SwiftRead vs Open Citadel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SwiftRead
Enhance your reading speed and comprehension with focus modes and natural text-to-speech narration. Import content from various sources and customize your reading experience across devices.
- Import PDFs, EPUBs, web articles
- Visual focus modes (RSVP, pacing)
- Human-like TTS narration (90+ languages)
- Sync across devices
- Customizable fonts, themes, speed
- Works with Kindle Cloud Reader & Libby
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Read any text up to 3X faster with research-backed visual and audio speed reading techniques, like RSVP and text-to-speech. Loved by students, professionals, and language-learners everywhere. Import text from PDFs, EPUBs, web articles, even external ebook readers like Kindle Cloud and Libby. Then read with visual focus modes or listen with human-like text-to-speech that improve reading speed, focus and comprehension. KEY FEATURES • Import documents in seconds — PDF, EPUB, web links, and pasted text • Works with web-based ebook readers — including Kindle Cloud Reader and Libby • Improve reading focus with research-backed visual reading modes — paced highlighting, different guided word displays, and RSVP with a patent pending eye anchor • Improve reading comprehension with natural text-to-speech — follow along with human-like text-to-speech and synced word highlighting in 90+ languages • Customize your reading experience — fonts, colors, spacing, and target reading speed • Sync across devices — pick up where you left off on phone, tablet, or computer PERFECT FOR • Finishing a long article PDF before a meeting • Getting through research papers for class • Improving reading fluency in a new language • Finally completing that ebook you started YOUR CONTENT, YOUR CONTROL • Your documents stay private. See swiftread.com/privacy for details. • Internet required for use. • Need help? Contact me (Troy, the developer) anytime at swiftread.com/help. PRICING SwiftRead is free to use within limits. Upgrade to Pro to remove limits and unlock advanced features. Payment charged to your Apple ID at confirmation. Cancel anytime in Settings. Terms of Use: https://swiftread.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://swiftread.com/privacy-policy
Open Citadel
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A book only changes you when you act on it. Most reading apps end when you close the book. Open Citadel starts there. It is your citadel of knowledge and self-development: one Library for the books, podcasts and blogs you learn from, and a way to act on what you learn. One Library for everything you learn from Books, podcasts and blogs sit side by side. Move between them in one tap. Free books from Project Gutenberg Browse Gutenberg's shelves, search its catalogue, and download books in the public domain in the United States. Readers outside the US should check the law where they live before they read. Podcasts you can finish Follow shows, search podcast charts and directories, and download episodes. The player has speed control, a sleep timer, chapters and show notes with seekable timestamps. Import your AntennaPod library and keep your place in every episode. Blogs, read in the reader Follow a blog by its feed or web address, or choose from a curated directory. Each post opens in the reader, so you can highlight it, tag it and talk it through with Samwell, just as you would a book. Highlight it. Keep it. Use it. Every highlight, note and tag is saved to your Timeline, a dated record of what you have learned. Samwell, your reading companion Samwell helps you set up your Library, talks through what you read, and turns what you want to change into a goal made of small steps. He checks in using your logs and highlights, so his advice is about your life, not someone else's. On-device Samwell runs on your phone, so he works without a connection. Compass counts consistency, not streaks Log a few minutes a day. Compass measures how often you show up, so one missed day never wipes out the rest. The whole cycle, in one app Read. Highlight. Set a goal. Log it. When the goal ends, Samwell writes down what it taught you, so the next one starts smarter. We assume you can decide what matters. Open Citadel helps you act on it. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.open-citadel.online/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Open Citadel at none against SwiftRead's 3. SwiftRead's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. SwiftRead sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Open Citadel asks for nothing beyond the download.
SwiftRead ships an update every 9 days, Open Citadel fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SwiftRead | Open Citadel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (43 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 84.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 43 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 72 MB | 95 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SwiftRead | Thamsanqa Ncube |
In-app purchases
SwiftRead
- Monthly$19.991 Month
- Quarterly$44.993 Months
- Annual$119.991 Year
Open Citadel
No in-app purchases








