Comparison

Stanza Redux vs Readest

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

Head to head
About

Stanza Redux

This app is a free, open-source EPUB reader that allows you to browse online catalogs and manage your own digital library. Customize your reading experience with various text and color options, and navigate easily with bookmarks and a table of contents.

Highlights
  • EPUB reader
  • OPDS catalog browsing
  • Library management
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Offline reading
  • Multiple layout options
Features
Read full description

Read a chapter on the train, find your next book in an online catalog, or settle into a two-page spread at your desk. Stanza Redux is a free, open-source EPUB reader for phones, tablets, and computers. Bring your own EPUB files or browse OPDS catalogs, including Standard Ebooks, Project Gutenberg, and Ebooks Gratuits. Explore authors and subjects, see book details and covers, and download books into your library. You can add, validate, rename, and reorder your own catalogs. Browse your library by title, author, or genre. Search your books, return to recently opened titles, and keep reading without an internet connection. Your reading position is saved on this device. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is included to get you started; you can remove it at any time. Make the page comfortable: choose a typeface and text size, adjust margins and line and paragraph spacing, and switch between light, sepia, dark, or custom colors. Use a single column or a two-column layout on wide screens. Turn pages with taps, swipes, or keyboard arrows. Save bookmarks, search the table of contents, and jump within a chapter without losing your previous position. No ads, purchases, subscriptions, or account required. Your library stays on your device; browsing a catalog contacts that catalog’s server. Supports unencrypted EPUB files up to 64 MB. DRM-protected books, PDF, audiobooks, and cloud synchronization are not supported. Version 2 uses the Day framework with native controls on each platform. The interface is available in 13 languages. Source code: github.com/Stanza-Redux/Stanza-Redux

About

Readest

This app offers a versatile reading experience for various ebook formats, allowing users to manage their library, take notes, listen to audiobooks, and sync progress across devices. It supports OPDS catalogs, Calibre servers, and multiple cloud storage options for seamless access.

Highlights
  • Supports EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, CBZ, TXT, Markdown
  • OPDS catalog and Calibre server integration
  • Text-to-speech with offline voices
  • Cross-device sync via cloud services
  • Annotation and note-taking tools
  • Customizable reading settings
  • CarPlay support for audiobooks
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Readest is an ebook reader for people who read a lot, and who want their books, notes and reading position on whatever device is nearest. Open EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, CBZ, TXT and Markdown in one library. Pull books from OPDS catalogs or from your own Calibre server. Read, annotate, listen, translate. Made for iPhone and iPad • CarPlay, so you can keep listening on the road with playback controls on the dashboard • Download read-aloud voices per book and listen with no connection at all • Add books from Files, Mail or any share sheet, and read them in place instead of copying them into a second library • Open up to four books at once on iPad and arrange them how you like Reading • Paginated or scrolling, with custom fonts, themes, spacing and margins • Vertical text for CJK books • Contrast and refresh tuned for e-ink screens • Full-text search inside a book Your library • Browse, search and download from OPDS catalogs and public libraries • Connect to Calibre or Calibre-Web, covers and metadata included • Organize with bookshelf groups you can rename Notes • Highlights, bookmarks and structured notes • Copy a highlight together with a deep link back to the passage • Export your annotations Listening and languages • Text-to-speech with downloadable offline voices • Translate a sentence, a page, or an entire book • Wikipedia and dictionary lookup without leaving the page Sync • Readest Cloud, or bring your own: iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, WebDAV, S3 • KOReader sync keeps your progress in step with your e-reader • iPhone, iPad, Mac, all other platforms and the web Readest is open source. Support: support@readest.com Privacy Policy: https://readest.com/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Stanza Redux4 screens
Readest4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Readest at 4.5 against Stanza Redux's 3.8. Readest also leads on ratings volume (201 vs 4) and chart position (#192 vs unranked). Stanza Redux's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9) and review sentiment (100% vs 84%). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Readest sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Stanza Redux asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Readest holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Readest has 201 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Stanza Redux's written reviews are positive against 84% of Readest's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stanza Redux ships an update every 5 days, Readest fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Stanza Redux versus Readest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStanza ReduxReadest
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (4 ratings)4.5 (201 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better84.2% of reviews
Number of ratings4201 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank—#192 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB58 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe App Fair Project IncBilingify LLC

Customer experience

Stanza Redux

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Readest

All ratings201 ratings
Positive85.6%
Neutral6.0%
Negative8.5%
Written reviews298 reviews
Positive84.2%
Neutral5.7%
Negative10.1%

In-app purchases

None

Stanza Redux

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Readest

Subscriptions4
  • Subscribe to Plus Plan$4.991 Month
  • Subscribe to Pro Plan$9.991 Month
  • Subscribe to Plus Plan$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Subscribe to Pro Plan$99.991 Year
One-time5
  • 1 GB$9.99
  • 2 GB$14.99
  • Full Customization$19.99
Show 2 more
  • 5 GB$29.99
  • 10 GB$49.99

Questions

Is Stanza Redux free?
Stanza Redux is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Readest free?
Readest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Stanza Redux or Readest?
Readest is rated higher. Stanza Redux averages 3.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Readest averages 4.5 from 201 ratings.
Do Stanza Redux or Readest have ads?
Neither Stanza Redux nor Readest shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stanza Redux or Readest?
Stanza Redux ships an update every 5 days, and Readest fortnightly. Most recently, Stanza Redux was updated on November 7, 2026 and Readest on November 11, 2026.

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