communities • 233 Countries: Where our users come from • 5.9 Million: Website visitors • 3 Platforms: With viral posts • 50+ Viral posts: From our users Bionic Reading® revises texts in such a way that the most concise parts of the words are highlighted. This guides the eye over the text and the brain remembers words already learned more quickly. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. The Bionic Reading® reading mode can be individually adapted to the needs of all readers. This flexibility allows Bionic Reading® to provide maximum customization for all users. YOU GET. • Save precious time.
 • Gain advantages.
 • Learn new things faster.
 • Expand your knowledge.
 • Improve your skills. • 
Noise-free with more focus.
 • Less distraction. FEATURES. • Download as Word file. • You can now smoothly continue your reading experience with “Bionic Reading® Reader” across platforms, as the last reading position is now saved. • Bookmarks now allow you to mark your favorite pages. • Advanced Bionic Reading® Settings with Part of speech. • Bionic Reading® Reader for your reading experience. • Bionic Reading® Library for your favourites. • Synced content. • Fixation, Sccade, Opacity. • Fixation via Letters or Syllables. • Details. • Colors. • Light Mode. Dark Mode. • Upload File, Text or Website, convert and read in the Apps. • File Conversion. • Text Conversion. • Website Conversion. • Send to Amazon® Kindle. • Download as EPUB, PDF, WORD. • Carefully selected Fonts. • Designed for the Latin alphabet. +15% HAVE READING DIFFICULTIES. More than 15% of the population has great difficulty reading and understanding texts (ADHD, dyslexia). We have received feedback from people with ADHD that thanks to Bionic Reading® they immediately understood the content of various texts the first time they read them, which was impossible without Bionic Reading®. COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK. Jessica: “Having ADHD and processing issues means that I read very slow because my brain can’t focus on the words enough to both read them and process what they mean at a decent pace. Using Bionic Reading® has allowed me to feel functional and productive when I’m reading something lengthy – it’s such a GAME CHANGER!” Lisa: “I have not read fiction for 20 years. I read what I have to read. It almost hurts my brain to read regular type. But now I will be reading fiction again! Bionic Reading® works for me and I can read 2–3 times faster! AMAZING! This is a LIFE CHANGER! Thank You!” Patrick: “OK, Bionic Reading® is the real deal. I already read quickly and this doubled it.” Reaction from Daniel: “Holy smokes you’re not kidding!” Carla: “WOW! I could read quickly and fluently using Bionic Reading®. Doing this helped me understand the context of the paragraph much better than when I have to squint and focus on each word, which tires me out and I lose focus. Bionic Reading® is brilliant!” Nestor: “Your tool is gorgeous, It’s helping me a lot. My sight is reduced because one of my transplanted corneas has become opaque and Bionic Reading® is helping me a lot to read easier and comprehend faster.” TYPOGRAPHY. DESIGN. SWITZERLAND. With over 26 years of experience in typography, we know how important it is to get text right. It’s the small details that matter enormously to make you read better. INTERNATIONAL AWARDS FOR BIONIC READING®. • German Innovation Award 2023: Gold (highest distinction) • German Design Award 2023: Gold (highest distinction)

Screenshots

Literal3 screens
Bionic Reading®4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Literal at 3.6 against Bionic Reading®'s 2.4. Literal also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and review sentiment (38% vs 26%). Bionic Reading®'s advantage is chart position (#155 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Bionic Reading® sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.95 per month. Literal asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Literal holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 107 and 155 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Literal's written reviews are positive against 26% of Bionic Reading®'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Literal ships an update every 2 weeks, Bionic Reading® every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Literal versus Bionic Reading®: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLiteralBionic Reading®
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (107 ratings) — better2.4 (155 ratings)
Positive reviews37.5% of reviews — better26.3% of reviews
Number of ratings107155 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank—#155 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB52 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperLiteral GmbHBionic Reading AG

Customer experience

Literal

All ratings62 ratings
Positive53.2%
Neutral14.5%
Negative32.3%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive37.5%
Neutral18.8%
Negative43.8%

