Comparison

Thorium Reader vs Calibre View

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

Head to head
About

Thorium Reader

Organize all your ebooks, comics, and manga in a single app. Customize your reading experience with adjustable text, fonts, and themes. Listen to audiobooks and zoom into visual content with ease.

Highlights
  • Unified bookshelf for all content
  • Adjustable text size and spacing
  • Multiple font options
  • Text-to-speech audio playback
  • Zoom for comics and manga
  • Offline dictionary and translation
  • Import EPUB, PDF, CBZ files
Features
Read full description

Looking for an app where you can bring all your ebooks, comics and manga in one place? That’s what we built Thorium Reader for. Read it your way Everyone’s different, that’s why we want you to be fully in control: • Adjust text size, switch between color schemes with themes and control spacing. • 10+ fonts available, including specialized ones. • You prefer audio? Listen to any ebook, whenever you want. We’ll remember your preference. • Zoom into comics, manga and magazines. • Add bookmarks with notes. • Use the built-in iOS dictionary and translation features, even offline. • Tweak your reading experience with reading options. Bring your own books A single bookshelf and reading application where you can bring all your content: • Download free books, borrow from your library or buy from your favorite retailer. • Support for ebooks, documents, comics and manga. • Import EPUB, PDF and CBZ files. • Support for Readium LCP, used by thousands of libraries and retailers. Thorium Reader is built by EDRLab, a non-profit dedicated to open standards, reading and accessibility.

About

Calibre View

Browse and manage your Calibre ebook library on iOS devices. Connect to cloud storage or local files for fast searching, sorting, and filtering. Optimized for large collections and works offline once downloaded.

Highlights
  • Connect to cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud, WebDAV)
  • Browse library with metadata only
  • Optimized for large libraries (15,000+ books)
  • Customizable book list columns and sorting
  • Fast search and filtering by tags, authors, series
  • Download books locally for offline reading
  • Supports multiple libraries and quick switching
Features
Read full description

Calibre View lets you browse and manage your Calibre ebook library on iPhone and iPad using cloud storage or local files on your device. Connect your existing Calibre library and explore your entire collection with fast searching, flexible sorting, and powerful filtering, all in a clean, native iOS and iPadOS interface designed for libraries large and small. (Tested with a 15k book library!) Whether you want to quickly find a specific book or explore your collection by tags, authors, or series, Calibre View is built to stay responsive and organized, even with very large libraries. Key Features • Connect to Calibre libraries stored in Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, WebDAV, iCloud, or the Files app • Optionally upload only your metadata.db file to browse your library without downloading covers or books • Smooth performance with very large libraries, tested with collections of 15,000+ books (slightly longer load times for larger libraries, ~1 second per 1000 books) • Customize which columns appear in the book list, similar to Calibre’s desktop view • Sort by any Calibre column, including custom columns • Filter books instantly using tags, authors, series, and other metadata fields • View detailed book information and customize what appears on the book details screen • Tap a tag or author in detail view to immediately narrow results • Choose a column for Quick Filter to refine search results, authors, or tags • Covers are downloaded on demand only when viewing book details, saving bandwidth and storage • Fast, full-library search with instant results • Download books locally and share or open them in other reading apps in any available format • Support for multiple libraries, with quick switching between them, even across different cloud services • Optimized layouts for both iPhone and iPad, including optional horizontal scrolling for portrait phone use • Works fully offline once a library is downloaded (covers and book downloads require connectivity) • Supports both light mode and dark mode

Screenshots

Thorium Reader4 screens
Calibre View4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Calibre View at 5.0 against Thorium Reader's 3.6. Calibre View also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 38%). Thorium Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Calibre View holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of Thorium Reader's written reviews are positive against 67% of Calibre View's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thorium Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, Calibre View every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Thorium Reader versus Calibre View: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThorium ReaderCalibre View
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (11 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews37.5% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.126.1
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB38 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperReadiumDANIEL EDWARD LAMSON

Customer experience

Thorium Reader

All ratings11 ratings
Positive63.6%
Neutral9.1%
Negative27.3%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive37.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative50.0%

Calibre View

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

Thorium Reader

No in-app purchases

None

Calibre View

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Thorium Reader free?
Thorium Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Calibre View free?
Calibre View is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Thorium Reader or Calibre View?
Calibre View is rated higher. Thorium Reader averages 3.6 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Calibre View averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Thorium Reader or Calibre View have ads?
Neither Thorium Reader nor Calibre View shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thorium Reader or Calibre View?
Thorium Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, and Calibre View every 6 weeks. Most recently, Thorium Reader was updated on September 28, 2026 and Calibre View on September 20, 2026.

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