Storyteller Reader vs HeyReader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Storyteller Reader
Create and read ebooks with guided narration on your device. This self-hosted platform allows you to enjoy EPUB books, including those with immersive reading features. Pair it with a backend server for automatic alignment of audiobooks and ebooks.
- Create and read ebooks
- Guided narration
- EPUB support
- Media Overlays
- Immersive reading
- Self-hosted backend integration
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Storyteller is a self-hosted platform for creating and reading ebooks with guided narration. You can use the app to read any EPUB books, including those with Media Overlays (also called “immersive reading” or “guided narration”) on your device, or you can pair it with the Storyteller self-hosted backend server, which can automatically align audiobooks and ebooks for immersive reading!
HeyReader
This app provides an audio assistant for physical books. Upload the book's PDF, and then ask questions aloud about terms or concepts. The app searches your book and speaks the answers, helping you stay focused on reading.
- Voice-activated questions
- Answers read aloud
- Searches book PDF
- Focuses on physical reading
- Requires book PDF
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While reading your physical book, ask HeyReader about any term you don't understand, and it answers aloud. That way your focus stays on the page. Best with Meta Ray-Bans. Any Bluetooth headphones work too. Using HeyReader: 1. Upload PDF 2. Start reading your physical copy 3. Say "Hey Reader" to ask questions and hear answers What you need: 1. Physical book 2. PDF version of the same book 3. Meta Ray-Bans, or any Bluetooth headphones *The assistant searches the book PDF for citation backed answers. New terms in your book send you to ChatGPT or Google on your phone. Every switch over makes it less likely you come back to the reading. (According to Microsoft and UC Irvine researchers, "it takes 23 minutes to resume an interrupted task”.¹) Keep your 23 minutes -- HeyReader searches the book and answers by voice, so your focus stays on the page. Terms of Use: https://tryreader.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://tryreader.app/privacy License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ ¹ (Mark et al., CSCW 2015)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Storyteller Reader at none against HeyReader's 2. Storyteller Reader also leads on ratings volume (46 vs 4) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). HeyReader's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. HeyReader sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Storyteller Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Storyteller Reader against 5.0 for HeyReader. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Storyteller Reader has 46 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Storyteller Reader's written reviews are positive against 100% of HeyReader's.
Storyteller Reader ships an update every 2 weeks, HeyReader weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Storyteller Reader | HeyReader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (46 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 95.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 46 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Shane Friedman | Roshan Gill |
Customer experience
Storyteller Reader
HeyReader
In-app purchases
Storyteller Reader
No in-app purchases
HeyReader
- Pro Monthly$6.991 Month
- Pro Annual$62.991 Year
