# Sharpen vs Wiley Reader

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Wiley Reader at none against Sharpen's 8. Wiley Reader also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). Sharpen's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Sharpen sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month. Wiley Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Sharpen against 4.8 for Wiley Reader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.3K and 1.1K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 40% of Sharpen's written reviews are positive against 46% of Wiley Reader's.

Sharpen ships an update fortnightly, Wiley Reader every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Sharpen | Wiley Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (3.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sharpen-college-exam-prep/id1595642363/reviews) | **[4.8 (1.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wiley-reader/id1620356548/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3.3K** | 1.1K |
| Positive reviews | 40.0% of reviews | **46.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 194 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [McGraw-Hill](https://appshunter.io/developer/325792150) | [Wiley](https://appshunter.io/developer/334132751) |

## What reviewers say

### Sharpen

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sharpen-college-exam-prep/id1595642363)

This app revolutionizes college exam preparation by assessing knowledge, identifying improvement areas, and offering personalized AI-driven study recommendations. It provides various study tools like quizzes, flashcards, videos, and AI-powered assistance to boost exam readiness.

**Highlights:** AI-driven study recommendations, Personalized knowledge gap analysis, Multiple quiz modes, Bite-sized video lessons, Interactive flashcards, AI study buddy for topic breakdown, Textbook-aligned content

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sharpen+ | $11.99 | per month |
| Sharpen+ | $17.99 | per month |
| Sharpen+ | $17.99 | per month |
| Sharpen+ 3 month | $29.99 | per 3 months |
| Sharpen+ 3 month | $29.99 | per 3 months |
| Sharpen+ 12 month BTS | $59.99 | per year |
| Sharpen+ 12 month | $89.99 | per year |
| Sharpen+ 12 month | $89.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Helpful study tools
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 💡 Directly tied to textbooks
- 👍 Useful for exam preparation

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Login and sign-in issues
- 💰 Subscription-based model
- 🤔 Limited subject coverage

**Reported bugs**

- Incorrect answer registrations
- Repeated questions across chapters
- Inability to restart quizzes
- Crashing and freezing issues

**Requested features**

- Expand subject coverage to include more disciplines
- Improve stability and reduce crashes
- Add support for landscape mode and multitasking on iPad
- Provide more variety and randomization of practice questions


### Wiley Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wiley-reader/id1620356548)

Access and read your Wiley eBooks offline, with text-to-speech functionality. Sync notes, highlights, and bookmarks across devices for a personalized learning experience.

**Highlights:** Offline eBook access, Text-to-speech functionality, Sync notes, highlights, and bookmarks, Personalized display settings, Access Wiley books anywhere

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 💾 Convenient for reading on the go
- 🔊 Text-to-speech feature
- 🔍 Helpful sample problems and explanations
- 📚 Well-designed for textbook reading

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and unstable performance
- 🤖 Poor navigation and user experience
- 🔍 Unreliable search and highlighting functionality
- 🔒 Lack of annotation and note-taking features

**Reported bugs**

- Pages not loading correctly
- Inability to log in or access account
- Inconsistent text formatting and layout
- Playback issues with text-to-speech

**Requested features**

- Add annotation and scribbling capabilities
- Improve page navigation and swiping
- Enhance search functionality and result display
- Sync highlights and notes across devices


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Sharpen free?

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

### Is Wiley Reader free?

Wiley Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Sharpen or Wiley Reader?

Wiley Reader is rated higher. Sharpen averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.3K ratings, while Wiley Reader averages 4.8 from 1.1K ratings.

### Do Sharpen or Wiley Reader have ads?

Neither Sharpen nor Wiley Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Sharpen or Wiley Reader?

Sharpen ships an update fortnightly, and Wiley Reader every 5 weeks. Most recently, Sharpen was updated on November 9, 2026 and Wiley Reader on November 7, 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.*