Comparison

CalReader vs AI Writer

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

Head to head
About

CalReader

Enhance your calendar's readability with customizable fonts and sizes. Easily filter events by date, calendar, or search terms, and export your data and time calculations in various formats like TEXT, CSV, or TSV. This tool is ideal for logging work or personal events and generating invoices.

Highlights
  • Customizable font and size
  • Event filtering by date, calendar, and text
  • TEXT, CSV, TSV export
  • Time calculation for billing
  • Siri Shortcuts integration
  • Dark Mode support
Features
Read full description

CalReader provides calendar readability, TEXT/CSV/TSV export, and time calculations. Choose a favorite font and size for maximum readability. Filter event listings by date range, calendar, and search text, and export listings and time calculations at TEXT, CSV, or TSV files. CalReader features time analysis and can calculate an invoice billing amount and time log for a given filter setup, total hours and rate per hour. Use Siri Shortcuts and Home Screen Quick Actions to quickly perform common actions in CalReader. CalReader can be used to log events on work/home projects. CalReader integrates iOS, macOS and CalDAV calendars including macOS Server, Google and Yahoo calendars, and provides a unique tool for journals, diaries and event logs. CalReader's unique flexibility makes for easy browsing/reading of one's history or future. The events listing view optionally displays ALL of the text of an event in an easy to read format. Calendar Filtering • Choose a date range to filter the visible events and to calculate hours and produce time logs. • Easily choose a single calendar, multiple calendars or all calendars for viewing. • Search selected calendars for text, keywords or phrases. • The search function can be used to search for times or dates. For example, find all events in the date range that start at "9:00 AM", or events on the date "11/4/26". Export Listings and Calculations • The export text generated by the Copy Text With Calculations command includes a header with the current calendar names, date range and optional search text. • Copy the filtered calendar text, with or without calculations, and then paste the text to other types of applications, or tap E-Mail Text to deliver the calendar text via e-mail. • E-mail CSV (Comma-Separated Values) or TSV (Tab-Separated Values) event listing files as attachments. • The Calculations view displays the total hours for the filtered event set and calculates the total amount using rate per hour, useful for invoices / billing. Calculations also displays the event count, average, minimum and maximum duration for the current set of events. Display Customization • Dark Mode support, and app-based dark and light styles with various color effects and calendar color indications. • Customize the font and size of the calendar text for best readability: large text is easy on the eyes, or small text for high density information. • Use pinch touch gestures to instantly change the size of the text. • Choose from various view styles using calendar colors, or no colors. • Choose to view all text of each item, or limit the number of lines (1-5) for a quick overview. Usability • Week and Month select: Previous, This, Next buttons provide fast one-tap date range selections. Use Previous and Next buttons repeatedly to move the date range window through time. • Go To Today and Go To Date actions provide quick navigation. • Speak Events uses the device’s text-to-speech capabilities to speak the currently visible events. • The Filter settings, Actions, Display, Calculations and Extras sections are neatly accessible without scrolling and searching for functions. • Tap the Done button for direct return to the main CalReader view after performing functions or settings changes. • Event listings include the duration for each event. • Events close to the current time are highlighted in the listing view with a gradient of orange displayed along the right edge, most intense for events close to the current time, fading off for events within 24 hours before and after the current time. • The filter settings of CalReader help produce complete listings of events that match a date range, calendar set, and a text phrase, and readability all of the text in the filtered set of events. • Choose to see all of the event text for all displayed events in the list, or truncated text and more items per screen. • Update Notification sound indicates a calendar update.

About

AI Writer

This AI-powered writing assistant helps you generate various types of text, from essays and emails to creative content and code. It also offers web search, summarization, translation, and grammar correction to enhance your writing and research process.

Highlights
  • AI writing assistant for essays, emails, blogs
  • AI search mode for real-time web answers
  • Summarizer and rewriter for text
  • Translator for multiple languages
  • Creative writing and code generation
  • Grammar and editing tools
  • Idea generator and templates
Features
Read full description

AI Writer is your all-in-one AI writing and chat assistant for essays, emails, blogs, and more. Write, chat, and search the web with advanced AI models that help you create, summarize, translate, and improve text instantly. Built for students, professionals, and creators, AI Writer makes writing faster, easier, and smarter. Key Features • AI Writing Assistant – Generate high-quality essays, emails, blog posts, bios, and more with intelligent tone and grammar suggestions. • AI Search Mode – Get real-time answers and up-to-date information from the web. • Templates and Custom Prompts – Use pre-made writing templates or build your own for any task. • Summarizer and Rewriter – Condense long text or instantly rewrite for clarity and style. • Translator – Translate text between dozens of languages accurately. • Creative Mode – Write stories, poems, scripts, and lyrics with AI inspiration. • Code and Technical Writing – Generate code snippets or simplify technical explanations. • Grammar and Editing Tools – Proofread, fix errors, and improve sentence structure. • Idea Generator – Brainstorm titles, slogans, and social content fast. • Clipboard and History – Save and reuse past prompts and results. Fast, private, and easy to use, AI Writer gives you everything you need to write and research in one place. If you purchase a subscription, your Apple account will be charged. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: mastermindsoftware.co/privacypolicy Terms of Use: mastermindsoftware.co/termsofuse

Screenshots

CalReader4 screens
AI Writer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AI Writer at Free against CalReader's $6.99. AI Writer also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (1.1K vs 3). CalReader's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

AI Writer is free to download; CalReader costs $6.99 up front. AI Writer sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. CalReader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AI Writer holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AI Writer has 1.1K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of CalReader's written reviews are positive against 64% of AI Writer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CalReader ships an update every 4 months, AI Writer every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
CalReader versus AI Writer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalReaderAI Writer
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (3 ratings)4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews63.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings31.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperImajaMasterMind Software LLC

Customer experience

CalReader

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%

AI Writer

All ratings1,124 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral3.1%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative36.4%

Bugs and requests

CalReader

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

AI Writer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices

Requested features

2 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard

In-app purchases

None

CalReader

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

AI Writer

Subscriptions4
  • AI Writer Pro$9.997 Days
  • AI Writer Pro$19.991 Month
  • Secret Discount$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • AI Writer Pro3 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time3
  • 50 AI Credits$4.99
  • 300 AI Credits$19.99
  • 1000 AI Credits$59.99

Questions

Is CalReader free?
CalReader costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AI Writer free?
AI Writer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CalReader or AI Writer?
AI Writer is rated higher. CalReader averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while AI Writer averages 4.7 from 1.1K ratings.
Do CalReader or AI Writer have ads?
Neither CalReader nor AI Writer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CalReader or AI Writer?
CalReader ships an update every 4 months, and AI Writer every 2 months. Most recently, CalReader was updated on September 27, 2026 and AI Writer on September 21, 2026.

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