Comparison

Hardcover.app vs Readest

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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/

About

Readest

This app is a powerful ebook reader designed for deep thinkers and researchers. It offers advanced annotation tools, seamless device syncing, and robust library management with OPDS and Calibre support. Enjoy a distraction-free reading experience with customizable modes and multi-book viewing for enhanced study and analysis.

Highlights
  • OPDS Online Libraries
  • Calibre Integration
  • Sync Across Devices
  • Bookshelf Management
  • Customizable Reading Modes
  • Multi-Book View
  • Advanced Annotations & Highlights
Features
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

Hardcover.app4 screens
Readest4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Readest at 85% against Hardcover.app's 52%. Readest also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months) and rating (4.5 vs 4.2). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Hardcover.app sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Readest sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Readest holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 60 and 178 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Hardcover.app's written reviews are positive against 85% of Readest's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hardcover.app ships an update every 6 months, Readest fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Hardcover.app versus Readest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHardcover.appReadest
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (60 ratings)4.5 (178 ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.4% of reviews85.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings60178 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB67 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperHardcover LLCBilingify LLC

Customer experience

Hardcover.app

All ratings60 ratings
Positive73.3%
Neutral15.0%
Negative11.7%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive52.4%
Neutral21.4%
Negative26.2%

Readest

All ratings178 ratings
Positive86.0%
Neutral5.6%
Negative8.4%
Written reviews262 reviews
Positive85.1%
Neutral5.7%
Negative9.2%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hardcover.app

Subscriptions2
  • Supporter - Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Supporter - Yearly$49.991 Year
6 purchases

Readest

Subscriptions2
  • Subscribe to Plus Plan$4.991 Month
  • Subscribe to Pro Plan$9.991 Month
One-time4
  • 1 GB$9.99
  • 2 GB$14.99
  • 5 GB$29.99
Show 1 more
  • 10 GB$49.99

Questions

Is Hardcover.app free?
Hardcover.app is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Readest free?
Readest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hardcover.app or Readest?
Readest is rated higher. Hardcover.app averages 4.2 out of 5 from 60 ratings, while Readest averages 4.5 from 178 ratings.
Do Hardcover.app or Readest have ads?
Neither Hardcover.app nor Readest shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hardcover.app or Readest?
Hardcover.app ships an update every 6 months, and Readest fortnightly. Most recently, Hardcover.app was updated on September 23, 2026 and Readest on September 22, 2026.

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