Comparison

LitVox vs Karatu

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

Head to head
About

LitVox

Features
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Rediscover Reading with LitVox Read or listen to a growing collection of world literature, brought to life by advanced AI voice technology. Whether you’re into timeless classics or modern discoveries, LitVox delivers a flexible reading and listening experience tailored for real life. AI-Powered Audiobooks, Instantly Every book in the app, including those you upload, can be instantly converted to natural-sounding audio using cutting-edge AI speech synthesis—on-device or in the cloud. No waiting, no downloads—just hit play. Bring Your Own Library Have your own collection of ebooks? Upload EPUB, PDF, or TXT files, and LitVox makes them fully readable and listenable. Share them with others or keep them private—your library, your choice. Seamless Reading + Listening Switch between reading and listening without ever losing your place. Whether you’re commuting, exercising, or relaxing, LitVox adapts to your routine. Designed for Real Life Built for people who love books but live in a fast-paced world, LitVox is simple, elegant, and always ready, whether you’re online or offline. Your world of literature starts here. Salient Features • Read world literature across genres, authors, and cultures • No paid subscriptions are required to explore the included content • Upload and access your own books freely • AI voice narration for every book, including your uploads • Upload your own ebooks (EPUB, PDF, TXT) and turn them into audiobooks • Switch between reading and listening instantly • Works offline—perfect for travel, commuting, or quiet time • Optional sharing of your uploaded books with others • Customizable reader settings: fonts, playback speed, bookmarks, and more • Explore global classics in one easy-to-use, beautifully designed app Your world of literature—read or heard—starts here with LitVox.

About

Karatu

Features
Read full description

Karatu is a native iOS reader where you bring your own sources. The app does not ship with a built-in catalog or library. Instead, you install small JavaScript source plug-ins from public repositories — exactly the same model as a media-server client like Plex or Jellyfin. The app is the reader; the content backend is up to you. WHAT KARATU GIVES YOU - A native iOS reader. Vertical (webtoon) and horizontal (paged) modes, pinch-zoom, double-tap to reset, tap-to-toggle full-screen, auto-advance to the next chapter. - Per-page bookmarks, grouped by series. - Offline downloads. Background URLSession keeps fetches running when the app is suspended; per-chapter status lives on the manga detail screen with a one-tap "Download all chapters." - A real library. Sort by recently-read, recently-added, title, or chapters-read. Filter by currently-reading, has-downloads, unread-chapters-available, or by source. - Reading history with per-chapter resume. Pick up exactly where you left off. - Reading-time stats. Daily totals, current streak, longest streak, total time. Stored locally; nothing is sent anywhere. - A clean settings screen with storage usage, per-source breakdown, and one-tap reset. WHAT KARATU DOES NOT DO - Ship sources. You provide them. - Send any data anywhere. Karatu has no accounts, no telemetry, no third-party SDKs, no ads. The privacy manifest declares zero data collection. - Verify, host, distribute, or endorse any source or repository. You are solely responsible for the content you choose to load. FOR DEVELOPERS Karatu's source SDK is a tiny JavaScript runtime: fetch, console.log, and registerSource. Sources implement four async methods (getPopular, search, getMangaDetails, getChapterPages) and return ordinary JSON. Anyone can write a source and host the manifest as a public file. See the project documentation for the full SDK contract. PRIVACY All app state — library, history, bookmarks, downloads, stats — is stored locally on your device. Karatu makes network requests only to URLs you have explicitly configured. There are no analytics, no tracking pixels, no third-party libraries that phone home. Uninstalling the app removes every byte. REQUIREMENTS iOS 17 or later. iPhone only.

Screenshots

LitVox4 screens
Karatu4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Karatu at daily against LitVox's every 2 months. 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LitVox ships an update every 2 months, Karatu daily. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
LitVox versus Karatu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLitVoxKaratu
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size184 MB2 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperSmartmicrosUmar Rufai

In-app purchases

None

LitVox

No in-app purchases

None

Karatu

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LitVox free?
LitVox is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Karatu free?
Karatu is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do LitVox or Karatu have ads?
Neither LitVox nor Karatu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LitVox or Karatu?
LitVox ships an update every 2 months, and Karatu daily. Most recently, LitVox was updated on October 28, 2026 and Karatu on October 25, 2026.

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