Comparison

Sandbook vs PDF Reader, Read Aloud

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

Head to head
About

Sandbook

This app converts text into natural-sounding speech using an on-device model. Read ePub, PDF, and TXT files, type or paste text, or even read webpages aloud. Export audio files for offline listening with complete privacy.

Highlights
  • On-device text-to-speech
  • Reads ePub, PDF, TXT files
  • Type or paste text
  • Read webpages aloud
  • Export audio files
  • Privacy protection
Features
Read full description

Sandbook reads books, documents and articles aloud in natural voices, entirely on your iPhone or iPad. Nothing you read is uploaded, and there is no account, no subscription and no ads. Press play, lock your screen, and Sandbook keeps reading. Found an article in Safari, Chrome or another app? Tap Save to Sandbook and it waits in your Listen Later queue. NATURAL VOICES, OFFLINE - 41 voices in American and British English, Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese and Hindi - A book in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese or Hindi opens with a voice in its language - Powered by the open-source Kokoro model, running locally; no internet connection needed - Follow along as each spoken word is highlighted - Speed from 0.5x to 2.5x; each book remembers its voice and speed READ ALMOST ANYTHING - Import EPUB, PDF, Word (.docx), TXT, RTF, Markdown and HTML files - Add a web page by pasting a link, or save it from Safari, Chrome and other apps with Save to Sandbook in the share sheet - Scan printed pages with the camera, or pick a photo, and listen - Send files or selected text from any app with the share sheet, or type and paste your own - Open a document straight from the Files app with Open With, or set Sandbook as its default app - Browse a shelf of public-domain classics and play a short sample before you download one LISTEN THE WAY YOU READ - Opens at the paragraph where you stopped - Keep listening when you leave the book, with a mini player at the bottom of the screen - Bookmarks, and search inside a book - Sleep timer: stop after a set time or at the end of the chapter - Passages you've already heard play back instantly - In a PDF, the sentence being read is highlighted on the page; tap any sentence to read from there - Reading options: light, sepia and dark themes, fonts, text size and line spacing - Appearance: light, dark or matching your system - See each book's length, listening time and the time left in the chapter - Keep listening with the screen locked or while you use other apps; the lock screen shows the chapter's progress, with 15-second skips - Listen Later: web pages and text you save wait at the top of your library and play one after another - Continue Reading with Siri or the Shortcuts app - Export any text as an M4A audio file ACCESSIBILITY - VoiceOver, Voice Control, Switch Control, larger text and contrast improvements - The app is available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil) and Hindi PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your books, text and voices stay on your device. Sandbook never sends what you read to a server. GOOD TO KNOW - Voices require iPhone 12 or later, or an iPad with an A14 or M1 chip or later. Sandbook also needs iOS 18.2 or later. Questions or ideas: support@sandbook.app

About

PDF Reader, Read Aloud

Features
Read full description

PDF Reader helps you open, read, listen to, search, and manage PDF documents from one place. Features: • Open and read PDF files. • Listen to readable PDF text using text-to-speech. • Start listening from the page you are viewing. • Follow the spoken text with word highlighting. • Automatically continue to the next page while listening. • Search for words and phrases inside PDF documents. • Add annotations, highlights, and drawings. • Save your PDF changes. • Keep recently opened PDFs for quick access. • Add PDFs to Favorites. • Use light and dark appearance modes. PDF Reader provides a simple way to work with pdf documents whether you prefer reading on screen or listening to their text aloud. Some PDF files may contain scanned pages or images without readable text. Text-to-speech and search features require readable text in the PDF.

Screenshots

Sandbook4 screens
PDF Reader, Read Aloud4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Sandbook at none against PDF Reader, Read Aloud's shown. PDF Reader, Read Aloud's advantage is update cadence (daily vs weekly) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.2). On price, 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

Sandbook ships an update weekly, PDF Reader, Read Aloud daily. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Sandbook versus PDF Reader, Read Aloud: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSandbookPDF Reader, Read Aloud
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (135 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings135 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.216.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size140 MB10 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperSmashMelon LLCNamik Ersun

In-app purchases

None

Sandbook

No in-app purchases

None

PDF Reader, Read Aloud

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sandbook free?
Sandbook is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PDF Reader, Read Aloud free?
PDF Reader, Read Aloud is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Sandbook or PDF Reader, Read Aloud have ads?
PDF Reader, Read Aloud shows ads; Sandbook does not.
Which is updated more often, Sandbook or PDF Reader, Read Aloud?
Sandbook ships an update weekly, and PDF Reader, Read Aloud daily. Most recently, Sandbook was updated on October 28, 2026 and PDF Reader, Read Aloud on October 11, 2026.

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