Stanza Redux vs Strobe
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Stanza Redux
This open-source ebook reader allows you to import and organize your EPUB library. Customize your reading experience with adjustable fonts, themes, and spacing. Discover free books from public domain catalogs and pick up where you left off.
- Import EPUB files
- Customizable reading experience
- Adjustable fonts and themes
- Browse public domain catalogs
- Organized library with cover art
- Save reading progress and bookmarks
Read full descriptionHide 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
Strobe
This app enhances reading speed and focus with a clean interface for PDFs and EPUBs. It offers customizable reading speeds, font choices, and smooth navigation to reduce eye fatigue and improve comprehension.
- RSVP reading interface
- PDF and EPUB import
- Adjustable reading speed (100-1000 WPM)
- Customizable text size and fonts
- Hold-to-read interaction
- Automatic progress saving
- Chapter navigation
Read full descriptionHide full description
Speed read your own books and documents, one word at a time. No ads, no subscription, no account. Strobe is a speed reading app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It uses Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP): each word appears in the same spot on screen, so your eyes stay still instead of scanning across lines. Import a PDF, EPUB, plain-text, or Markdown file, or paste an article, then read at 100 to 1,000 words per minute. HOLD TO READ • Press and hold to read. Let go to pause. • Slide up or down while you read to change speed without losing your place. • Swipe sideways while paused to step word by word. • Prefer hands-free? Switch to tap to play. TIMING THAT FOLLOWS THE TEXT • Smart Timing keeps longer words on screen a little longer. • Punctuation Pauses slow down at sentence ends, commas, dashes, ellipses, and closing quotes, and you set the length of each. • Complexity Timing speeds up common words and slows down rare ones. • Acronyms and hyphenated words get extra time automatically. • Blank After Sentences adds an optional moment of empty screen between sentences. A FIXED POINT FOR YOUR EYES • Each word lines up on a red focus letter, its Optimal Recognition Point (ORP). • Show the previous and next words faintly on either side. • An open quote or parenthesis stays faintly above the word until it closes. YOUR LIBRARY • Every document gets a cover, and Continue Reading takes you back to your exact word. • EPUB tables of contents and PDF bookmarks become chapters, each with its reading time at your speed. • Open the full text with your place highlighted, search for any word or phrase, and tap a word to resume from there. • Page numbers, running headers, and footers are removed on import. • Chinese, Japanese, and Korean text is split into words, and Arabic keeps its connected letterforms. MAKE IT YOURS • Seven fonts, adjustable text size, and four text colors. • A true black background for OLED screens and reading in the dark. • Every document remembers its own speed. • Keyboard shortcuts on Mac and iPad: Space to read, arrow keys to step, ⌘N for new text, ⌘O to import. • Works with VoiceOver, Larger Text, and Reduced Motion. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your documents and reading progress stay on your device. Strobe needs no account and has no ads, analytics, or tracking. FREE AND OPEN SOURCE Strobe is free, with no subscription or in-app purchases. The source code is public on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license. Strobe can't import DRM-protected EPUBs or password-protected PDFs.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Strobe at 4.9 against Stanza Redux's 3.8. Stanza Redux's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 8 days). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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.
Strobe holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 8 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Stanza Redux ships an update every 4 days, Strobe every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Stanza Redux | Strobe |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (4 ratings) | 4.9 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 8 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 8 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The App Fair Project Inc | Jaafar Abdeen |
Customer experience
Stanza Redux
Strobe
In-app purchases
Stanza Redux
No in-app purchases
Strobe
No in-app purchases









