Bluefire Reader vs Thorium Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Bluefire Reader
This application allows users to read EPUB and PDF ebooks on their iPhone or iPad. It supports Adobe® Content Server protected content from various retailers, publishers, and libraries, offering features like bookmarking, notes, and search for a customized reading experience.
- Read EPUB and PDF ebooks
- Supports Adobe Content Server protected content
- Bookmarking and notes
- Search functionality
- Customizable reading experience
- Collections management
Read full descriptionHide full description
Bluefire Reader is the best way to read Adobe® Content Server protected ebooks on your iPhone or iPad. With Bluefire Reader you can read EPUB and PDF ebooks from many retailers, publishers and libraries. This full featured ereader app includes bookmarking, notes, search, collections, batch import and export, and settings for fully customizing your reading experience Bookstores, libraries and schools around the world tap Bluefire to design and develop their mission critical apps. Try Bluefire Reader today and see why.
Thorium Reader
Organize all your ebooks, comics, and manga in a single app. Customize your reading experience with adjustable text, fonts, and themes. Listen to audiobooks and zoom into visual content with ease.
- Unified bookshelf for all content
- Adjustable text size and spacing
- Multiple font options
- Text-to-speech audio playback
- Zoom for comics and manga
- Offline dictionary and translation
- Import EPUB, PDF, CBZ files
Read full descriptionHide full description
Looking for an app where you can bring all your ebooks, comics and manga in one place? That’s what we built Thorium Reader for. Read it your way Everyone’s different, that’s why we want you to be fully in control: • Adjust text size, switch between color schemes with themes and control spacing. • 10+ fonts available, including specialized ones. • You prefer audio? Listen to any ebook, whenever you want. We’ll remember your preference. • Zoom into comics, manga and magazines. • Add bookmarks with notes. • Use the built-in iOS dictionary and translation features, even offline. • Tweak your reading experience with reading options. Bring your own books A single bookshelf and reading application where you can bring all your content: • Download free books, borrow from your library or buy from your favorite retailer. • Support for ebooks, documents, comics and manga. • Import EPUB, PDF and CBZ files. • Support for Readium LCP, used by thousands of libraries and retailers. Thorium Reader is built by EDRLab, a non-profit dedicated to open standards, reading and accessibility.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Thorium Reader at Free against Bluefire Reader's $4.99. Thorium Reader also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Bluefire Reader's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 3.6) and ratings volume (4.1K vs 11). On ads, in-app purchases, 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
Thorium Reader is free to download; Bluefire Reader costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Bluefire Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bluefire Reader has 4.1K ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Bluefire Reader's written reviews are positive against 38% of Thorium Reader's.
Bluefire Reader ships an update every 2 months, Thorium Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bluefire Reader | Thorium Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (4.1K ratings) — better | 3.6 (11 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 55.2% of reviews — better | 37.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4.1K — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #45 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 26.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Bluefire Productions | Readium |
Customer experience
Bluefire Reader
Thorium Reader
Bugs and requests
Bluefire Reader
Reported bugs
4 issues- Incompatible with latest iOS versions
- Blank pages when opening some books
- Incorrect page numbering and navigation
- Unreliable bookmarking and note-taking
Requested features
5 requests- Sync reading progress across devices
- Improved highlighting and annotation tools
- Vertical scrolling option
- Customizable highlight colors
- Integrated dictionary/reference lookup
Thorium Reader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Bluefire Reader
No in-app purchases
Thorium Reader
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Bluefire Reader free?
Is Thorium Reader free?
Which has better reviews, Bluefire Reader or Thorium Reader?
Do Bluefire Reader or Thorium Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bluefire Reader or Thorium Reader?
Other comparisons
