Comparison

Amazon Kindle vs PocketBook Reader

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

Head to head
About

Amazon Kindle

Access a vast library of eBooks, magazines, and comics on your mobile device. Customize your reading experience with adjustable text, brightness, and page-turning options. Look up words, track progress, and sync across devices.

Highlights
  • Read purchased eBooks
  • Access Kindle Unlimited
  • Customizable text and display
  • Built-in dictionary and lookup
  • Track reading progress
  • Sync reading across devices
  • Listen to Audible books
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

READ ANYTIME, ANYWHERE On the bus, on your break, in your bed—never be without a book. Kindle books you have purchased on Amazon will automatically appear in your app. Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime members can select and download Kindle books directly in the app. FIND YOUR NEXT GREAT READ • Read the books you buy on Amazon in the Kindle app. Choose from over six million Kindle books (including those with Audible narration), magazines, and comics and start reading in seconds. Explore Amazon Charts best sellers and titles across genres like romance, science fiction, children’s books, self-help, religion, nonfiction, and more—and try any book with a free sample straight from the Kindle app. • Kindle Unlimited members can enjoy unlimited reading and listening, with the freedom to explore over 1 million titles, thousands of audiobooks, and current magazines. • Over 1,000 books, magazines, comics, and more included with Amazon Prime. GO BEYOND PAPER Turn your iPhone or iPad into a book with the free Kindle app—so you can read anytime, anywhere. Explore these reading features in the Kindle app: • Read your way. Customize your text size, font type, margins, text alignment, and orientation (portrait or landscape)—and choose whether to turn pages from left to right or continuously scroll. Read comfortably day and night with adjustable brightness and background colors. Go to the Aa menu in your book to get started. • Look up words, people, and places while you read. Breeze through words you don’t know and characters you can’t remember with the built-in dictionary, X-Ray, Wikipedia lookup, instant translations, and search within your book. Simply tap and hold a word to view its definition, or use the Google and Wikipedia links to get more information. • Track your reading progress. See what percent of the book you’ve read, real page numbers (for most top titles), and how much time you have left in the chapter or book based on your actual reading speed. • Bookmark places you want to revisit, and make highlights and take notes throughout your book. Open My Notebook to see all your notes in the same place. • Hop, skim, and jump with Page Flip. Flip between pages or get a bird’s-eye view of your book with Page Flip—don’t worry, we’ll save your place. • Zoom in on high-definition color images in Kindle books, magazines, comics, and manga. • Sync your books across devices. When you’re reading a book, the Kindle app will automatically sync where you left off—along with any bookmarks, highlights, or notes—so you can start reading on one device and pick up where you left off on another. • When you can’t read, listen. Switch seamlessly from reading your Kindle book to listening to the Audible book, all within the Kindle app. • Get notified when authors you love have new releases. By using this app, you agree to Amazon’s Conditions of Use (www.amazon.com/conditionsofuse) and Privacy Notice (www.amazon.com/privacy).

About

PocketBook Reader

This app is a versatile reader supporting 26 book and audio formats, including EPUB, PDF, and audiobooks. It offers features like PDF reflow, text-to-speech, cloud synchronization, and extensive customization options for a comfortable reading experience.

Highlights
  • Supports 26 book and audio formats
  • PDF Reflow function
  • Text-to-speech engine
  • Cloud synchronization service
  • Customizable interface and reading settings
  • Adobe DRM support
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

