Comparison

Readlight vs Retrace

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

Head to head
About

Readlight

Transform your phone into an eye-friendly reading lamp. Enjoy a customizable, soft glow that reduces eye strain and aids relaxation, perfect for reading in bed without disturbing others. Features include a smart sleep timer and always-on display.

Highlights
  • Screen as a reading lamp
  • Eye care and blue light filter
  • Smart sleep timer
  • Adjustable brightness
  • Always-on display
Features
Read full description

Love reading in bed but hate straining your eyes or waking your partner? Readlight turns your phone into the perfect, eye-friendly book lamp. Instead of a harsh screen glare, Readlight emits a soft, customizable glow that reduces eye fatigue and helps you relax before sleep. No ads, no subscriptions, just uninterrupted reading. WHY YOU WILL LOVE IT: - Screen as a Reading Lamp: Emits an even, soothing light. - Eye Care and Blue Light Filter: Choose warm or cool tints to protect your vision. - Smart Sleep Timer: Automatically turns off to save battery if you fall asleep. - Fully Adjustable: Precision brightness control for any dark room. - Always-On Display: Your light won't turn off while you are immersed in your book. - Bookmarks with Page Photos: Save the book, the page and a short note, or snap a photo of the page where you stopped. - Quick Access: Long press the app icon to start a 30 minute timer or open your bookmarks. Ask Siri to start your reading timer and add Readlight to Control Center (iOS 18 or later). PERFECT SCENARIOS: - Reading novels in bed without disturbing others - A soft nightlight for nursing a baby - Studying late in a shared dorm room - A subtle lantern for camping in a tent - Relaxing on red-eye flights Download Readlight today and discover the most comfortable way to read in the dark.

About

Retrace

Features
Read full description

Know your birth time only as a range? Retrace looks at the hours in that range and works out which of them have the most astrological contact with the big events of your life: a marriage, a move, a child, a new job. • Set your window: pick a preset (morning, midday, afternoon, night) or choose your own. • Add your events: short questions walk you through your life, one period at a time. Enter each date as closely as you remember it: day, month, season, year or age. • See the contact: the hours your events touch most, how that contact spreads across your window, and the reason behind each event. • Birth chart: watch the rising sign shift across your window, and see planet positions and houses on the wheel for any minute you pick. Choose Whole Sign or Placidus houses. Retrace doesn't give you a birth time. We measured it on documented cases: the peaks did no better than random hours at pointing to the real birth time, and the result screen always says so. Retrace is a tool for exploring and calculating. It offers no interpretation and promises no answer. Nothing is sent to our servers. Every calculation runs on your device, and there's no account to create. Your cases stay on this device and in your own iCloud backup. Free: 1 case, 4 events in total. Premium (one-time): up to 3 cases, unlimited events, PDF report, sensitivity page, comparison with a documented time. Pro (one-time): everything in Premium, unlimited cases, plus technical weight and orb settings (labeled as unmeasured). No subscription.

Screenshots

Readlight4 screens
Retrace4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Retrace at every 5 days against Readlight's every 3 weeks. Readlight's advantage is iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Readlight sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Retrace sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Readlight ships an update every 3 weeks, Retrace every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Readlight versus Retrace: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadlightRetrace
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (365 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings365 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEmre BalliOmer Faruk BALLI

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Readlight

Subscriptions4
  • Water$1.991 Month
  • Coffee$3.991 Month
  • Tea$6.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Teapot$19.991 Month
One-time4
  • Water$1.99
  • Coffee$3.99
  • Uncle Iroh's Tea$6.99
Show 1 more
  • Teapot$19.99
2 purchases

Retrace

One-time2
  • Premium$2.99
  • Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Readlight free?
Readlight is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Retrace free?
Retrace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Readlight or Retrace have ads?
Neither Readlight nor Retrace shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Readlight or Retrace?
Readlight ships an update every 3 weeks, and Retrace every 5 days. Most recently, Readlight was updated on November 8, 2026 and Retrace on November 6, 2026.

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