# Gutenberg Project vs readup

The clearest difference is update cadence: readup at every 3 weeks against Gutenberg Project's every 2 months. Gutenberg Project's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Gutenberg Project sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and readup sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Gutenberg Project ships an update every 2 months, readup every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Gutenberg Project | readup |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.3 (43 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gutenberg-project/id672017144/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **43** | — |
| Positive reviews | 40.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Size | 26 MB | 69 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [himalaya-soft](https://appshunter.io/developer/464715011) | [sanat amantayev](https://appshunter.io/developer/6787673109) |

## What reviewers say

### Gutenberg Project

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gutenberg-project/id672017144)

Access over 60,000 classic books and 7,000 human-read audiobooks from Project Gutenberg. Enjoy a beautiful reading experience with synchronized audio and text, intelligent table of contents, and personalized recommendations based on user data. Export books with notes and bookmarks.

**Highlights:** Access 60,000+ classic books, 7,000+ human-read audiobooks, Synchronized read-along audio/text, Intelligent Table of Contents, Big data-driven recommendations, Export books with notes/bookmarks

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited Reading | $2.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Listening | $2.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 📚 Access to classics
- 🆓 Free public domain books
- 👍 Easy to read presentation
- ✨ Beautiful layout
- 🎧 Audiobook availability

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App not working
- 🐌 Navigation is awful
- 🗑️ Trash app
- ❌ No pages showing
- 😵 Eye strain color combinations

**Reported bugs**

- 504 bad gateway errors
- App not working at all
- App not showing any pages
- Search doesn't find anything but error 404
- Stopped working, will not load catalog

**Requested features**

- Ability to choose favorite colors for reading
- Paid premium version with custom color combinations
- Sourcing more Gutenberg sites
- Option to make text black on white
- Continuous ad at bottom or top instead of full page


### readup

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/readup-app-for-books/id6787673107)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Readup Premium Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Readup Premium Yearly | $99.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Gutenberg Project free?

Gutenberg Project is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is readup free?

readup is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Gutenberg Project or readup have ads?

Neither Gutenberg Project nor readup shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Gutenberg Project or readup?

Gutenberg Project ships an update every 2 months, and readup every 3 weeks. Most recently, Gutenberg Project was updated on November 1, 2026 and readup on October 31, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*