Comparison

ShortBook vs A FB2 Reader

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

Head to head
About

ShortBook

This application offers a comfortable reading experience for fb2 format books on your iPhone. It features a handy interface, night reading mode, quick bookmarking, and customizable font settings. It also supports XDXF dictionaries for instant word definitions.

Highlights
  • FB2 ebook reading
  • Night reading mode
  • Quick bookmarking
  • Customizable font and size
  • XDXF dictionary support
  • Wi-Fi book downloading
Currently charting
Read full description

ShortBook is an electronic book reader using unique capabilities of your iPhone. It has everything that is necessary for comfortable reading of books in fb2 format: contents, figures, footnotes and unique text makeup. Handy interface allows finding books quickly and reading them with comfort. Night reading mode will reduce discomfort for those who suffer from sleeplessness and Quick Bookmark function will ensure free browsing through a book. Book downloading is available via Wi-Fi being handily implemented through the web browser. For your further comfort there are options of choosing font, its size and other settings. The program supports dictionaries in XDXF format. Detaining a finger on a word and activating the button of searching through dictionaries, you'll virtually in a matter of seconds learn the meaning of the tricky word. Reading can be quickly restarted after a break with one touch of the screen. Don’t seek for compromises, use ShortBook. With ShortBook even a big book will become short.

About

A FB2 Reader

This free application allows you to read your favorite FB2 format ebooks on your iPad and iPhone. Easily import books from various sources, customize your reading experience with adjustable fonts and color schemes, and navigate your library with ease.

Highlights
  • Read FB2 ebooks
  • Import from web, iTunes, and cloud drives
  • Adjustable fonts, spacing, and width
  • Three color schemes
  • Easy navigation and page turning
  • Sort books by various criteria
  • Book image gallery
Features
Read full description

A FB2 Reader lets you read your favorite books on iPad without any restrictions and hidden fees. A FB2 Reader completely free ebook reading application, you can collect unlimited number of titles in your Library and read them for you own pleasure. Application optimized for all iPad and iPhone models and high resolution Retina Display graphics. It is possible to load ebooks in fb2 format into application by a number of way, like: - download fb2 books using your favorite web browser application and open it with A FB2 Reader using "Open In..." iSO feature - use iTunes file sharing to copy files from you computer - import books from you preferred cloud drive - Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive currently supported, more options coming in next versions A FB2 Reader features: - Turn pages with a tap or swipe - Easy navigation inside the book - Open electronic books from any source - Automatically expands fb2 files from zip archive - Adjustable fonts and font sizes - Adjustable line spacing - Adjustable page width - Three color schemes - Sort books by File name, Book Title, Author or Recently opened - Book Information Page - Book Images Gallery View - all embedded images on one page - Book sharing - possible to transfer book to any destination supported by iOS or any application which can handle this file type

Screenshots

ShortBook3 screens
A FB2 Reader3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: A FB2 Reader at Free against ShortBook's $4.99. A FB2 Reader also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (67% vs 57%). ShortBook's advantage is rating (3.9 vs 3.4) and chart position (#147 vs unranked). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

A FB2 Reader is free to download; ShortBook costs $4.99 up front. ShortBook sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. A FB2 Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ShortBook holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 5 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 57% of ShortBook's written reviews are positive against 67% of A FB2 Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShortBook ships an update monthly, A FB2 Reader every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 29, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
ShortBook versus A FB2 Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShortBookA FB2 Reader
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (14 ratings) — better3.4 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews57.4% of reviews67.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14 — better5
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#147 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better9.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB18 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperJury ShortkiYuri Staloverov

Customer experience

ShortBook

All ratings14 ratings
Positive78.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative21.4%
Written reviews197 reviews
Positive57.4%
Neutral10.2%
Negative32.5%

A FB2 Reader

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews70 reviews
Positive67.1%
Neutral5.7%
Negative27.1%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

ShortBook

One-time2
  • "Sub rosa dictum" style$0.99
  • "Para bellum"$0.99
None

A FB2 Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ShortBook free?
ShortBook costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is A FB2 Reader free?
A FB2 Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ShortBook or A FB2 Reader?
ShortBook is rated higher. ShortBook averages 3.9 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while A FB2 Reader averages 3.4 from 5 ratings.
Do ShortBook or A FB2 Reader have ads?
Neither ShortBook nor A FB2 Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ShortBook or A FB2 Reader?
ShortBook ships an update monthly, and A FB2 Reader every 2 weeks. Most recently, ShortBook was updated on September 29, 2026 and A FB2 Reader on September 29, 2026.

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