Comparison

Flash Reader vs Speed Reading UpRead

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

Head to head
About

Flash Reader

This app helps you read faster by displaying words rapidly, bypassing subvocalization. It supports various document formats and offers customization options to improve reading speed and comprehension.

Highlights
  • Rapid word display (RSVP)
  • Supports numerous document formats (PDF, EPUB, DOCX, etc.)
  • Import from Pocket, Instapaper, Dropbox, and camera
  • Built-in web browser with article saving
  • Customizable reading speed and display
  • Bookmark and resume functionality
Features
Read full description

Ever had to read through a an email, book or an article on the web, but felt like it took ages to read through it all? Normally your brain will attempt to pronounce words you read, which is called subvocalization or internal speech. Flash Reader removes this limitation by showing you words so fast that your brain doesn't have time to subvocalize, but still allows you to retain everything you've read, by something called RSVP. Whether it's light reading, or complicated business emails, training your eyes to read faster couldn't be easier, while your reading skill and comprehension will keep getting better and better with each article you finish. 3rd Party Support: • Pocket, Instapaper & Dropbox support* • Open & import eBooks files and docs such as DOC, RTF, TXT, PDF, EPUB, DOCX, AZW (Amazon Kindle .AZW files only), MOBI and ODT (OpenDocument) files* Note: Documents need to be DRM-free (no copy protection) and have no OCR (scanned) elements. Key Features: • Massive document format support* • Import from Dropbox, iTunes and any other app capable of opening files • Built-in web-browser, with full support for Google search and saving articles* • Bookmarking, easily resume where you left off • Import documents by using your Camera* • iOS 8 Extension for easy importing of both files and websites* • Different reading modes to suit your needs • Customization, including words per minute (WPM), words per flash, themes, fonts and font sizes • Boost your productivity and learn to speed read at lightning fast speeds • Universal, works on iPhone, iPod & iPad (iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus included!) For Instant Help, open up the Support-section of the app. Visit FlashReaderApp.com for more information. ••• What people are saying about Flash Reader ••• "I was very skeptical at first, then I tried it. Now I'm impressed!!! Using this tool to read a page, blog or instructions made made it seem like it took no time at all. I actually think using this app on a regular basis my even improve my reading skills. I'm so impressed, I'm recommending it on twitter!!!", 5/5 stars -Ninny2U "I like it so much I use it every day.", 5/5 stars -Joseph "Great for readers who find words move on the page! I can read so quickly with it. For studying materials - like journal articles - I start slower, read once, then up the speed again and again. Much greater retention than trying to read just in text!", 5/5 stars -Jacqjacq14 "It's now so easy to read faster with this app !", 4/5 stars -Manuel Klaassen "This app is a wonderful way to breeze through a long read!", 4/5 stars -Matthew Bartlett Coming up soon: - A cloud based solution for backing up and syncing articles and bookmarks - Evernote, Readability and Feedly support - Built-in bookstore (free ebooks) - Better article navigation (search by page or by word) - Spritz-like reading Thank you for the reviews, keep them coming! Based on the feedback we receive, we'll add and modify the features as much as we can. *Please note: Flash Reader DOES NOT have advertisements of any kind. Services such as Instapaper, Pocket, website article saving and certain file-specific document conversions have limits and might require the Flash Reader Pro upgrade, which is a permanent one-time payment that unlocks all features of the app. Some services (including PDF and ePub importing, as well as Microsoft Office files like DOCX) require an active internet connection when importing. Also note that Flash Reader does not have voice support, so no text-to-speech or anything like that.

About

Speed Reading UpRead

Enhance your reading speed and comprehension with a science-backed approach. Effortlessly process web articles, PDFs, and documents at an accelerated pace. Customize your reading experience with adjustable speed, fonts, and colors for improved productivity and time savings.

