Moby Dick! vs Vellum
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Moby Dick!
Experience Herman Melville's classic novel with an auto-scrolling feature for comfortable reading. This app provides the full text of Moby Dick, exploring themes of revenge, good versus evil, and man's place in the universe.
- Auto-scroller technology
- Full text of Moby Dick
- Explores complex themes
- Classic American literature
- Relaxing reading experience
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This reader is equipped with auto-scroller technology to make for a more relaxing and enjoyable reading experience. Moby-Dick is a novel first published in 1851 by American author Herman Melville. The story tells the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale, Moby Dick, a white sperm whale of tremendous size and ferocity. Comparatively few whaleships know of Moby Dick, and fewer yet have encountered him. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg. Ahab intends to take revenge. In Moby-Dick, Melville employs stylized language, symbolism, and metaphor to explore numerous complex themes. Through the main character's journey, the concepts of class and social status, good and evil, and the existence of gods are all examined as Ishmael speculates upon his personal beliefs and his place in the universe. The narrator's reflections, along with his descriptions of a sailor's life aboard a whaling ship, are woven into the narrative along with Shakespearean literary devices such as stage directions, extended soliloquies and asides. Often considered the embodiment of American Romanticism, Moby-Dick was first published by Richard Bentley in London on October 18, 1851 in an expurgated three-volume edition titled The Whale, and weeks later as a single volume, by New York City publisher Harper and Brothers as Moby-Dick; or, The Whale on November 14, 1851. The first line of Chapter One—"Call me Ishmael."—is one of the most famous opening lines in American literature. Although the book initially received mixed reviews, Moby-Dick is now considered one of the greatest novels in the English language and has secured Melville's place among America's greatest writers. src Wikipedia
Vellum
Access and read thousands of classic books for free, offline. Organize your reading, take personal notes, and enjoy a distraction-free experience with beautiful typography. Export books in EPUB format.
- Offline reading
- Ad-free experience
- Library management
- Personal notes and quotes
- EPUB export
- Distraction-free reader
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Read the World's Greatest Books for Free. Vellum is a completely free, offline-first library designed for lovers of classic literature. Access hundreds of masterpieces from the Project Gutenberg archives without paying a cent, viewing ads, or needing an internet connection. Why Vellum? 100% Free & No Ads: Enjoy a premium reading experience without paywalls, subscriptions, or annoying banners. Manage Your Library: Keep your reading life organized. Easily track your journey by marking books as "To Read," "Currently Reading," or "Completed." Personal Notes: capturing your thoughts has never been easier. Save favorite quotes, study notes, or personal reflections directly inside every book. Download & Keep: Save books to your device instantly. Build your personal library and read anywhere, even in airplane mode. Thousands of Titles: From Pride and Prejudice to Sherlock Holmes and The Great Gatsby, if it’s a classic, it’s here. Premium Reader: A distraction-free interface with beautiful typography optimized for comfortable reading, day or night. Open Formats: Prefer your own reader? You can export the raw EPUB files directly to other apps on your device. Private & Secure: Your reading habits and notes are stored locally on your device. We track nothing. About the Developer: Vellum was built by Imran Khan, a Senior Product Engineer and Founding Engineer at a YC startup. "I built Vellum because I believe great literature should be accessible to everyone for free. I love Project Gutenberg, but I wanted a mobile experience that felt modern and fast. I made this app to give these classic books the beautiful home they deserve, at zero cost to the reader." In his spare time, Imran researches AI and LLMs and contributes to open-source developer tools. Vellum is a labor of love, built to ensure that literature remains free and accessible to everyone, everywhere.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Vellum at 5.0 against Moby Dick!'s 4.5. Vellum also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). Moby Dick!'s advantage is ratings volume (26 vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 weeks). On price, ads, monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Moby Dick! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Vellum asks for nothing beyond the download.
Vellum holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Moby Dick! has 26 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Moby Dick! ships an update every 2 weeks, Vellum every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Moby Dick! | Vellum |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (26 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 26 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Qualex Consulting Services, Inc | Imran Khan |
Customer experience
Moby Dick!
Vellum
In-app purchases
Moby Dick!
- Remove Ads$0.99
Vellum
No in-app purchases