PocketBook Reader is a free app for reading all formats (books, magazines, textbooks, comic books, etc.) and listening to audiobooks! The application supports 26 book and audio formats, including mobi, epub, fb2, cbz, cbr. Read without ads and with total comfort! Choose any content - any format! • Support of 19 book formats, including the most popular - EPUB, FB2, MOBI, PDF, DJVU, DOCX, RTF, TXT, HTML; • Comic book formats CBR and CBZ; • Open books protected with Adobe DRM (PDF, EPUB); • PDF Reflow function (reflow text in PDF files). Listen to audiobooks! • You can listen to audiobooks and other audio files in MP3, M4B, and take notes in them; • Built-in TTS (Text-to-speech) engine for the voicing of the text files. Download and sync content easily! • Free PocketBook Cloud service for synchronizing all your books, including audiobooks, as well as reading positions, notes and bookmarks on all your devices; • Your files from Dropbox or Google Books services are easily connected to the app to create one consolidated library. You can even connect multiple accounts at the same time; • Support for OPDS catalogs - get access to network libraries; • ISBN scanner, for quick search of electronic versions of books by barcode; • Opportunity to borrow books and periodicals; • If you have a E Ink e-reader PocketBook, you can easily synchronize all your books and accounts just by scanning a QR code. Ready to switch from another app? No problem! Getting started with PocketBook Reader is easy! With an intuitive interface, the application provides you with unprecedented freedom – lots of options for settings and no restrictions. Choose, change, customize, and personalize! • Intuitive interface, easy navigation, and minimalistic design; • Opportunity to choose one of the seven interface color themes, reassign the buttons and display areas; • Two night-reading modes - for better reading comfort anytime; • Adjust the font style, font size, line spacing, and margin size; • Animation of turning pages; • Opportunity to crop margins – make the page look exactly the way you want. Get fast file access and easy search! • All files are quickly found and instantly opened, even with built-in audio and video fragments; • Your books will never be lost in the device’s memory - thanks to the smart search, scanning files on your tablet or smartphone is a matter of seconds. Any file or document can be found in a few clicks! • The app allows you to sort books, create collections, filter and mark files as you like. Your library - your rules; • Convenient managing of audio files - it is easy to sort and play your audiobooks. Make bookmarks, take notes, add comments! • You can quickly find all your notes and share them with friends via email or messengers; • Collect all your notes, bookmarks, and comments into separate files for even greater convenience. PocketBook Reader was created by avid readers for avid readers, and that’s why it’s probably the best e-book reader app.

Screenshots

Amazon Kindle4 screens
PocketBook Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Amazon Kindle at 4.9 against PocketBook Reader's 4.5. Amazon Kindle also leads on ratings volume (5.8M vs 9.8K) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). PocketBook Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Amazon Kindle sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $13.99 per month and PocketBook Reader sells 41 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Amazon Kindle holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Amazon Kindle has 5.8M ratings behind it against 9.8K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Amazon Kindle's written reviews are positive against 54% of PocketBook Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Amazon Kindle ships an update fortnightly, PocketBook Reader every 2 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Amazon Kindle versus PocketBook Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAmazon KindlePocketBook Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (5.8M ratings) — better4.5 (9.8K ratings)
Positive reviews68.1% of reviews — better54.5% of reviews
Number of ratings5.8M — better9.8K
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#4 — better#157
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size198 MB106 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperAMZN Mobile LLCPocketbook International SA

Customer experience

Amazon Kindle

All ratings5,849,569 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews8,291 reviews
Positive68.1%
Neutral8.7%
Negative23.1%

PocketBook Reader

All ratings9,831 ratings
Positive87.4%
Neutral3.9%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews1,336 reviews
Positive54.5%
Neutral11.8%
Negative33.8%

User reviews

Amazon Kindle

From 5.8M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📚 Huge library of books
  • 📱 Portable and convenient
  • 🔍 Useful features like dictionary lookup and highlighting
  • 🌙 Adjustable reading settings (font, brightness, etc.)
  • 🔁 Seamless syncing across devices

Room to improve

  • 🛒 Cannot purchase books directly in the app
  • 🗂️ Difficulty organizing and managing large book libraries
  • 🔍 Inconsistent behavior when highlighting/taking notes
  • 🔄 Unreliable syncing between devices
  • 🔌 Drains device battery quickly

