# CHMate vs Books Reader

The clearest difference is rating: Books Reader at 4.7 against CHMate's 3.9. Books Reader also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.0). CHMate's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (55% vs 38%). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. CHMate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Books Reader sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Books Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 20 and 22 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of CHMate's written reviews are positive against 38% of Books Reader's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

CHMate ships an update every 2 weeks, Books Reader every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CHMate | Books Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.9 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chmate-epub-and-chm-reader/id335157929/reviews) | **[4.7 (22 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/books-reader-pocket-library/id1550557954/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 20 | **22** |
| Positive reviews | **55.3% of reviews** | 37.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 51 MB | 59 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | [贤安 陈](https://appshunter.io/developer/318015371) | [Villow](https://appshunter.io/developer/1550558286) |

## What reviewers say

### CHMate

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

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo 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


### Books Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/books-reader-pocket-library/id1550557954)

This app provides a seamless e-reading experience, managing your ebook collection and offering customizable reading settings. It supports various formats and includes features like bookmarking, note-taking, and a read/unread tracker.

**Highlights:** Supports multiple ebook formats (epub, fb2, mobi, PDF), Manages and organizes ebook collections, Customizable text size, color, theme, and brightness, Progress tracking and bookmarking, Note-taking and excerpt selection, Read/unread book tracker, Filtering and search functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Regular donation | $1.99 | per month |
| Regular donation | $3.99 | per month |
| Regular donation | $5.99 | per month |
| Regular donation | $9.99 | per month |
| Donation | $1.99 | one-time |
| Donation | $3.99 | one-time |
| Donation | $5.99 | one-time |
| Donation | $9.99 | one-time |
| Custom Fonts & Themes | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CHMate free?

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

### Is Books Reader free?

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

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

Books Reader is rated higher. CHMate averages 3.9 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while Books Reader averages 4.7 from 22 ratings.

### Do CHMate or Books Reader have ads?

Neither CHMate nor Books Reader shows ads.

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

CHMate ships an update every 2 weeks, and Books Reader every 3 months. Most recently, CHMate was updated on November 1, 2026 and Books Reader on October 24, 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.*