# Sift vs BeyondRead

The clearest difference is rating: BeyondRead at 5.0 against Sift's 3.3. BeyondRead also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). Sift's advantage is ratings volume (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Sift sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $15.99 per month and BeyondRead sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

BeyondRead holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.

Sift ships an update every 3 weeks, BeyondRead every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Sift | BeyondRead |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.3 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sift-read-any-book-faster/id6483846244/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beyondread/id6808016847/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **3** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 113 MB | 17 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Muhammad Yousuf Khan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1740280094) | [章 刘](https://appshunter.io/developer/1810877192) |

## What reviewers say

### Sift

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sift-read-any-book-faster/id6483846244)

Quickly extract key insights, risks, and action items from lengthy documents. This app transforms complex PDFs into concise, decision-ready summaries, supporting over 50 languages and offline analysis for enhanced privacy.

**Highlights:** Extract insights from long PDFs, Identify risks and key points, Generate decision-ready summaries, Supports over 50 languages, Offline analysis, Privacy-focused, no cloud uploads

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited Access | $15.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Access | $115.99 | per year |


### BeyondRead

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beyondread/id6808016847)

This app is an EPUB and PDF reader that includes a library of over 20,000 public-domain classics. It offers AI-powered features to explain, translate, or discuss any sentence within a book, and can generate concise AI Digests of entire books. All reading data is stored locally for enhanced privacy.

**Highlights:** AI sentence explanation, translation, and chat, AI book digests, Library of 20,000+ public-domain classics, EPUB, PDF, and MOBI support, Local-first data storage, Customizable reading experience, Quote card creation and sharing

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

**In-app purchases (15)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Plus Monthly | $0.99 | per month |
| Pro Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Pro Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Max Monthly | $8.99 | per month |
| Pro Yearly | $19.99 | per year |
| Plus Yearly | $34.99 | per year |
| AI Top-Up · Small | $0.99 | one-time |
| Premium Voice · 5 hours | $2.99 | one-time |
| AI Top-Up · Medium | $2.99 | one-time |
| AI Top-Up · Large | $4.99 | one-time |
| Premium Voice · 15 hours | $6.99 | one-time |
| Premium Voice · 25 hours | $13.99 | one-time |
| Premium Voice · 50 hours | $27.99 | one-time |
| Premium Voice · 100 hours | $54.99 | one-time |
| Premium Voice · 200 hours | $109.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Sift free?

Sift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is BeyondRead free?

BeyondRead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Sift or BeyondRead?

BeyondRead is rated higher. Sift averages 3.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while BeyondRead averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Sift or BeyondRead have ads?

Neither Sift nor BeyondRead shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Sift or BeyondRead?

Sift ships an update every 3 weeks, and BeyondRead every 4 days. Most recently, Sift was updated on October 30, 2026 and BeyondRead on October 29, 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.*