CHMate vs Interchange
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CHMate
Transform your personal ebook files into a comfortable reading experience with a customizable virtual bookshelf. Enjoy tailored typography, import your own fonts, and organize your collection with decorative elements and personal photos. Read EPUB and CHM files offline with powerful search and annotation tools.
- Customizable virtual bookshelf with ambient lighting
- Decorate shelves with photos, videos, and ornaments
- Tailored typography with adjustable fonts and page colors
- Import custom font files
- Read EPUB and CHM files offline
- Full-text search and annotation tools
- Local Wi-Fi file transfer
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Default ebook formatting does not always suit the way you read. CHMate turns your personal files into a calm, comfortable reading corner. A customizable wooden bookshelf with an ambient lamp and personal decor. Download free. Unlock multiple books with a single one-time purchase. A BOOKSHELF OF YOUR OWN • Wooden shelves and ambient lamp: Display your personal collection with warm bookshelf lighting. • Shelf decor: Arrange animated ornaments, plants, paintings, and shelf-edge figures. • Personal memories: Decorate with photos, Live Photos, or silent looping videos (MP4/MOV). • Custom layout: Freely move, resize, and favorite your decor items. TAILORED TYPOGRAPHY • Page colors: Choose from six page colors independently of your typography theme, with light, dark, or automatic appearance. • Precise reading controls: Adjust font size, line height, page margins, and fonts for body, headings, and code. • Custom font import: Read with built-in fonts or import your own font files. • Horizontal and vertical reading: Switch text orientation where supported for Chinese and Japanese text. • iCloud theme sync: Save your custom typography themes and sync them across your devices. TOOLS & LOCAL IMPORT • Supported formats: Read your own EPUB and CHM files with structured table of contents navigation. • Local Wi-Fi transfer: Send files directly from your computer browser over your local network. • Reading tools: Search full text across chapters, add highlights, and review notes in one place. HONEST PRICING • Free download with complete reading features for your current book. • Unlock multiple books with a single one-time in-app purchase. • No subscriptions and no ads.
Interchange
Convert and read a wide variety of ebook formats, including DRM-protected files. Offers extensive customization for reading, note-taking, and book management. Supports multiple import methods and file decompression.
- Multiple ebook format conversion
- DRM removal for Kindle books
- Customizable ebook reader layout
- Note-taking and bookmarking
- Customizable book covers
- Multiple page-turning methods
- Comic reading support
- Advanced book management
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Functional Features 1. Supports multiple format conversions: txt, epub, mobi, azw, azw3, prc, pdf, markdown, docx, htmlz, fb2, etc. For txt files, automatically extract chapter directories. 2. Support removing DRM protected book files (Kindle DRM). 3. A comprehensive e-book reader that supports multiple formats: txt epub、mobi、azw、azw3、prc、pdf。 Powerful custom layout layout, including line spacing, paragraph spacing, first line indentation, top and bottom spacing, left and right spacing, custom background, custom font, global progress drag, and global search. Rich note taking and bookmarking functions. 4. Support custom book covers, online search, and album selection, even txt can have beautiful covers. Simultaneously editable, cropped, and filtered. 5. Provide multiple page turning methods, including overlay, translation, simulation, scrolling, automatic scrolling reading, landscape reading, and dual column reading. 6. Supports comic reading, with maximum screen ratio and maximum clarity for reading comics. Support scrolling mode for reading comics. 7. Powerful book management function, supporting grouping, renaming, sorting, dragging and merging groups, batch deletion, and moving operations. 8. Support modifying book element data such as title, author, ASIN, ISBN, time, publisher, etc. 9. Multiple file transfer methods, importing book files through WiFi, computer, Baidu cloud storage, local devices, and other application sharing methods for convenience and ease. 10. Quickly decompress compressed files such as zip, rar, 7z, etc. 11. Password protection function, can set gesture password, facial recognition unlock. 12. There are more features waiting for you to explore. [Automatic Subscription Instructions] --Subscription period: 1 month --Price: ¥ 18 --Subscription auto renewal, unless auto renewal is closed at least 24 hours before the end of the current term. --Payment will be charged to iTunes account upon confirmation of purchase --The account will receive renewal fees within 24 hours before the end of the current period, and the renewal fees will be determined --Subscription can be managed by users themselves, and automatic subscription can be disabled by entering their personal account on the App Store after purchase --If any unused portion of the free trial period is provided, it will be forfeited upon the user's purchase of the publication's subscription (if applicable) --Subscription period: 1 year --Price: ¥ 30 --Subscription auto renewal, unless auto renewal is closed at least 24 hours before the end of the current term --Payment will be charged to iTunes account upon confirmation of purchase --The account will receive renewal fees within 24 hours before the end of the current period, and the renewal fees will be determined --Subscription can be managed by users themselves, and automatic subscription can be disabled by entering their personal account on the App Store after purchase --If any unused portion of the free trial period is provided, it will be forfeited upon the user's purchase of the publication's subscription (if applicable) --Service Terms: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_a02518890102xuoh.html --Privacy Policy: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_a02518890102xtq4.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: CHMate at free with in-app purchases against Interchange's subscription. Interchange's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (73% vs 55%). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. CHMate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Interchange sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Interchange holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Interchange has 212 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of CHMate's written reviews are positive against 73% of Interchange's.
