Ebook Central vs Open 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.
Open Reader
This app allows you to read your own EPUB, PDF, and CBZ files without converting them. It saves your progress automatically and offers extensive customization for text and background settings. Access your books directly from the Files app and enjoy offline reading.
- Read EPUB, PDF, and CBZ files
- Automatic page saving
- Customizable text and backgrounds
- Offline reading support
- Direct file access via Files app
- No ads or in-app purchases
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Read your own EPUB, PDF and CBZ comic files, and pick up exactly where you stopped. Open Reader keeps your books as ordinary files in Files > On My iPhone > Open Reader. Nothing is converted, hidden in a private library or offloaded to the cloud, so you can see, move and back up your books like any other file. • Your page is saved on every page turn, and survives closing the app, text size changes and relaunching. • EPUB, PDF and CBZ comics all open in this version, with no format locked behind a purchase. • 14 text sizes, plus line spacing, paragraph spacing, margins, justification and font. • Paper, Sepia, Night or Auto backgrounds. • Tap the edge of the page to turn it; the table of contents is one tap away. • Add many books at once, or a whole folder, from the Files app. Open in Open Reader from other apps. • Works offline. Remote images and scripts inside books are blocked. This version is free, with no account, ads, analytics or in-app purchases. Open Reader doesn't sell books and doesn't remove DRM; it opens DRM-free files you already have.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Open Reader at 5.0 against Ebook Central's 1.5. Open Reader also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Ebook Central's advantage is ratings volume (38 vs 1) and chart position (#167 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
Open Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ebook Central has 38 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Ebook Central ships an update every 2 months, Open Reader every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ebook Central | Open Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.5 (38 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 38 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #167 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Clarivate Analytics (US) LLC | Paul Jump |
Customer experience
Ebook Central
Open Reader
In-app purchases
Ebook Central
No in-app purchases
Open Reader
No in-app purchases









