Comparison

Gutenberg Book Reader vs NovelGlide

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

Head to head
About

Gutenberg Book Reader

Access over 60,000 classic books from Project Gutenberg with elegant formatting and customizable reading options. Enjoy synchronized audiobooks, read-along features, and the ability to export books with your notes and bookmarks.

Highlights
  • Vast Project Gutenberg library
  • Elegant text and image presentation
  • Graceful page turning/scrolling
  • Customizable color and contrast
  • Synchronized audiobooks and read-along
  • Headset controls for audiobooks
  • Export books with bookmarks and notes
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Beautiful images, elegant formatting, graceful page turning or scrolling, and precisely customized color and contrast. Contents live from Project Gutenberg with last-minute update, more than 60,000 most important books ever published in history. Plus more than 7,000 human-read audio books. Number of Books: No other apps have more Gutenberg books, and many competitors are missing some classic Gutenberg books. Reading: Texts and images are presented by a sophisticated book reader: beautiful presentation, graceful page turning, and the most intelligent Table of Contents (better than any other book reader for the same book). Listening: There are more than 6,000 human-read audio books. In addition. Full control through headset: pause, play, skip to next/previous track, forward/backward seeking. Read-along: Audio and Text are synchronized when possible. You can read, listen, or read-Along, and switch between them at will. Export: Export a book together with your bookmarks and the notes that you insert in the book to anyone and any device, or save it in google drive, one drive, or iCloud.

About

NovelGlide

This ePub reader offers a customizable and convenient way to discover and enjoy digital books. It supports OPDS catalogs for free book discovery, allows for personalized reading settings, and includes features like bookmarks, search, and text-to-speech.

Highlights
  • ePUB book support
  • OPDS catalog browsing
  • Customizable appearance
  • Bookmarks and search
  • Book management
  • Text-to-speech functionality
  • Cloud sync
Features
Read full description

NovelGlide is a clean, privacy-first EPUB reader for your phone and tablet. Bring your own EPUB books, or discover free public-domain classics from built-in catalogs — then read the way you like: adjustable fonts and themes, dark mode, highlights, and bookmarks. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Read EPUB e-books in a smooth, distraction-free reader • Listen with read-aloud (text-to-speech) — keep playing with the screen off, and control it from the lock screen • Read along with a book's own recorded narration, when the EPUB includes it • Add books straight from other apps with the share sheet • Vertical writing for Chinese & Japanese, with furigana, Zhuyin (注音), and pinyin ruby • Tap any Chinese or Japanese word for an instant dictionary lookup • Save words to a vocab library as you read, review them later, and export to Anki • Translate a selection in the reader, with offline language packs • Two-page spread on a tablet or in landscape • Sync your library across devices with Google Drive • Find free public-domain books in-app, or connect your own OPDS server (Calibre, Kavita) • Highlights, bookmarks, in-book search, and collections to organize your library • Dark mode and adjustable typography for comfortable reading PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account required to read your own books. NovelGlide is free — no forced subscription, no ads. NovelGlide reads EPUB files. Read-aloud uses your device's synthesized voice; recorded narration plays only for EPUBs that include it.

Screenshots

Gutenberg Book Reader4 screens
NovelGlide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Gutenberg Book Reader at 48% against NovelGlide's 0%. Gutenberg Book Reader also leads on rating (3.0 vs 2.0) and ads (none vs shown). NovelGlide's advantage is price (Free vs $2.99). On update cadence, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

NovelGlide is free to download; Gutenberg Book Reader costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Gutenberg Book Reader holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gutenberg Book Reader has 19 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of Gutenberg Book Reader's written reviews are positive against 0% of NovelGlide's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gutenberg Book Reader ships an update every 2 months, NovelGlide monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Gutenberg Book Reader versus NovelGlide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGutenberg Book ReaderNovelGlide
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating3.0 (19 ratings) — better2.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews47.8% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings19 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#150 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB123 MB
Age rating17+4+
Developerhimalaya-softCheng-Kai Wu

Customer experience

Gutenberg Book Reader

All ratings19 ratings
Positive47.4%
Neutral10.5%
Negative42.1%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive47.8%
Neutral4.3%
Negative47.8%

NovelGlide

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

Gutenberg Book Reader

No in-app purchases

None

NovelGlide

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Gutenberg Book Reader free?
Gutenberg Book Reader costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is NovelGlide free?
NovelGlide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Gutenberg Book Reader or NovelGlide?
Gutenberg Book Reader is rated higher. Gutenberg Book Reader averages 3.0 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while NovelGlide averages 2.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Gutenberg Book Reader or NovelGlide have ads?
NovelGlide shows ads; Gutenberg Book Reader does not.
Which is updated more often, Gutenberg Book Reader or NovelGlide?
Gutenberg Book Reader ships an update every 2 months, and NovelGlide monthly. Most recently, Gutenberg Book Reader was updated on September 21, 2026 and NovelGlide on September 8, 2026.

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