# Lysten vs Wave Reader

The clearest difference is price: Lysten at Free against Wave Reader's $0.99. Wave Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Lysten is free to download; Wave Reader costs $0.99 up front. Lysten sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Wave Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

Lysten ships an update every 2 months, Wave Reader every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Lysten | Wave Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $0.99 |
| Rating | **[4.4 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lysten-podcast-player/id1579212581/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **10** | — |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | **Freemium** | Paid |
| Size | 44 MB | 20 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ambi Studio AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/834012550) | [Bartos Martin Gwozdz](https://appshunter.io/developer/1874400025) |

## What reviewers say

### Lysten

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lysten-podcast-player/id1579212581)

Easily discover and listen to podcasts with a privacy-focused player. Enjoy features like offline listening, interactive widgets, and seamless sharing with friends. Syncs via iCloud for a personal experience.

**Highlights:** Privacy-focused design, iCloud sync for progress, Offline episode downloads, Interactive widgets, Sleep timer, Adjustable playback speed, Spotlight search indexing

**Features:** Family Sharing, Siri integration, Vision Pro support, SharePlay

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lysten+ | $1.99 | per month |
| Lysten+ Yearly | $19.99 | per year |


### Wave Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wave-reader/id6758680022)

This app provides a focused RSS reading experience without algorithmic feeds or ads. It delivers full articles, customizable reading themes, and offline access, keeping your data private and on your device.

**Highlights:** Ad-free reading experience, Full article delivery, Customizable reading themes and fonts, Offline reading capabilities, Private, local-first data storage, iCloud sync across Apple devices

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Lysten free?

Lysten is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Wave Reader free?

Wave Reader costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Lysten or Wave Reader have ads?

Neither Lysten nor Wave Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Lysten or Wave Reader?

Lysten ships an update every 2 months, and Wave Reader every 4 days. Most recently, Lysten was updated on September 24, 2026 and Wave Reader on October 1, 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.*