Highlights
  • Read faster without special training
  • Reduce reading effort
  • Read web articles and documents
  • Save content for offline reading
  • Customize reading speed, font, and color
Features
Read full description

Read faster. Without effort nor any special training. Sounds like a dream? It’s not, thanks to science: the approach we use has been tested by neuro-scientists and proved effective over a wide range of studies. We made it available on iOS and iPadOS with a sleek design and some nice advanced features that will make it a pleasure to use. With UpRead you will be able to: - Read faster, in a matter of minutes. No kidding - Reduce reading effort so that you can read longer - Read articles from the web, imported from Safari or other apps - Read PDF files and other text documents - Save your content and read it later, offline - Customise the reading experience by setting speed, font and color. You’ll be much more effective, process more information and save time. Your professional and personal life will both have a nice boost from using just one little app. There’s no price for this. Since we’re sure you’ll love the app, you can try UpRead for free for a limited time. If you’re still (slowly) reading this, it’s time to press that GET button and start the download. Try the app, it’s worth more than a thousand words. Here’s a few reviews about us: > Magnifique application qui accélère la lecture tout en améliorant l'attention. Indispensable. — Manitoo, Switzerland, Sep 2019 > This app is the one thing I never knew I needed so desperately. […] For my fellow columnist hounds, UpRead is absolutely essential. — dfe1998, USA, Sep 2019 > I have used every flash reader I could Get my hands on. […] The back end works somehow where the others fail. [… ] You will surprise yourself by how fast you can go over time. Now friends who see me reading something look at how fast the words go and tell me that they just see flashing gobbledygook. I thought the same thing but the learning curve is painless! […] Thank you to the UpRead team!!! Finally! An app worthy of my bottom bar! — eightyanthony, USA, Aug 2019 > It's not a free app but it's worth your money! Simple to use very intuitive, I am reading more than ever! Highly recommended. — dhernz1, Honduras, Jul 2019 We’re really happy to receive feedback from our users. We seriously try to make the app better and better based on what you tell us. Please, try the app and let us know your opinion too. Feel free to contact us by visiting https://crazyhorseapps.com/support. Terms of service: https://crazyhorseapps.com/apps/terms-of-service

Screenshots

Flash Reader1 screens
Speed Reading UpRead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Flash Reader at 9.3 against Speed Reading UpRead's 16.0. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Flash Reader sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Speed Reading UpRead sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for Flash Reader against 4.2 for Speed Reading UpRead. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 162 and 116 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 49% of Flash Reader's written reviews are positive against 54% of Speed Reading UpRead's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Flash Reader ships an update monthly, Speed Reading UpRead every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Flash Reader versus Speed Reading UpRead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlash ReaderSpeed Reading UpRead
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (162 ratings)4.2 (116 ratings)
Positive reviews49.3% of reviews53.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings162 — better116
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.3 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB33 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperDidstopiaAlain caltieri

Customer experience

Flash Reader

All ratings162 ratings
Positive79.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative13.0%
Written reviews136 reviews
Positive49.3%
Neutral5.9%
Negative44.9%

Speed Reading UpRead

All ratings116 ratings
Positive79.3%
Neutral4.3%
Negative16.4%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive53.7%
Neutral12.2%
Negative34.1%

Bugs and requests

Flash Reader

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Crashes when switching modes
  • Loses reading progress
  • Inaccurate resume times

Requested features

10 requests
  • Fancy text like newer video captions
  • Bookmarks and navigation
  • Support for Google Drive
  • Quick rewind option
  • Table of contents
Show 5 more
  • Search option
  • Ability to go backward/forward
  • Choose page to go to
  • Dark mode
  • Advanced analytics dashboard

Speed Reading UpRead

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Flash Reader

One-time5
  • Flash Reader Pro$0.99
  • Flash Reader Pro2 variants$1.99
  • Flash Reader Pro$2.99
Show 2 more
  • Flash Reader Pro$3.99
  • Flash Reader Pro$4.99
5 purchases

Speed Reading UpRead

Subscriptions4
  • Speed reading, weekly7 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Speed reading, monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • UpRead Speed Reading Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Speed reading, yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Speed reading, lifetime$54.99

Questions

Is Flash Reader free?
Flash Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Speed Reading UpRead free?
Speed Reading UpRead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Flash Reader or Speed Reading UpRead?
Flash Reader and Speed Reading UpRead are both rated 4.2 out of 5 on the App Store, from 162 and 116 ratings respectively.
Do Flash Reader or Speed Reading UpRead have ads?
Neither Flash Reader nor Speed Reading UpRead shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Flash Reader or Speed Reading UpRead?
Flash Reader ships an update monthly, and Speed Reading UpRead every 2 months. Most recently, Flash Reader was updated on September 29, 2026 and Speed Reading UpRead on September 12, 2026.

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