Comparison

E vs Readest

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

Head to head
About

E

Access a wide selection of e-books, audiobooks, and digital magazines through a unified platform. This service is a collaboration between public libraries and the National Library of Finland.

Highlights
  • E-books
  • Audiobooks
  • Digital journals
  • Public library access
  • National Library service
Features
Read full description

E-books, audiobooks and digital journals in one app. The service is provided by the National Library of Finland in cooperation with public libraries.

About

Readest

This app is a powerful ebook reader designed for deep thinkers and researchers. It offers advanced annotation tools, seamless device syncing, and robust library management with OPDS and Calibre support. Enjoy a distraction-free reading experience with customizable modes and multi-book viewing for enhanced study and analysis.

Highlights
  • OPDS Online Libraries
  • Calibre Integration
  • Sync Across Devices
  • Bookshelf Management
  • Customizable Reading Modes
  • Multi-Book View
  • Advanced Annotations & Highlights
Features
Read full description

Readest is an ebook reader for people who read a lot, and who want their books, notes and reading position on whatever device is nearest. Open EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, CBZ, TXT and Markdown in one library. Pull books from OPDS catalogs or from your own Calibre server. Read, annotate, listen, translate. Made for iPhone and iPad • CarPlay, so you can keep listening on the road with playback controls on the dashboard • Download read-aloud voices per book and listen with no connection at all • Add books from Files, Mail or any share sheet, and read them in place instead of copying them into a second library • Open up to four books at once on iPad and arrange them how you like Reading • Paginated or scrolling, with custom fonts, themes, spacing and margins • Vertical text for CJK books • Contrast and refresh tuned for e-ink screens • Full-text search inside a book Your library • Browse, search and download from OPDS catalogs and public libraries • Connect to Calibre or Calibre-Web, covers and metadata included • Organize with bookshelf groups you can rename Notes • Highlights, bookmarks and structured notes • Copy a highlight together with a deep link back to the passage • Export your annotations Listening and languages • Text-to-speech with downloadable offline voices • Translate a sentence, a page, or an entire book • Wikipedia and dictionary lookup without leaving the page Sync • Readest Cloud, or bring your own: iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, WebDAV, S3 • KOReader sync keeps your progress in step with your e-reader • iPhone, iPad, Mac, all other platforms and the web Readest is open source. Support: support@readest.com Privacy Policy: https://readest.com/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

E4 screens
Readest4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Readest at 84% against E's 0%. Readest also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.3) and ratings volume (195 vs 6). E's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 9). On price, ads, 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

Both are free to download. Readest sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. E asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Readest holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Readest has 195 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of E's written reviews are positive against 84% of Readest's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

E ships an update every 2 months, Readest fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
E versus Readest: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEReadest
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (6 ratings)4.5 (195 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews84.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6195 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB58 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperUniversity of HelsinkiBilingify LLC

Customer experience

E

All ratings6 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Readest

All ratings191 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral5.2%
Negative8.4%
Written reviews285 reviews
Positive84.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative10.5%

In-app purchases

None

E

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Readest

Subscriptions4
  • Subscribe to Plus Plan$4.991 Month
  • Subscribe to Pro Plan$9.991 Month
  • Subscribe to Plus Plan$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Subscribe to Pro Plan$99.991 Year
One-time5
  • 1 GB$9.99
  • 2 GB$14.99
  • Full Customization$19.99
Show 2 more
  • 5 GB$29.99
  • 10 GB$49.99

Questions

Is E free?
E is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Readest free?
Readest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, E or Readest?
Readest is rated higher. E averages 3.3 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Readest averages 4.5 from 195 ratings.
Do E or Readest have ads?
Neither E nor Readest shows ads.
Which is updated more often, E or Readest?
E ships an update every 2 months, and Readest fortnightly. Most recently, E was updated on October 24, 2026 and Readest on October 25, 2026.

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