Comparison

RR vs Pressly Speed Reader

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RR

Enhance your reading efficiency with this app. It offers customizable speed, font, and size settings for a personalized experience. Track your progress and improve comprehension on iOS, iPadOS, and Mac.

Highlights
  • Customizable reading speeds
  • Adjustable fonts and sizes
  • Personalized reading experience
  • Progress tracking
  • Word-by-word reading
Features
Read full description

Read saved text one word at a time at a pace you choose. • Create a reading from your own text • Find saved readings by searching titles and text • Adjust reading speed, font, and text size • Pause and resume the reader • Edit and share saved text • Search Wikipedia and read short result excerpts Saved readings work offline. Wikipedia search requires an internet connection and sends your search terms to Wikimedia. Search text is sent as you type after three characters. No app account is required.

About

Pressly Speed Reader

Read full description

Most speed reading apps give you a play button. Pressly gives you control. Pressly uses RSVP-style reading — one word at a time, fixed to a single focus point — so your eyes never move and your focus never breaks. But speed is not the goal. Comprehension is. BUILT AROUND MEANING, NOT JUST MOTION Text inside double quotation marks automatically italicizes during reading. Dialogue shifts. Quoted phrases stand apart. Spoken words separate from narration. You feel the change in tone without losing your place — a detail no other speed reader has. Smart pauses at punctuation and extra time for longer words give each sentence the rhythm it was written with. Optional context words keep surrounding text visible. ORP alignment anchors each word at its natural recognition point. When the same word appears back-to-back, it grows progressively — a subtle visual signal that keeps comprehension engaged at speed. YOU ARE ALWAYS IN CONTROL Hold to read. Release to pause. Lock playback with two fingers for hands-free reading. Tap forward or back to move word by word. Tap the top area to step back. Set your WPM, tune your pauses, choose a theme, adjust your font — then read. Tap the current word while reading to instantly look it up in your device's dictionary — without losing your place. YOUR FILES, YOUR LIBRARY Pressly is a reading tool, not an ebook store. Import your EPUB, PDF, and TXT files, or paste notes, articles, drafts, and copied text directly. Everything stays on your device. No account. No cloud. No subscription to a catalog. A built-in sample book is included — start reading immediately, no import needed. FEATURES • RSVP word display with ORP alignment • Automatic italic styling for dialogue and quoted text • Progressive visual emphasis on consecutive repeated words • Toggleable linked flashes for hyphens and em dashes • Smart pauses for punctuation and long words • Optional context words around the current word • Hold-to-read with two-finger playback lock • Word-by-word tap navigation • Tap the current word to look it up in your device's dictionary • EPUB, PDF, and TXT import • Paste any text as a readable book • Chapter-aware reading progress • Light and dark themes • Font style and weight options • Volume-button navigation • Fully on-device — no account, no cloud, no ads Pressly is made for readers who want more than autoplay. Read with pace. Stay with the meaning. Keep going.

Screenshots

RR1 screens
Pressly Speed Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RR at none against Pressly Speed Reader's 1. RR also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). Pressly Speed Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 14 months). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pressly Speed Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. RR asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RR ships an update every 14 months, Pressly Speed Reader every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
RR versus Pressly Speed Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRRPressly Speed Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 14 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB20 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperNathan FennelBill Ryan Cabral

In-app purchases

None

RR

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Pressly Speed Reader

One-time1
  • Pressly Pro$3.99

Questions

Is RR free?
RR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pressly Speed Reader free?
Pressly Speed Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do RR or Pressly Speed Reader have ads?
Neither RR nor Pressly Speed Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RR or Pressly Speed Reader?
RR ships an update every 14 months, and Pressly Speed Reader every 6 weeks. Most recently, RR was updated on October 9, 2026 and Pressly Speed Reader on October 7, 2026.

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