CHMate ships an update every 2 weeks, Interchange every 6 days. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | CHMate | Interchange |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (20 ratings) | 4.3 (212 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 55.3% of reviews | 73.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 20 | 212 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 12.2 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 103 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 17+ |
| Developer | 贤安 陈 | 小龙 刘 |
Customer experience
CHMate
Interchange
User reviews
CHMate
From 20 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Excellent UI/UX design and interface
- 📖 Best CHM file reader available
- ⚡ Fast and smooth performance
- 🎨 Customizable text formatting and fonts
- 🔍 Powerful search functionality
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- ⚠️ iCloud sync deletes files irreversibly
- 💰 Expensive pricing for functionality
- 🔄 Highlighting and annotations don't persist
- 📱 Compatibility issues with iOS updates
Interchange
From 212 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and quick conversion speeds
- 👍 Easy to use interface
- 📁 Supports multiple file formats
- 💰 Free version available
- 📧 Can send files to Kindle
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and crashes on cover changes
- 😤 Intrusive and excessive advertising
- ❌ Poor conversion quality for PDFs
- 🔤 Confusing and non-intuitive UI
- 🌐 Inconsistent English localization
Bugs and requests
CHMate
Reported bugs
13 issues- App crashes when searching CHM files
- Crashes when using tap-hold for bookmarking
- Highlighting functionality broken after iOS updates
- Notes and bookmarks not saving properly
- Highlights disappear or move between chapters
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- App crashes on startup or when opening files
- Table of contents index expansion broken
- Custom fonts blocked after iOS 14.5 update
- Files not accessible via iCloud or Dropbox
- Missing icons after updates
- Images display as half-dark or missing
- Text formatting changes not visible without page reload
- First line spacing issues
Requested features
12 requests- Dark mode and additional color themes (Sepia)
- Book cover display instead of text-only library view
- PDF support
- Text-to-speech functionality
- Better pagination options
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- iPad Pro resolution support
- iOS multi-window support
- Better bookmark functionality
- Separate highlighting and annotation tools
- Support for Cyrillic and Arabic text encoding
- Collection/folder organization for multiple files
- Zip file support for documentation sets
Interchange
Reported bugs
11 issues- App crashes when changing covers
- Ad close buttons are too small or non-functional
- Converted files show as 0 bytes
- App crashes when deleting empty files
- Pro version features still require upgrade prompts
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- Converted PDFs have missing images and jumbled text
- Files vanish after sending to Kindle
- Conversion fails despite payment
- App shows ads instead of converting files
- Cover metadata not preserved in conversions
- Right-to-left text displays incorrectly
Requested features
8 requests- Batch conversion capability
- Right-to-left text support for Arabic books
- Proper cover image inclusion in conversions
- Unlimited conversions
- iPad Pro landscape orientation support
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- Ability to send files to Kindle over WiFi
- Bookmark synchronization across devices
- Better ad implementation with working close buttons
In-app purchases
CHMate
- CHMate+$9.99
Interchange
- UNLOCK ALL FEATURES, REMOVE AD$2.491 Month
- UNLOCK ALL FEATURES, REMOVE AD$4.991 Year
- REMOVE ALL ADS$1.99
- Conversions+50$1.99
- All formats2 variants$1.99
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- Conversions+600$2.99
- Conversions+1000$3.99
- ALL ACCESS, REMOVING AD$9.99
- All advanced features$9.99







