Comparison

Now Reading vs Actually Read

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

Head to head
About

Now Reading

Log books you are currently reading, have finished, or want to read. Display original or custom book covers and share your reading progress with friends through widgets or by swiping through your logged books.

Highlights
  • Track current reads
  • Archive finished books
  • Manage wishlist
  • Display book covers
  • Share reading progress
  • Widget support
Features
Read full description

Introducing Now Reading - a simple yet crafted book journal app. You can add what you're reading, archive what you already have read, and books you'd like to read in the future. This app displays the original book cover (direct attachment needed) or with the custom designed beautiful original book covers. Share what you read with your friends by swiping through books you logged or through the widget.

About

Actually Read

Enhance your reading experience by tracking books, blocking distractions with Deep Focus, and utilizing an AI companion for deeper comprehension. Import your own files or discover public domain books to build a consistent reading habit.

Highlights
  • Track reading progress
  • Deep Focus distraction blocking
  • Import EPUBs and PDFs
  • AI-powered book companion
  • Summaries and recaps
  • On-device AI processing
Features
Read full description

Actually Read helps you track your books, protect your reading time, and actually read—whether you’re reading an EPUB, a PDF, or a physical book. • Focus on the book you chose. Start a reading session, set a timer, and use Deep Focus to block the apps, categories, and websites you choose with Screen Time. • See your reading add up. Track books and focus sessions, create custom reading lists, review your reading history, and return to a calm, customizable reading space built around your current book. • Read your way. Import EPUBs and PDFs, discover free public-domain books, search within books, save bookmarks, highlight passages, and pick up where you left off. • Ask better questions with grounded AI. Actually Read uses retrieval-based AI to help you engage with a book, not replace it with an AI digest. Ask about a theme, scene, or passage, get a Story So Far recap, or request a chapter summary when you’re ready. • Stay grounded in the text. Actually Read retrieves relevant passages from your book and uses them as context for each answer. Responses prioritize cited supporting passages you can open directly in the reader and can respect your reading progress to help avoid spoilers. • Keep your content close. Book indexing, embeddings, and retrieval happen on-device. On devices with Apple Intelligence enabled, on-device AI can answer questions without sending your questions or book content to the cloud. • Choose Advanced AI when you want it. Only your question and the relevant excerpts retrieved to answer it are sent to the cloud—never the full book. Actually Read is for reading with more attention, more context, and fewer distractions. Some features require compatible hardware, Apple Intelligence, Screen Time permission, or an internet connection. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Now Reading4 screens
Actually Read3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Now Reading at none against Actually Read's 1. Now Reading also leads on iOS requirement (17.5 vs 26.2). Actually Read's advantage is ratings volume (9 vs 2). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Actually Read sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per month. Now Reading asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Now Reading against 5.0 for Actually Read. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 9 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Now Reading ships an update weekly, Actually Read every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Now Reading versus Actually Read: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNow ReadingActually Read
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings29 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.5 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB46 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMinsang choiPrism32 LLC

Customer experience

Now Reading

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Actually Read

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Now Reading

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Actually Read

Subscriptions1
  • Actually Read Plus3 Days trial$9.991 Month

Questions

Is Now Reading free?
Now Reading is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Actually Read free?
Actually Read is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Now Reading or Actually Read?
Now Reading and Actually Read are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 9 ratings respectively.
Do Now Reading or Actually Read have ads?
Neither Now Reading nor Actually Read shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Now Reading or Actually Read?
Now Reading ships an update weekly, and Actually Read every 5 days. Most recently, Now Reading was updated on October 8, 2026 and Actually Read on October 13, 2026.

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