# Sideboard vs Xarra

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sideboard at none against Xarra's 3. Xarra's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Xarra sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Sideboard asks for nothing beyond the download.

Sideboard ships an update every 2 months, Xarra every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Sideboard | Xarra |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sideboard/id6499199954/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1** | — |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 11 MB | 17 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [JOHN ANDREW POLLARD](https://appshunter.io/developer/1736381948) | [Daniel Devesa Derksen-Staats](https://appshunter.io/developer/1866327000) |

## What reviewers say

### Sideboard

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sideboard/id6499199954)

This app displays your upcoming and in-progress meetings, showing the time until your next event or the remaining time in your current meeting. It offers widgets for your home screen and can run in standby mode for continuous visibility of your schedule.

**Highlights:** View upcoming and in-progress meetings, Time until next meeting display, Current meeting duration tracking, Home screen widgets, Standby mode for continuous display

**Features:** Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases:** none


### Xarra

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/xarra-text-to-speech-reader/id6759402266)

Listen to articles, documents, and web content with natural-sounding text-to-speech. Customize playback speed, voices, and reading fonts, with optional synced highlighting. This app prioritizes privacy, working offline without accounts or tracking.

**Highlights:** On-device text-to-speech, Supports PDF, EPUB, Markdown, and more, Web article sharing, Adjustable playback speed and voices, Customizable reading fonts, Synced line and word highlighting, Offline functionality

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $1.99 | per month |
| Yearly Subscription | $9.99 | per year |
| Lifetime Access | $29.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Sideboard free?

Sideboard is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Xarra free?

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

### Do Sideboard or Xarra have ads?

Neither Sideboard nor Xarra shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Sideboard or Xarra?

Sideboard ships an update every 2 months, and Xarra every 3 weeks. Most recently, Sideboard was updated on October 3, 2026 and Xarra on October 9, 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.*