Comparison

Readest vs scrolly

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

Head to head
About

Readest

This app is a powerful ebook reader designed for deep thinkers and researchers. It offers advanced annotation tools, seamless device syncing, and robust library management with OPDS and Calibre support. Enjoy a distraction-free reading experience with customizable modes and multi-book viewing for enhanced study and analysis.

Highlights
  • OPDS Online Libraries
  • Calibre Integration
  • Sync Across Devices
  • Bookshelf Management
  • Customizable Reading Modes
  • Multi-Book View
  • Advanced Annotations & Highlights
Features
Read full description

Readest is an ebook reader for people who read a lot, and who want their books, notes and reading position on whatever device is nearest. Open EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, CBZ, TXT and Markdown in one library. Pull books from OPDS catalogs or from your own Calibre server. Read, annotate, listen, translate. Made for iPhone and iPad • CarPlay, so you can keep listening on the road with playback controls on the dashboard • Download read-aloud voices per book and listen with no connection at all • Add books from Files, Mail or any share sheet, and read them in place instead of copying them into a second library • Open up to four books at once on iPad and arrange them how you like Reading • Paginated or scrolling, with custom fonts, themes, spacing and margins • Vertical text for CJK books • Contrast and refresh tuned for e-ink screens • Full-text search inside a book Your library • Browse, search and download from OPDS catalogs and public libraries • Connect to Calibre or Calibre-Web, covers and metadata included • Organize with bookshelf groups you can rename Notes • Highlights, bookmarks and structured notes • Copy a highlight together with a deep link back to the passage • Export your annotations Listening and languages • Text-to-speech with downloadable offline voices • Translate a sentence, a page, or an entire book • Wikipedia and dictionary lookup without leaving the page Sync • Readest Cloud, or bring your own: iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, WebDAV, S3 • KOReader sync keeps your progress in step with your e-reader • iPhone, iPad, Mac, all other platforms and the web Readest is open source. Support: support@readest.com Privacy Policy: https://readest.com/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

scrolly

Transform your PDF reading with a delightful experience. Customize text size and themes, save your progress with bookmarks, and enjoy a unique vertical scrolling mode. Perfect for books, papers, articles, and textbooks.

Highlights
  • Customizable text size
  • Theme selection
  • Bookmark saving
  • Vertical snap-to-scroll
  • Read books, papers, articles, textbooks
Features
Read full description

replace your scrolling addiction with reading! this app displays PDFs in a beautiful reading experience where you can change the text size, choose a theme, and save bookmarks scroll through your book with a vertical snap-to-scroll use it to read books, scientific papers, articles, and textbooks easily!

Screenshots

Readest4 screens
scrolly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: scrolly at 5.0 against Readest's 4.5. scrolly also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 9) and update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). Readest's advantage is ratings volume (185 vs 9). On price, review sentiment, ads 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. Readest sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. scrolly asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

scrolly holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Readest has 185 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Readest's written reviews are positive against 86% of scrolly's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Readest ships an update fortnightly, scrolly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Readest versus scrolly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadestscrolly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (185 ratings)5.0 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.9% of reviews85.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings185 — better9
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBilingify LLCtotally important LLC

Customer experience

Readest

All ratings185 ratings
Positive86.5%
Neutral5.4%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews280 reviews
Positive83.9%
Neutral5.4%
Negative10.7%

scrolly

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Readest

Subscriptions4
  • Subscribe to Plus Plan$4.991 Month
  • Subscribe to Pro Plan$9.991 Month
  • Subscribe to Plus Plan$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Subscribe to Pro Plan$99.991 Year
One-time5
  • 1 GB$9.99
  • 2 GB$14.99
  • Full Customization$19.99
Show 2 more
  • 5 GB$29.99
  • 10 GB$49.99
None

scrolly

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Readest free?
Readest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is scrolly free?
scrolly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Readest or scrolly?
scrolly is rated higher. Readest averages 4.5 out of 5 from 185 ratings, while scrolly averages 5.0 from 9 ratings.
Do Readest or scrolly have ads?
Neither Readest nor scrolly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Readest or scrolly?
Readest ships an update fortnightly, and scrolly weekly. Most recently, Readest was updated on October 14, 2026 and scrolly on October 4, 2026.

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