PocketBook Reader

From 9.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient reading experience
  • 🚀 Smooth scrolling
  • 💡 Customizable settings (font, margin, etc.)
  • 🔒 Supports DRM-protected content
  • 👍 Intuitive user interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Unreliable cloud sync
  • 🐛 Inconsistent page rendering
  • 🐛 Buggy text highlighting and annotation
  • 🐛 Slow loading times

Bugs and requests

Amazon Kindle

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes when switching between apps
  • Incompatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Dictionary lookup feature not working reliably

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to create and manage collections/folders for books
  • Option to easily see which books have been read vs unread
  • Improved highlighting and note-taking functionality
  • Better syncing between Kindle devices and apps
  • Dark mode and other customization options

PocketBook Reader

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Books disappearing from library after login issues
  • Inability to open DRM-protected PDFs
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes
  • Text-to-speech voice quality issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to organize books into custom folders
  • Option to disable quick action zones
  • Improved text-to-speech controls (seek, pause, etc.)
  • Support for handwritten annotations with Apple Pencil
  • Faster page turning and scrolling

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Amazon Kindle

Subscriptions2
  • Kindle Unlimited$13.991 Month
  • Kindle Unlimited1 Month trial$13.991 Month
One-time10
  • 140 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US)$1.39
  • 100 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US)$1.39
  • 140 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US)$1.99
Show 7 more
  • 368 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US)$3.49
  • 300 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US)$3.99
  • 368 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US)$4.99
  • 770 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US)$6.99
  • 770 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US)$9.99
  • 900 Tokens - Kindle Vella (US)$11.49
  • 2000 Tokens - Kindle Vella(US)$23.99
41 purchases

PocketBook Reader

One-time41
  • eBook3 variants$0.99
  • eBook (class A)$0.99
  • eBook2 variants$1.99
Show 38 more
  • eBook (class B)$1.99
  • eBook$2.95
  • eBook2 variants$2.99
  • eBook (class C)$2.99
  • eBook3 variants$3.99
  • eBook: type 4.79$3.99
  • eBook: type 4.19$3.99
  • eBook (class D)$3.99
  • eBook (class Alt5)$4.99
  • eBook: type 5.39$4.99
  • eBook (class F)$4.99
  • eBook: type 5.89$4.99
  • eBook$4.99
  • eBook: type 5.09$4.99
  • eBook (class G)$5.99
  • eBook2 variants$5.99
  • eBook: type 7.09$5.99
  • eBook: type 7.19$5.99
  • eBook: type 8.29$6.99
  • eBook: type 7.59$6.99
  • eBook3 variants$7.99
  • eBook: type 8.89$7.99
  • eBook (class J)$8.99
  • eBook$8.99
  • eBook$9.90
  • eBook2 variants$9.99
  • eBook (class L)$10.99
  • eBook: type 13.9$11.90
  • eBook$11.99
  • eBook: type 12.99$11.99
  • eBook$12.99
  • eBook (class N)$12.99
  • eBook (class O)$13.99
  • eBook: type 17.9$14.90
  • eBook$14.99
  • eBook (class R)$16.99
  • eBook (class T)$18.99
  • eBook (class W)$21.99

Questions

Is Amazon Kindle free?
Amazon Kindle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PocketBook Reader free?
PocketBook Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Amazon Kindle or PocketBook Reader?
Amazon Kindle is rated higher. Amazon Kindle averages 4.9 out of 5 from 5.8M ratings, while PocketBook Reader averages 4.5 from 9.8K ratings.
Do Amazon Kindle or PocketBook Reader have ads?
Neither Amazon Kindle nor PocketBook Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Amazon Kindle or PocketBook Reader?
Amazon Kindle ships an update fortnightly, and PocketBook Reader every 2 months. Most recently, Amazon Kindle was updated on September 24, 2026 and PocketBook Reader on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Amazon Kindle or PocketBook Reader?
Amazon Kindle currently peaks at #4 in the App Store charts, and PocketBook Reader at #157. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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