# CHMate vs Summit Reader

The clearest difference is rating: Summit Reader at 4.8 against CHMate's 3.8. Summit Reader also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 55%) and ratings volume (1.3K vs 20). CHMate's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. CHMate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Summit Reader sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Summit Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Summit Reader has 1.3K 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 86% of Summit Reader's.

CHMate ships an update every 2 months, Summit Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CHMate | Summit Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.8 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chmate-epub-and-chm-reader/id335157929/reviews) | **[4.8 (1.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/summit-reader/id1307517930/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 20 | **1.3K** |
| Positive reviews | 55.1% of reviews | **85.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 48 MB | 105 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [贤安 陈](https://appshunter.io/developer/318015371) | [三英 郑](https://appshunter.io/developer/557534657) |

## What reviewers say

### CHMate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chmate-epub-and-chm-reader/id335157929)

This app offers a robust reading experience for EPUB and CHM eBooks. Organize your library, add bookmarks and notes, and customize your reading environment. Share passages and easily search within your books.

**Highlights:** Organize eBooks into collections, Add bookmarks and notes, Customizable fonts and line height, Fast scrolling and pagination, Highlight favorite passages, Built-in search functionality, Share quotes with friends

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CHMate+ | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Excellent UI/UX design and interface
- 📖 Best CHM file reader available
- ⚡ Fast and smooth performance
- 🎨 Customizable text formatting and fonts
- 🔍 Powerful search functionality

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- 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


### Summit Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/summit-reader/id1307517930)

This app offers robust document management with unlimited storage, nested folders, and quick searching. It supports various archive formats, converts PDFs and Word docs to text, and allows easy exporting and customization of document covers. Enjoy a pleasant reading interface with diverse fonts and advanced TXT handling.

**Highlights:** Unlimited document storage, Nested folder organization, Archive format support (zip, rar, 7z), PDF/Word to text conversion, Customizable document covers, Advanced TXT chapter segmentation, Pleasant reading interface

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Extend VIP for 30 Days | $0.99 | one-time |
| Extend Membership for One Year | $4.99 | one-time |
| Extend VIP for Two Years | $7.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime VIP | $11.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Best reading app
- 🚀 Powerful features
- 🎨 Highly customizable
- 💰 Great value for money
- 🔍 Comprehensive search and download options

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs and crashes after recent updates
- 🔍 Inconsistent search and download functionality
- 🔌 Battery drain issues during audiobook playback
- 📱 Lack of multi-device sync
- 🚫 Persistent ads even for paid users

**Reported bugs**

- Playback stops unexpectedly when encountering certain symbols
- Horizontal dual-page mode cannot be disabled
- Inability to download new books after recent update
- Imported books not showing up in the library
- Settings menu and navigation buttons not working

**Requested features**

- Add support for Apple CarPlay
- Improve audiobook playback controls
- Introduce a dark mode option
- Allow custom text-to-speech voice selection
- Implement iCloud sync for bookmarks and reading progress


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CHMate free?

CHMate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Summit Reader free?

Summit Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, CHMate or Summit Reader?

Summit Reader is rated higher. CHMate averages 3.8 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while Summit Reader averages 4.8 from 1.3K ratings.

### Do CHMate or Summit Reader have ads?

Summit Reader shows ads; CHMate does not.

### Which is updated more often, CHMate or Summit Reader?

CHMate ships an update every 2 months, and Summit Reader every 3 weeks. Most recently, CHMate was updated on September 21, 2026 and Summit Reader on September 25, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*