# CHMate vs BookLingo

The clearest difference is price: CHMate at Free against BookLingo's $5.99. CHMate also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks). BookLingo's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 55%) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

CHMate is free to download; BookLingo costs $5.99 up front. CHMate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. BookLingo asks for nothing beyond the download.

CHMate ships an update every 2 weeks, BookLingo every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CHMate | BookLingo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $5.99 |
| Rating | **[3.9 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chmate-epub-and-chm-reader/id335157929/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **20** | — |
| Positive reviews | 55.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 51 MB | 61 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **17** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | +4 | 17+ |
| Developer | [贤安 陈](https://appshunter.io/developer/318015371) | [henri gil](https://appshunter.io/developer/498565852) |

## 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


### BookLingo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/booklingo-translate-learn/id6450839879)

Learn new languages by reading foreign books. Instantly translate words, build custom vocabulary lists, and practice with flashcards and quizzes. Track your progress and learn offline.

**Highlights:** Translate words in foreign books, Extract and save new vocabulary, Create interactive flashcards, Take language quizzes, Track learning progress, Offline mode for learning

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CHMate free?

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

### Is BookLingo free?

BookLingo costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do CHMate or BookLingo have ads?

Neither CHMate nor BookLingo shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CHMate or BookLingo?

CHMate ships an update every 2 weeks, and BookLingo every 5 weeks. Most recently, CHMate was updated on November 6, 2026 and BookLingo on November 7, 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.*