Comparison

Harvard Classics vs Devour

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

Head to head
About

Harvard Classics

Explore the history of religion, philosophy, civilization, and science through curated classic texts. This app offers a vast collection of essential readings, including the Harvard Classics, with options to read, listen, or follow along. Enjoy features like offline access, customizable reading settings, and integrated Wikipedia articles for deeper understanding.

Highlights
  • Curated classic texts
  • Read, listen, or read-along options
  • Offline access
  • Integrated Wikipedia articles
  • Customizable reading settings
  • Bookmark and search functionality
Features
Read full description

Guided by Dr. Eliot, the famed president of Harvard University, you will journey through the history of religion and philosophy, the history of civilization, and the history of classic science. Along the way, Dr. Eliot will introduce you to the books selected from the famed Harvard Classics. All classics you ever need to read in History and Civilization, in Philosophy and Religion, and in Science are collected in one app. Read, listen, or read-along these books of Harvard Classics, plus 50,000+ Gutenberg classics, on-line, off-line, anywhere, anytime. Text of each book is hand-reformatted for best reading experience, audio books done by experienced readers, and videos professionally presented. Inside each book, you can also explore an in-depth Wikipedia article about the author and the book, Most of the basic features for a book reader are also provided, include, page-turning, bookmarking, night reading, changing font size, changing background color, dictionary, and word and phrase looking up in search engine or Wikipedia.

About

Devour

Features
Read full description

DEVOUR YOUR READING LIST Download free and start speed reading in seconds. Devour uses RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation) to display words one at a time right where your eyes are focused—so you read 2-3x faster without learning any special technique. Just import, tap play, and devour. HOW IT WORKS Traditional reading wastes time on eye movements. Devour eliminates that by presenting each word at a fixed point with the Optimal Recognition Point highlighted, so your brain processes text faster instantly. IMPORT ANYTHING EPUBs, PDFs, web articles, DOCX, TXT, Markdown, HTML, RTF—if you can read it, Devour can speed-read it. Paste text or extract content from any URL. Your entire reading list in one app. POWERFUL FEATURES Speed Control — Adjust from 100 to 1,000+ words per minute. Start at your comfort zone and gradually increase as your brain adapts. Built-In Speed Test — Discover your baseline reading speed, then see how much faster you read with RSVP technology. Progress Tracking — Resume exactly where you left off. Every document saves your position automatically. Reading Statistics — Track total words read, reading time, average WPM, and daily streaks with beautiful visualizations. Daily Goals & Achievements — Set word count goals, build streaks, and earn milestones as your reading habit grows. Smart Library — Organize with favorites, reading status, and content type filters. Search and find anything instantly. iCloud Sync — Keep your library, reading progress, and statistics synchronized across all your Apple devices. Dark Mode — Automatic system theme matching or manual light/dark selection for comfortable reading anywhere. THE SCIENCE RSVP has been researched for decades as a method to increase reading speed. By presenting words at a fixed focal point with ORP highlighting, your visual system processes text more efficiently. Most readers see significant speed improvements from their very first session. PREMIUM Devour is free to use with ads. Go premium to remove all ads for an uninterrupted reading experience and support independent app development. START READING FASTER Import your first document and feel the difference. That article you bookmarked last week, the novel on your shelf, the PDF report for work—Devour helps you get through it all. Faster. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Harvard Classics4 screens
Devour4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Devour at Free against Harvard Classics's $2.99. Devour also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). Harvard Classics's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On device support and iOS requirement 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

Devour is free to download; Harvard Classics costs $2.99 up front. Devour sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Harvard Classics asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Harvard Classics ships an update every 3 months, Devour weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Harvard Classics versus Devour: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHarvard ClassicsDevour
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating3.4 (11 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.4
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB30 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developerhimalaya-softBrett Cassidy

In-app purchases

None

Harvard Classics

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Devour

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Yearly$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Harvard Classics free?
Harvard Classics costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Devour free?
Devour is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Harvard Classics or Devour have ads?
Devour shows ads; Harvard Classics does not.
Which is updated more often, Harvard Classics or Devour?
Harvard Classics ships an update every 3 months, and Devour weekly. Most recently, Harvard Classics was updated on September 17, 2026 and Devour on September 10, 2026.

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