eLinus vs Fan Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
eLinus
Access a vast collection of academic literature instantly on your mobile device. Sync your progress across platforms and customize your reading experience with adjustable fonts, sizes, and modes. Visit linusebooks.com for the optimal experience.
- Large academic library access
- Cross-platform syncing
- Customizable fonts and sizes
- Adjustable reading modes
- Instant access on mobile
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eLinus allows you to read a large library of academic material instantly on your smartphone or tablet. eLinus syncs your eBooks and other materials across multiple platforms to ensure that you can pick up where you left off. eLinus also has customization options that let you choose your font, size, and reading mode to tailor your reading experience. To access eLinus, visit linusebooks.com for the best experience.
Fan Reader
This app offers a streamlined reading experience for web fiction, removing forum clutter to present stories in a clean, book-like format. It allows users to organize their favorite web serials, track reading progress, and search for new content across various platforms.
- Removes forum clutter for focused reading
- Organizes web fiction stories on a personal shelf
- Displays cover art, synopsis, and chapter lists
- Searchable story database
- Adjustable font size and themes
- Automatic progress saving
- Clean chapter navigation
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Fan Reader is a clean reading app for web fiction fans. If you read stories on SpaceBattles, Sufficient Velocity, Archive of Our Own, Royal Road, FanFiction.Net, or Wildbow's serials, Fan Reader strips away the forum clutter and gives you a focused, book-like reading experience. WHAT IT DOES - Unified library — Add stories from SB, SV, Royal Road, AO3, and FFN to one bookshelf - Beautiful reading — Dark, Light, and Eye Care themes with adjustable font, size, and line spacing - Smart search — Find stories across SB, SV, RR, and AO3 with one search, or browse AO3's full catalog with filters - Full FFN support — Paste any FanFiction.Net URL for a clean, ad-free reading experience on the platform's worst-designed mobile site - Chapter navigation — Quick chapter list, next/prev buttons, reading progress tracking - Paste any URL — Drop a story link from any supported platform and start reading instantly - Chapter preloading — Faster page turns on all platforms - No account required — Everything stored locally on your device Fan Reader doesn't store or cache story content on any server. Stories load directly from their original platforms through your device.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Fan Reader at 4.2 against eLinus's 2.6. Fan Reader also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 67%). eLinus's advantage is iOS requirement (12.1 vs 17.0). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Fan Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of eLinus's written reviews are positive against 80% of Fan Reader's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | eLinus | Fan Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.6 (5 ratings) | 4.2 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5 | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Linus Learning | 成文 郑 |
Customer experience
eLinus
Fan Reader
In-app purchases
eLinus
No in-app purchases
Fan Reader
No in-app purchases
