Readest vs Episteme
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Readest
This app offers a versatile reading experience for various ebook formats, allowing users to manage their library, take notes, listen to audiobooks, and sync progress across devices. It supports OPDS catalogs, Calibre servers, and multiple cloud storage options for seamless access.
- Supports EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, CBZ, TXT, Markdown
- OPDS catalog and Calibre server integration
- Text-to-speech with offline voices
- Cross-device sync via cloud services
- Annotation and note-taking tools
- Customizable reading settings
- CarPlay support for audiobooks
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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/
Episteme
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Episteme Reader is an offline-first, privacy-focused document and e-book reader. It supports PDF, EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, ODT/FODT, DOCX, Comics, Markdown, HTML, and plain text files. • Two Reading Modes Switch between a paginated view for a traditional book-like experience and continuous vertical scrolling for quick reading. Both modes work across all supported formats. • PDF Annotations Draw directly on PDF pages using pen, fountain pen, pencil, highlighter, and eraser tools. Add text boxes anywhere on a page with system or imported fonts. Annotated documents can be exported with full vector fidelity. • Custom Fonts Import your own font files (.ttf, .otf) and use them while reading any ebook format. Embedded book fonts and system fonts are also fully supported. • Text Selection & Search Select, copy, and search text across all formats. Full-text search with background indexing for large documents. built-in OCR support for scanned or image-based PDFs. • Text-to-Speech Listen to any document using your device's TTS engine. • Smart Tools (Pro) Get context-aware dictionary definitions for words and phrases. Generate concise summaries of chapters or pages to quickly understand complex material. • Library & Organization Manage your collection with custom shelves and collections. Sort by title, author, or reading progress. Jump back into recent books instantly. • Local Folder Sync Point Episteme at a folder on your device to automatically import and track books. • Privacy Episteme is designed to work entirely offline. No account is needed for any core feature. AI-powered\online features process data securely in memory without storing any user content.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Episteme at every 4 days against Readest's fortnightly. Readest's advantage is chart position (#197 vs unranked). 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
Both are free to download. Readest sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Episteme sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Readest ships an update fortnightly, Episteme every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Readest | Episteme |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (201 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 84.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 201 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Best chart rank | #197 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 58 MB | 102 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Bilingify LLC | Aryan Raj |
In-app purchases
Readest
- Subscribe to Plus Plan$4.991 Month
- Subscribe to Pro Plan$9.991 Month
- Subscribe to Plus Plan$49.991 Year
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- Subscribe to Pro Plan$99.991 Year
- 1 GB$9.99
- 2 GB$14.99
- Full Customization$19.99
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- 5 GB$29.99
- 10 GB$49.99
Episteme
- Wallet Top-Up $1$0.99
- Wallet Top-Up $5$4.99
- Episteme Pro$5.99
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- Wallet Top-Up $10$9.99
- Wallet Top-Up $20$19.99









