# BookSmartApp vs Afterglow

The clearest difference is update cadence: BookSmartApp at daily against Afterglow's every 6 days. BookSmartApp also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.4). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for BookSmartApp against 5.0 for Afterglow. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

BookSmartApp ships an update daily, Afterglow every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | BookSmartApp | Afterglow |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/booksmartapp/id6445836113/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/afterglow-epub-reader/id6767642581/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Daily** | Every 6 days |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 16 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 26.4 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Jeff Chandler](https://appshunter.io/developer/1592420241) | [Mohammad Qureshi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1856351525) |

## What reviewers say

### BookSmartApp

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/booksmartapp/id6445836113)

This app helps you remember and engage with your physical books. Save highlights, get daily reminders, and use an AI assistant to answer questions, create social posts, or generate images based on your reading.

**Highlights:** Save and organize book highlights, Daily highlight reminders, AI assistant for questions and content generation, Generate images from book passages, Share highlights and generated content

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Afterglow

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/afterglow-epub-reader/id6767642581)

Experience ebooks with a personalized ambiance. This reader intelligently creates unique themes from book cover art, offering a clean interface with customizable typography and layout for comfortable reading.

**Highlights:** Ebook reading interface, Cover Tone themes, Custom ambiance per book, Typography controls, Layout controls, Light and dark modes

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is BookSmartApp free?

BookSmartApp is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Afterglow free?

Afterglow is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, BookSmartApp or Afterglow?

BookSmartApp and Afterglow are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do BookSmartApp or Afterglow have ads?

Neither BookSmartApp nor Afterglow shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, BookSmartApp or Afterglow?

BookSmartApp ships an update daily, and Afterglow every 6 days. Most recently, BookSmartApp was updated on June 1, 2026 and Afterglow on September 14, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*