Hardcover.app vs Storyteller Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hardcover.app
This app helps you organize and discover books. Track what you've read, create custom lists, and see what friends are reading. Set reading goals and share your thoughts on books.
- Track read and to-read books
- Organize with lists and tags
- See friends' reading activity
- Discover trending books
- Rate and review books
- Set reading goals
- Track reading statistics
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Hardcover is a book tracking app with a social side, built for readers, not algorithms. Add books you’ve read or want to read. Keep your library tidy with lists and tags. See what your friends are reading, explore trending picks, and discover hidden gems through curated lists. Rate, review, and share your thoughts. Make your profile public, private, or friends-only—your reading, your rules. Set goals, track your stats, and find your reading rhythm. We use Apple's standard Terms of Service (EULA). https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Storyteller Reader
This app allows you to read EPUB ebooks with guided narration on your device. It supports immersive reading features and can sync with a self-hosted backend for automatic audiobook and ebook alignment.
- Read EPUB books
- Guided narration support
- Immersive reading
- Self-hosted backend pairing
- Automatic audiobook/ebook alignment
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Storyteller is a self-hosted platform for creating and reading ebooks with guided narration. You can use the app to read any EPUB books, including those with Media Overlays (also called “immersive reading” or “guided narration”) on your device, or you can pair it with the Storyteller self-hosted backend server, which can automatically align audiobooks and ebooks for immersive reading!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Storyteller Reader at 100% against Hardcover.app's 52%. Storyteller Reader also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.2) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ratings volume, ads 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
Both are free to download. Hardcover.app sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Storyteller Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
Storyteller Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 60 and 41 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Hardcover.app's written reviews are positive against 100% of Storyteller Reader's.
Hardcover.app ships an update every 6 months, Storyteller Reader every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hardcover.app | Storyteller Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (60 ratings) | 5.0 (41 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 60 — better | 41 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hardcover LLC | Shane Friedman |
Customer experience
Hardcover.app
Storyteller Reader
In-app purchases
Hardcover.app
- Supporter - Monthly$4.991 Month
- Supporter - Yearly$49.991 Year
Storyteller Reader
No in-app purchases