Bionic Reading®

All ratings151 ratings
Positive30.5%
Neutral6.6%
Negative62.9%
Written reviews160 reviews
Positive26.3%
Neutral5.6%
Negative68.1%

User reviews

Literal

From 107 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Nice design and layout
  • 👍 Good alternative to Goodreads
  • 👍 Social features are good
  • 👍 Good for tracking books
  • 👍 Interactive nature of the app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App is buggy and glitchy
  • 🐛 App is outdated
  • 🐛 Many features not working
  • 🐛 Server connection issues
  • 🐛 Books missing from catalogue

Bionic Reading®

From 155 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Faster reading
  • 🔍 Helpful for ADHD and dyslexia
  • 👍 Life-changing for some users

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable app
  • 🚫 Limited functionality (no PDF support)
  • 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscription

Bugs and requests

Literal

Reported bugs

39 issues
  • App not working
  • Cannot post a review
  • Server connection issues
  • Books missing from catalogue
  • App not opening
Show 34 more
  • Lost book tracking data
  • Cannot import from Goodreads
  • Cannot access account
  • Alphabetization of authors incorrect
  • Lacks fluidity
  • Features no longer work
  • New books not being added
  • Import tools don't work
  • Export tools don't work
  • Cannot search by ISBN
  • Goodreads import doesn't work
  • GR sync not working
  • Importing problems (0 of 0 books)
  • Storygraph import issues
  • App glitches when doing anything
  • Review edits don't save
  • UX is frustrating (marking books as read)
  • Messy interface
  • Missing book covers/synopses
  • No book pages for some books
  • Review not saving, no draft available
  • iPad version broken (no save button)
  • Laggy performance
  • Cannot change email address or username
  • Yearly goal list not updating automatically
  • Duplicate titles in the database
  • Inconsistencies with tracking book editions and ISBNs
  • App changes book version
  • Cannot update which page you're on
  • Useless for non-English natives (missing books/descriptions)
  • Cannot reset password
  • Cannot sign up, only login screen
  • No sign up button
  • Waitlist required for signup

Requested features

27 requests
  • Update app for better functionality
  • Add more books to the catalogue
  • Fix import from Goodreads
  • Fix account access issues
  • Improve alphabetization of authors
Show 22 more
  • Add fluidity to the app
  • Add new books to the catalogue
  • Fix import/export tools
  • Allow searching by ISBN
  • Fix syncing issues
  • Fix review editing and saving
  • Improve user experience
  • Organize the app better
  • Add missing book information (covers, synopses, author bios)
  • Add missing book pages
  • Fix iPad version save button
  • Improve app performance (less laggy)
  • Update yearly goal list automatically
  • Add personal notes to books
  • Easier book adding (e.g., from WorldCat)
  • Remove duplicate titles
  • Fix book edition and ISBN tracking
  • Add yearly reading goals
  • Allow updating reading progress
  • Add Turkish language support
  • Add news and info on updates
  • Allow deletion of books from read shelf

Bionic Reading®

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes
  • Subscription issues (unable to upgrade, cancel, or get refunds)
  • Conversion errors and failed file uploads

Requested features

3 requests
  • Integrate with more platforms (Kindle, web browser)
  • Offer one-time purchase option instead of subscription
  • Improve customer support and communication

In-app purchases

None

Literal

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Bionic Reading®

Subscriptions4
  • Bionic Reading® Premium$2.951 Month
  • Bionic Reading® Premium Plus$12.991 Month
  • Bionic Reading® Premium$30.491 Year
Show 1 more
  • Bionic Reading® Premium Plus$128.991 Year

Questions

Is Literal free?
Literal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bionic Reading® free?
Bionic Reading® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Literal or Bionic Reading®?
Literal is rated higher. Literal averages 3.6 out of 5 from 107 ratings, while Bionic Reading® averages 2.4 from 155 ratings.
Do Literal or Bionic Reading® have ads?
Neither Literal nor Bionic Reading® shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Literal or Bionic Reading®?
Literal ships an update every 2 weeks, and Bionic Reading® every 3 weeks. Most recently, Literal was updated on November 3, 2026 and Bionic Reading® on November 3, 2026.

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