Pubu vs Issa Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pubu
Access a vast library of eBooks and videos from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Subscribe to read unlimited magazines, books, novels, and newspapers across multiple devices and browsers.
- Unlimited eBook and video access
- Content from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia
- Read on 4 mobile devices
- Read on 3 browsers
- Variety of genres: finance, fashion, leisure, learning
- High-resolution original copies
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All you want to read, publish in one universal eBook service You can subscribe to All You Can Read, and read any books in anytime Read fabulous content published from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia After subscription, you can read on 4 mobile devices, 3 browsers using the same account (service may vary in some countries) Have magazines, books, novels, newspapers, and versatile eBooks only from direct publishing in your hand ■ All You Can Read Subscription (price may vary in different countries) 1 Month USD 4.99 / 3 Months USD 12.99 / 6 Months USD 24.99 / 12 Months USD 38.99 ■ Terms of Use: http://www.pubu.com.tw/terms ■ Subscribe All You Can Read to Have 1. Finance: Bloomberg Businessweek (彭博商周, exlusive), CommonWealth (天下雜誌), Business Today (今周刊), The Journalist (新新聞), Global Fortune(创富天下), 30 StrategiMembinaPengaruh 2. Male Fashion: Men's uno, Esquire (君子), Cool (流行酷報), epopmalay, Body Design (健身誌), Auto Driver (車主), Golf Asia Malaysia 3. Female Fashion: BEAUTY (美人誌, 大美人), Flora Beauty (女人我最大)、mina、Marie Claire (美麗佳人), Choc (恰女生), Hijab Fesyen,Wanita 4. Leisure Life:Lonely Planet Asia, Super Taste (食尚玩家)、Taipei Walker、az Travel (旅遊生活), Sense (好感雜誌), Health (健康兩點靈) 5. Learning:BBC Earth (Asia), A+English (空中美語), English Digest (實用空中美語), Ivy League Enjoy English (常春藤生活英語), Ivy League Analytical English (常春藤解析英語), EZ Japan (流行日語會話誌), Infiniti And thousands more of Romantic, Horror, Health, Exam, Photography books ■ About The Service 1. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period 2. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal 3. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase ■ FAQ Q. Can I share my Account with family and friends? A. Yes sure, that is why we support reading on 4 mobile devices, 3 browsers using the same account Q. Why can't I find my purchased contents? A. Please tap the refresh button on the top-left corner in your Bookshelf, you should see your books in a minute Q. Are all the books original copies? A. Yes, we offer high resolution copies provided from publishers, they are as complete as their hard copies Q. Do you offer complete copies? Is there any concise edition like other subscription services? A. 99% contents in our service are complete copies, only one publisher provide concise edition
Issa Reader
This app synchronizes your ebooks with audiobooks from a self-hosted server, allowing seamless transitions between reading and listening. It features a native typesetting engine, customizable reading options, and advanced playback controls for an immersive experience.
- Seamless read-to-listen transition
- Native typesetting engine
- Customizable reading faces and themes
- Variable speed audiobook playback
- CarPlay integration
- Offline library access
- Home Screen widget
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Issa Reader is a native reader for Storyteller, the self-hosted server that lines an ebook up with its audiobook so you can move between reading and listening without losing your place. REQUIRES A STORYTELLER SERVER Issa Reader is a client, not a bookshop. It has no catalogue of its own and nothing to sell you. Point it at a Storyteller server you run, sign in, and read your own library. Without a server, there is nothing here to show you. READ A real typesetting engine, not a web view. Pages are laid out natively, so turning one is instant and the type is properly set. Six bundled reading faces, including Literata, Source Serif 4 and OpenDyslexic, or add a font of your own. Four page themes for daylight, lamplight and the middle of the night. Size, line spacing and justification are yours to set, per book or for everything. LISTEN Variable speed with pitch correction, chapter and sentence navigation, skip controls, a sleep timer, and full Now Playing support on the Lock Screen and in Control Centre. READ ALONG This is what Storyteller is for. Where a book has narration aligned to its text, the words light up as they are spoken, the page turns itself to follow, and tapping any line starts the narrator there. Stop reading, keep listening, and pick up on the same sentence — the two stay in step. IN THE CAR CarPlay gives you your shelves and chapters as proper lists, with Now Playing and a resume that lands on the sentence you left, not somewhere near it. Steering-wheel buttons, headphone controls and on-screen controls can each be remapped independently, so the same button can do different things in different places. YOUR WHOLE LIBRARY, ON DEVICE The catalogue is fetched once and kept locally, so searching by title, author, narrator, series or tag is instant and works with no signal at all. Shelves are built on your device from what you actually have. Download books to read and listen offline. ON EVERY SCREEN A Home Screen widget with your current book, chapter and progress. Native apps for Apple TV and the Mac are included with the same purchase, and Handoff carries your place between them. BUILT FOR THESE PLATFORMS Written in Swift for iPhone and iPad, using the system's own text engine, audio stack and accessibility support throughout. Dynamic Type, VoiceOver and reduced motion are respected, not retrofitted. Issa Reader is an independent client and is not affiliated with the Storyteller project.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Issa Reader at 5.0 against Pubu's 4.4. Issa Reader also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 12) and update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly). Pubu's advantage is ratings volume (200 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Pubu sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Issa Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
Issa Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pubu has 200 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Pubu ships an update monthly, Issa Reader every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pubu | Issa Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (200 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 32.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 200 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 120 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NUAZURE Innovative Technology Co., Ltd | Benjamin Issa |
Customer experience
Pubu
Issa Reader
Bugs and requests
Pubu
Reported bugs
24 issues- Purchases gone, cannot read
- Videos not playing after update
- Login failed after registration
- Cannot cancel subscriptions
- Pastes clipboard on opening
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- Cannot view videos or photos after purchase
- App crashes when loading videos
- Photos turn black when viewed individually
- Downloaded videos not playing
- Cannot play ePub videos
- Subscription not recognized
- Downloads fail frequently
- Cannot open preview video on some magazines
- Cannot read purchased magazines, blank pages
- Video does not play on iPhone
- App crashes frequently, cannot read purchased books
- App crashes on startup
- App exits frequently
- Cannot download books
- Cannot use app without internet
- App crashes immediately after opening
- App crashes all the time, cannot open books
- App drains battery
- Infinite login loop with FB account
Requested features
11 requests- Improve dark mode functionality
- Add English version or translation
- Support iPhone X display
- Add more books and magazines
- Improve search accuracy
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- Allow horizontal reading on tablets
- Improve formatting on web version
- Add more payment options for Japan
- Allow users to easily re-install purchased books
- Make purchase history clearer with images
- Allow users to cancel subscriptions easily
Issa Reader
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Pubu
- All You Can Read for one month$4.991 Month
- Homer Romance Novels one month$6.991 Month
- All You Can Read for 3 months$14.993 Months
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- All You Can Read for 6 months$24.996 Months
- All You Can Read for one year$44.991 Year
- Homer Romance Novels one year$69.991 Year
- Manager Today Channel$75.991 Year
- Master 60 for one year$84.991 Year
- iGold 360$12.99
- iGold 530$18.99
- iGold 1030$36.99
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- iGold 2090$74.99
Issa Reader
No in-app purchases









