# Thorium Reader vs Persimmon Reader

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Persimmon Reader at 16.4 against Thorium Reader's 26.1. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

Thorium Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, Persimmon Reader every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Thorium Reader | Persimmon Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.6 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thorium-reader/id6745025189/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **11** | — |
| Positive reviews | 37.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 46 MB | 77 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | **16.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Readium](https://appshunter.io/developer/1232183924) | [Qihang Yang](https://appshunter.io/developer/1798324283) |

## What reviewers say

### Thorium Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thorium-reader/id6745025189)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Persimmon Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/persimmon-reader/id6800041021)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Thorium Reader free?

Thorium Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Persimmon Reader free?

Persimmon Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Thorium Reader or Persimmon Reader have ads?

Neither Thorium Reader nor Persimmon Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Thorium Reader or Persimmon Reader?

Thorium Reader ships an update every 3 weeks, and Persimmon Reader every 2 weeks. Most recently, Thorium Reader was updated on September 28, 2026 and Persimmon Reader on October 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*