Comparison

King Lear! vs Vellum

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

King Lear!

Experience Shakespeare's classic tragedy with this reader app. It features adjustable auto-scrolling speeds for a comfortable reading experience of the play's dramatic events.

Highlights
  • Classic Shakespearean tragedy
  • Auto-scrolling reader
  • Adjustable scroll speeds
  • Detailed plot summary
  • Character interactions
Features
Read full description

King Lear is a tragedy, by William Shakespeare. This reader is equipped with various auto scroller speeds to make a more pleasurable reading experience. Lear, who is old, wants to retire from power. He decides to divide his realm among his three daughters, and offers the largest share to the one who loves him best. Goneril and Regan both proclaim in fulsome terms that they love him more than anything in the world, which pleases him. Cordelia speaks temperately and honestly, which annoys him. In his anger he disinherits her, and divides the kingdom between the other two. Kent objects to this unfair treatment. Lear is further enraged by Kent's contradiction, and banishes him from the country. Cordelia's two suitors enter. Learning that she is disinherited, the Duke of Burgundy withdraws his suit, but the King of France is impressed by her honesty and marries her anyway. Lear announces he will live alternately with Goneril and Regan, and their husbands, the Dukes of Albany and Cornwall. He reserves to himself a retinue of one hundred knights, to be supported by his daughters. Goneril and Regan speak privately, agreeing that Lear is old and foolish...

About

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.

Highlights
  • Offline reading
  • Ad-free experience
  • Library management
  • Personal notes and quotes
  • EPUB export
  • Distraction-free reader
Features
Read full description

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.

Screenshots

King Lear!4 screens
Vellum3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Vellum at none against King Lear!'s 1. King Lear!'s advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 4 weeks) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.1). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. King Lear! sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Vellum asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for King Lear! against 5.0 for Vellum. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

King Lear! ships an update every 9 days, Vellum every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
King Lear! versus Vellum: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKing Lear!Vellum
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB37 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperQualex Consulting Services, IncImran Khan

Customer experience

King Lear!

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Vellum

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

King Lear!

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$0.99
None

Vellum

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is King Lear! free?
King Lear! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Vellum free?
Vellum is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, King Lear! or Vellum?
King Lear! and Vellum are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do King Lear! or Vellum have ads?
Neither King Lear! nor Vellum shows ads.
Which is updated more often, King Lear! or Vellum?
King Lear! ships an update every 9 days, and Vellum every 4 weeks. Most recently, King Lear! was updated on October 8, 2026 and Vellum on October 15, 2026.

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