# CHMate vs iPublishCentral Reader

CHMate and iPublishCentral Reader both sit at 3.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 55% of CHMate's written reviews are positive against 19% of iPublishCentral Reader's. CHMate also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). iPublishCentral Reader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (156 vs 20). On price, rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. CHMate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. iPublishCentral Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

CHMate holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iPublishCentral Reader has 156 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 19% of iPublishCentral Reader's.

CHMate ships an update every 2 weeks, iPublishCentral Reader every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CHMate | iPublishCentral Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.9 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chmate-epub-and-chm-reader/id335157929/reviews)** | [3.7 (156 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ipublishcentral-reader/id510322929/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 20 | **156** |
| Positive reviews | **55.3% of reviews** | 19.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 51 MB | 178 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **9.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [贤安 陈](https://appshunter.io/developer/318015371) | [iPublishCentral](https://appshunter.io/developer/419606382) |

## 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


### iPublishCentral Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ipublishcentral-reader/id510322929)

Read and manage your digital library with this app. It supports PDF and EPUB formats, allowing you to organize books, customize your reading experience with notes and highlights, and sync progress across devices. Download content from various sources, including cloud storage and email.

**Highlights:** Read PDF and EPUB ebooks, Organize books into shelves, Add notes and highlights, Bookmark pages, Sync reading progress across devices, Download content from Dropbox and email, Customize font, margins, and background

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Nice design, works well
- 🚀 Swiftly updated
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Nice App, easy to download and read
- 👍 Keeps notes updated across devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App constantly crashes
- 🐛 Notes/highlights not synced
- 🐛 Poorly built app
- 🐛 No way of writing notes
- 🐛 Deletes written notes

**Reported bugs**

- App constantly crashes
- Notes/highlights not synced between devices
- Highlighting and note-taking disappears after closing books
- Vertical scrolling resets to default every time the book is left
- App crashes every second after last update

**Requested features**

- Direct link to Bible scripture
- More colors for underlining
- Set vertical scrolling preference permanently
- Support split screen on iPad
- Improve highlighting function to avoid squares


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CHMate free?

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

### Is iPublishCentral Reader free?

iPublishCentral Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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

CHMate is rated higher. CHMate averages 3.9 out of 5 from 20 ratings, while iPublishCentral Reader averages 3.7 from 156 ratings.

### Do CHMate or iPublishCentral Reader have ads?

Neither CHMate nor iPublishCentral Reader shows ads.

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

CHMate ships an update every 2 weeks, and iPublishCentral Reader every 2 months. Most recently, CHMate was updated on October 17, 2026 and iPublishCentral Reader on October 15, 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.*