Comparison

Columbia University Press vs Analects Reader

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

Head to head
About

Columbia University Press

Access your purchased ebooks and audiobooks from Columbia University Press. Log in with your purchase email to enjoy content offline with customizable reading and listening features.

Highlights
  • Offline ebook and audiobook access
  • Customizable font and background
  • Bookmark and auto-save progress
  • Full text search
  • Sleep timer for audiobooks
  • Background playback
Read full description

An ebook app designed exclusively for purchases made at https://cup.columbia.edu. Welcome to the Columbia University Press app, powered by Glassboxx. We are delighted to offer you an easy and secure way to enjoy your ebook purchases. No password required – you can either use our social sign on with Apple or Google, or simply log in with the email address used to buy the book and enter the verification code sent to your email – and your content awaits in the ‘My books’ area of the app, with formats clearly labelled. With the content in the cloud, downloading requires an initial internet connection. Once downloaded, you can access your books and enjoy them offline. THE EREADER ALLOWS FOR: • Page book-marking, opening the title at the right place when you pick up, even across multiple devices • Font-size and font face changes, as well as dyslexic-friendly font • Page colour themes (white, dark, and sepia) • Full text search • Highlighting • Annotations

About

Analects Reader

Explore Confucius's Analects with interactive features. Read in original Chinese and English, with tappable characters for detailed meanings, readings, and usage. Offers multiple reading modes and integrated podcast commentary.

Highlights
  • Original Chinese and English text
  • Tappable characters with detailed meanings
  • Multiple reading modes (Study, Translation, Chinese, Classical)
  • Integrated podcast commentary with episode guides
  • Notes saved as Markdown in iCloud Drive
  • Offline access to Chinese text
Features
Read full description

The complete Analects of Confucius: all twenty books and 512 passages, in the original Chinese and in English, built for actually reading it. Every character is tappable. The card that opens shows what the character means here, in this passage — not a dictionary's one-size answer — along with its reading, the terms it belongs to, and how it is used across the whole book. Pinyin sits over the characters when you want it and disappears when you don't. READ IT YOUR WAY • Study — the full apparatus: text, translation, pinyin, tappable words, per-passage tone coloring. • Translation — the English as a book. The original waits one tap away under each passage. • Chinese — the received text alone, unglossed, with the English one tap away. • Classical — the text as old editions set it, in columns right to left. Four pages to choose from: one typeset, and three photographed from real copies held in Tokyo, Taipei, and Kyoto — a Qing manuscript, a Ming block print, and a 1550 scholar's copy — with every character mapped, so the glosses work even on a photograph. Scroll the book as one column, or turn it one passage per page, like a printed book. THE COMMENTARY GROWS WITH THE PODCAST The app carries the episode guides from the Exploring the Analects podcast — passage by passage: the philosophical discussion, the historical context, the language notes, with the audio a tap away. New episodes arrive as they are published. YOURS, IN THE FULLEST SENSE Notes you take live in your own iCloud Drive as Markdown — readable anywhere, and they outlive the app. The Chinese text is built in and always works offline. There are no accounts, no ads, no analytics, and no tracking: nothing about your reading is collected. Everything is free — the text, both translations, the glosses, the classical pages, the commentary. A tip jar exists for those who want to keep the project going; nothing is unlocked, because nothing is locked.

Screenshots

Columbia University Press4 screens
Analects Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Analects Reader at 5.0 against Columbia University Press's 1.7. Analects Reader also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 17 months). Columbia University Press's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, ads, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Analects Reader sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Columbia University Press asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Analects Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Columbia University Press has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Columbia University Press ships an update every 17 months, Analects Reader every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Columbia University Press versus Analects Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterColumbia University PressAnalects Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.7 (6 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 17 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB276 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperGlassboxx LimitedElliott Bernstein

Customer experience

Columbia University Press

All ratings6 ratings
Positive16.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative83.3%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Analects Reader

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Columbia University Press

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Analects Reader

One-time3
  • Through the Gate$3.00
  • Up to the Hall$10.00
  • Into the Chamber$30.00

Questions

Is Columbia University Press free?
Columbia University Press is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Analects Reader free?
Analects Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Columbia University Press or Analects Reader?
Analects Reader is rated higher. Columbia University Press averages 1.7 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Analects Reader averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Columbia University Press or Analects Reader have ads?
Neither Columbia University Press nor Analects Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Columbia University Press or Analects Reader?
Columbia University Press ships an update every 17 months, and Analects Reader every 2 weeks. Most recently, Columbia University Press was updated on October 24, 2026 and Analects Reader on October 24, 2026.

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