Comparison

Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader vs True Epub

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

Head to head
About

Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader

Features
Read full description

A bookshelf for your PDFs and Markdown files, on iPhone and iPad. Bring in files from the cloud or the Files app, turn their pages in two-page spreads, and write on them with Apple Pencil. Made for you if • You want to read scanned books and comics in spreads, the way you read them on paper • You read papers and documents and want to write notes on them with Apple Pencil • You keep notes, AI chat logs or READMEs in Markdown and want to read them calmly, page by page • Your PDFs are scattered across cloud services and you want them on one shelf Collect: PDFs and Markdown on one shelf From "Add Books", bring in files from any place that appears in the Files app, such as iCloud Drive, Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox. You can also open Lectio from the share sheet in another app, or drag and drop files onto the shelf. A Markdown (.md) file becomes an A4 PDF with its headings, lists, tables and code laid out, and takes its place on the shelf. The same file is never added twice, and password-protected PDFs can be added too. Books are kept on your device, so you can read them without a connection. Lectio only reads your cloud files and never changes or deletes them. Read: turn pages like a book Each book remembers its layout (two-page, single page or vertical scroll) and its left or right binding. Right-bound books lay out their spreads from right to left, so comics and vertical text read in their natural direction. Swipe or press the arrow keys to turn the page, and tap the page to hide the buttons. Lectio remembers where you stopped, so the next time you open a book you carry on from there. Switch the page color to night or sepia, adjust the brightness, and keep the screen on while you read. Write: Apple Pencil and four highlight colors Turn on Handwriting in the toolbar and a tool palette appears. Write directly on the page with Apple Pencil or your finger, choose pens, colors and the eraser, and your writing stays with each page. Highlight text in yellow, green, pink or blue, and find your highlights again under Highlights in the sidebar. Press and hold text to copy it, look it up or search the book for it, and tap links on the page. Find: contents, thumbnails and text search Jump to a chapter from the table of contents, or to any page from the thumbnail grid or by its page number. Search the text of a book and each match is highlighted in yellow. Books made from Markdown are searchable too. In the library, find books by name. Organize: favorites, bookmarks and collections Each cover shows how far you have read: New, a percentage, or Finished, and you can sort by Recently Read. See your favorite books, bookmarked pages and highlights in lists. A bookmark keeps the opening words of its page, so you know where you left it. Sort books into collections and arrange them in any order you like. Rename books, or select several to share them, add them to a collection or delete them in one go. Deleted books stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days, where you can bring them back. Widget, Spotlight and Handoff The Home Screen widget shows the books you read recently, and tapping one opens it where you left off. Search for books in Spotlight by name or by words in the text. With Handoff, pass the book and page you are reading to another iPhone or iPad that has the same PDF. iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo Lectio supports iPhone Duo. Read on the outer display when it is closed, and in spreads on the large inner display when you open it. The buttons sit in the vertical bar along the edge, out of the way of the page. Keyboard, remotes and VoiceOver Press ⌘O to add books, ⌘F to search, ⌘B to bookmark and ⌘W to close. Pages turn with the arrow keys, so a Bluetooth keyboard or a page-turner remote that sends arrow keys works too. VoiceOver and Dark Mode are supported. You can also share and print your books. Start by tapping + in the library and add your first book.

About

True Epub

This app allows you to easily open and read EPUB documents. Customize your reading experience by adjusting font size, adding highlights, and taking notes. Import files directly from your device or through the share menu.

Highlights
  • Open EPUB documents
  • Adjustable font size
  • Create highlights
  • Add notes
  • Import via Files app
  • Import via Share menu
Features
Read full description

True Epub is an EPUB reader built to help you open and read EPUB documents faster and more comfortably.
Import EPUBs directly from the Files app using the in-app Open button, or add them via the Share menu.
Adjust the font size for supplementary/reference content, create highlights and notes to capture what matters, and quickly revisit key parts later.

Screenshots

Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader4 screens
True Epub4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader at every 2 days against True Epub's fortnightly. True Epub's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 27.0). 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

Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader ships an update every 2 days, True Epub fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader versus True Epub: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLectio Markdown / PDF ReaderTrue Epub
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS27.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developercaps-rockByung-woo Hwang

In-app purchases

None

Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader

No in-app purchases

None

True Epub

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader free?
Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is True Epub free?
True Epub is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader or True Epub have ads?
Neither Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader nor True Epub shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader or True Epub?
Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader ships an update every 2 days, and True Epub fortnightly. Most recently, Lectio Markdown / PDF Reader was updated on October 24, 2026 and True Epub on October 14, 2026.

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