Comparison

SoundLeaf vs MagicReader

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

Head to head
About

SoundLeaf

This app provides a premium iOS client for the open-source Audiobookshelf server. It offers a beautiful, intuitive interface for listening to your personal audiobook collection with features like CarPlay support and offline downloads.

Highlights
  • CarPlay support
  • Connect to Audiobookshelf server
  • Intuitive library browsing
  • Variable playback speed
  • Offline listening
  • Smart sleep timer
  • Cross-device progress tracking
Features
Read full description

SoundLeaf is a premium iOS client for Audiobookshelf, the open-source, self-hosted audiobook and podcast server. Connect to your own server and get your whole collection — audiobooks, podcasts and ebooks — in a beautiful, fast app built for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and CarPlay. Learn more, read setup guides and see the app in action at https://soundleafapp.com OFFLINE FIRST • Your library syncs to the app, so you can browse everything even with the server off • Download books and episodes and play them anywhere, no connection needed • Downloads are free for everyone, podcast auto-download included • Local and remote server addresses: the app uses your local address on home Wi-Fi and your remote address everywhere else, on its own BUILT FOR LONG LISTENS • A powerful player with chapters, variable playback speed and position memory • A smarter sleep timer: tell it your night hours and it starts itself, fades out instead of stopping cold, and restarts when you press play • Progress syncs with your server, so every device stays on the same page • Background playback, lock screen controls and full landscape support PODCASTS, DONE RIGHT • Podcast transcripts: when a show publishes one, it runs along with the audio, and a tap opens a full reader • Smart Downloads keep the next episodes ready before you ask • A queue that shows what is playing, what is next and what is on the phone • Episode management per show: keep counts, auto-download, mark played THE EBOOK READER • Read the ebook that lives next to your audiobook • One tap jumps the page to where the narrator is, and back • Fonts, text size, line spacing, margins, and Light, Sepia and Dark pages EVERYWHERE YOU LISTEN • A real Apple Watch app, with offline playback on your wrist if you want it • CarPlay with library switching and a downloaded-only filter • Home screen widgets: now playing, recent books, your listening time MAKE IT YOURS • 32 themes and 55 app icons • Listening stats with streaks, totals, a year heatmap and daily patterns • Multiple libraries, series, authors, collections and search SoundLeaf is made for self-hosters and their families: people who keep their audiobook library on their own server with Audiobookshelf and want the best way to listen to it on Apple devices. Note: SoundLeaf requires an Audiobookshelf server to connect to. Audiobookshelf is free and open source; learn how to set one up at https://audiobookshelf.org and find help at https://soundleafapp.com/server/ Website: https://soundleafapp.com Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

MagicReader

Features
Read full description

Read without touching the screen. MagicReader is a hands-free reader for EPUB, PDF and comics: turn your head, wave a hand, wink, or just say "next page" — and the page turns. Or sit back and let a natural voice read to you. Whether your hands are busy, wet, full, or simply resting — or touching the screen is difficult for you — MagicReader keeps the story going. NEW: OPENS LIKE A REAL BOOK • Ready for iPhone Duo — unfold it and your book becomes a two-page spread, with the spine right on the fold • Landscape reading — two pages side by side on iPad and most iPhones, for EPUB, PDF and comics, including vertical Japanese books • Flip page turns — pages turn over like paper and follow your finger • Split View on iPad and iPhone Duo TOUCH-FREE READING • Head control — turn your head left or right to flip pages; look up to open or close a book • Wink control — wink your right eye to go forward, your left to go back (Face ID devices) • Hand control — a cursor follows your hand; close your hand to grab a book, swipe from the screen edge to flip • Voice control — say "next", "back", "open", "read aloud" and more, in English, Japanese, Spanish, French or German • A guided tour teaches every gesture with live practice NATURAL READ-ALOUD • Natural, expressive voices read your EPUB books aloud — in English and Japanese • The sentence being spoken is highlighted, and pages turn in step with the narration • English narration powered by Kokoro; Japanese voices powered by VOICEVOX (VOICEVOX:No.7, VOICEVOX:四国めたん, VOICEVOX:青山龍星, VOICEVOX Nemo) • Books in Spanish, French and German are read by your device's system voice for that language, with nothing to download • Natural voices are downloaded once, then work fully offline — all speech is generated on your device YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY • EPUB and PDF books, plus CBZ/CBR comics and manga • Beautiful animated bookshelf themes — drifting watercolour clouds, a starry cosmos, and story worlds that come alive behind special books • Japanese vertical text (縦書き) done right, with optional automatic furigana (ふりがな) above kanji • Comfortable reading themes, adjustable fonts (including OpenDyslexic for dyslexia-friendly reading), and remembered positions THOUSANDS OF FREE CLASSICS • Browse and download public-domain classics from Project Gutenberg and Aozora Bunko (青空文庫) — from Alice in Wonderland to 銀河鉄道の夜 — right inside the app PRIVATE BY DESIGN • The camera and microphone are used only to recognize your gestures and commands, entirely on your device • Nothing is recorded, nothing is uploaded, and there are no accounts, no ads, and no tracking — ever MagicReader began in 2012 as one of the first face-controlled book readers on the App Store. It has been rebuilt from the ground up for today's devices — same magic, new tricks. Reading is best when nothing comes between you and the story. Not even your hands.

Screenshots

SoundLeaf4 screens
MagicReader2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MagicReader at none against SoundLeaf's 3. SoundLeaf's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). On price, ads, 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

Both are free to download. SoundLeaf sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. MagicReader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SoundLeaf ships an update fortnightly, MagicReader monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
SoundLeaf versus MagicReader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSoundLeafMagicReader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (34 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings34 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHemant KumarLeo Rivas-Micoud

In-app purchases

3 purchases

SoundLeaf

Subscriptions2
  • SoundLeaf Supporter$0.991 Month
  • SoundLeaf Supporter$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro$9.99
None

MagicReader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SoundLeaf free?
SoundLeaf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MagicReader free?
MagicReader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SoundLeaf or MagicReader have ads?
Neither SoundLeaf nor MagicReader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SoundLeaf or MagicReader?
SoundLeaf ships an update fortnightly, and MagicReader monthly. Most recently, SoundLeaf was updated on October 14, 2026 and MagicReader on October 11, 2026.

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