Shakespeare vs Harvard Classics
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shakespeare
Experience Shakespeare's "The Tempest" with an auto-scrolling reader designed for a comfortable reading experience. This classic comedy explores themes of freedom, repentance, and forgiveness through a magical island adventure.
- Auto-scrolling reader
- Classic Shakespearean drama
- Explores themes of freedom and forgiveness
- Detailed plot summary
- Character descriptions
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Shakespeare: The Tempest This reader is equipped with various auto scroller speeds to make a more pleasurable reading experience. This drama is one of the great comedy plays by William Shakespeare. The themes illustrated in the play are freedom, friendship , repentance and forgiveness and feature different temperaments illustrating temperance and intemperance. The plot starts when King Alonso of Naples and his entourage sail home for Italy after attending his daughter's wedding in Tunis, Africa. They encounter a violent storm, or Tempest. Everyone jumps overboard and are washed ashore on a strange island inhabited by the magician Prospero who has deliberately conjured up the storm. Prospero and Miranda live in a cave on the island which is also inhabited by Ariel, a sprite who carries out the bidding of Prospero, and the ugly, half human Caliban. Various plots against the main characters fail thanks to the magic of Prospero. The play ends with all the plotters repenting the Tempest is calmed.
Harvard Classics
Explore the history of religion, philosophy, civilization, and science through curated classic texts. This app offers a vast collection of essential readings, including the Harvard Classics, with options to read, listen, or follow along. Enjoy features like offline access, customizable reading settings, and integrated Wikipedia articles for deeper understanding.
- Curated classic texts
- Read, listen, or read-along options
- Offline access
- Integrated Wikipedia articles
- Customizable reading settings
- Bookmark and search functionality
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Guided by Dr. Eliot, the famed president of Harvard University, you will journey through the history of religion and philosophy, the history of civilization, and the history of classic science. Along the way, Dr. Eliot will introduce you to the books selected from the famed Harvard Classics. All classics you ever need to read in History and Civilization, in Philosophy and Religion, and in Science are collected in one app. Read, listen, or read-along these books of Harvard Classics, plus 50,000+ Gutenberg classics, on-line, off-line, anywhere, anytime. Text of each book is hand-reformatted for best reading experience, audio books done by experienced readers, and videos professionally presented. Inside each book, you can also explore an in-depth Wikipedia article about the author and the book, Most of the basic features for a book reader are also provided, include, page-turning, bookmarking, night reading, changing font size, changing background color, dictionary, and word and phrase looking up in search engine or Wikipedia.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Shakespeare at Free against Harvard Classics's $2.99. Shakespeare also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (33% vs 25%). Harvard Classics's advantage is rating (3.4 vs 2.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). On ads 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
Shakespeare is free to download; Harvard Classics costs $2.99 up front. Shakespeare sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Harvard Classics asks for nothing beyond the download.
Harvard Classics holds the better App Store score, 3.4 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Harvard Classics has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 33% of Shakespeare's written reviews are positive against 25% of Harvard Classics's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Shakespeare ships an update every 2 weeks, Harvard Classics every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 23, 2026.
| Parameter | Shakespeare | Harvard Classics |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 2.0 (2 ratings) | 3.4 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better | 25.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 11 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Qualex Consulting Services, Inc | himalaya-soft |
Customer experience
Shakespeare
Harvard Classics
In-app purchases
Shakespeare
- Remove Ads$0.99
Harvard Classics
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Shakespeare free?
Is Harvard Classics free?
Which has better reviews, Shakespeare or Harvard Classics?
Do Shakespeare or Harvard Classics have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shakespeare or Harvard Classics?
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