Ebook Central vs Thorium Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ebook Central
Read downloaded ebooks from your library securely and accessibly, anytime and anywhere. This app offers a modern reading experience with streamlined authentication and an intuitive interface, syncing your progress across devices for uninterrupted research, even offline.
- Offline reading
- Secure reading experience
- Streamlined authentication
- Intuitive interface
- Cross-device syncing
- Accessible reading
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The Ebook Central Reader App makes it easier than ever to read ebooks from your library—anytime, anywhere. It features a secure, accessible and modern reading experience for downloaded Ebook Central titles, with streamlined authentication and an intuitive interface. Whether you’re catching up on reading between classes or on a flight to your next getaway, you can continue your research uninterrupted, even without an internet connection. The Ebook Central app syncs across desktop and mobile devices, making it easy to manage your reading and research when you’re on the go. It’s the perfect companion app to the Ebook Central online platform, which is used to search and select books for download. The Ebook Central app has robust security features to ensure library collections and users' privacy are protected. Download the Ebook Central app today and start researching your way.
Thorium Reader
Organize all your ebooks, comics, and manga in a single app. Customize your reading experience with adjustable text, fonts, and themes. Listen to audiobooks and zoom into visual content with ease.
- Unified bookshelf for all content
- Adjustable text size and spacing
- Multiple font options
- Text-to-speech audio playback
- Zoom for comics and manga
- Offline dictionary and translation
- Import EPUB, PDF, CBZ files
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Looking for an app where you can bring all your ebooks, comics and manga in one place? That’s what we built Thorium Reader for. Read it your way Everyone’s different, that’s why we want you to be fully in control: • Adjust text size, switch between color schemes with themes and control spacing. • 10+ fonts available, including specialized ones. • You prefer audio? Listen to any ebook, whenever you want. We’ll remember your preference. • Zoom into comics, manga and magazines. • Add bookmarks with notes. • Use the built-in iOS dictionary and translation features, even offline. • Tweak your reading experience with reading options. Bring your own books A single bookshelf and reading application where you can bring all your content: • Download free books, borrow from your library or buy from your favorite retailer. • Support for ebooks, documents, comics and manga. • Import EPUB, PDF and CBZ files. • Support for Readium LCP, used by thousands of libraries and retailers. Thorium Reader is built by EDRLab, a non-profit dedicated to open standards, reading and accessibility.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Thorium Reader at 60% against Ebook Central's 0%. Thorium Reader also leads on rating (3.9 vs 1.6). Ebook Central's advantage is chart position (#207 vs unranked) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Thorium Reader holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 1.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 34 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Ebook Central's written reviews are positive against 60% of Thorium Reader's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ebook Central | Thorium Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.6 (34 ratings) | 3.9 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 60.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 34 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #207 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 26.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 45 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Clarivate Analytics (US) LLC | Readium |
Customer experience
Ebook Central
Thorium Reader
In-app purchases
Ebook Central
No in-app purchases
Thorium Reader
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Ebook Central free?
Is Thorium Reader free?
Which has better reviews, Ebook Central or Thorium Reader?
Do Ebook Central or Thorium Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ebook Central or Thorium Reader?
Other comparisons
