NovelGlide vs Widget Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NovelGlide
This ePub reader offers a customizable and convenient way to discover and enjoy digital books. It supports OPDS catalogs for free book discovery, allows for personalized reading settings, and includes features like bookmarks, search, and text-to-speech.
- ePUB book support
- OPDS catalog browsing
- Customizable appearance
- Bookmarks and search
- Book management
- Text-to-speech functionality
- Cloud sync
Read full descriptionHide full description
NovelGlide is a clean, privacy-first EPUB reader for your phone and tablet. Bring your own EPUB books, or discover free public-domain classics from built-in catalogs — then read the way you like: adjustable fonts and themes, dark mode, highlights, and bookmarks. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Read EPUB e-books in a smooth, distraction-free reader • Listen with read-aloud (text-to-speech) — keep playing with the screen off, and control it from the lock screen • Read along with a book's own recorded narration, when the EPUB includes it • Add books straight from other apps with the share sheet • Vertical writing for Chinese & Japanese, with furigana, Zhuyin (注音), and pinyin ruby • Tap any Chinese or Japanese word for an instant dictionary lookup • Save words to a vocab library as you read, review them later, and export to Anki • Translate a selection in the reader, with offline language packs • Two-page spread on a tablet or in landscape • Sync your library across devices with Google Drive • Find free public-domain books in-app, or connect your own OPDS server (Calibre, Kavita) • Highlights, bookmarks, in-book search, and collections to organize your library • Dark mode and adjustable typography for comfortable reading PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account required to read your own books. NovelGlide is free — no forced subscription, no ads. NovelGlide reads EPUB files. Read-aloud uses your device's synthesized voice; recorded narration plays only for EPUBs that include it.
Widget Reader
Read full descriptionHide full description
Bring your own books into a quieter reading space. Widget Reader makes it easy to read a page, listen to a chapter, or enjoy a short passage from your Home Screen. • Import DRM-free EPUB, TXT, text-based PDF, MOBI/AZW, Markdown, HTML and FB2. • Choose files from your device, iCloud Drive or third-party cloud services enabled in Files. • Adjust fonts, text size, spacing, themes and page turns. • Listen with installed offline system voices, sentence highlighting and a sleep timer. • Save bookmarks, highlights and notes. Put your current book in a Home Screen widget. • Pro adds unlimited imports, organization, reading reports, advanced widgets, exports and optional private iCloud sync. Imported files are local copies; changes to the original do not update them. Export Google Docs to a supported format first. Scanned PDFs, OCR and DRM-protected books are not supported. Interactive widgets require iOS 17 or later. iPhone includes up to 10 unique books for free. Reading and library actions on iPad require Pro. Weekly and yearly subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled. Any trial is subject to App Store eligibility; see the purchase screen for current prices and terms. No app account or advertising. Books stay local unless you enable private iCloud sync. https://reader.jameshaoyu.com/privacy https://reader.jameshaoyu.com/subscription-terms https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Widget Reader at none against NovelGlide's 3. On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. NovelGlide sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Widget Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.
NovelGlide ships an update every 5 weeks, Widget Reader every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NovelGlide | Widget Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 123 MB | 56 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cheng-Kai Wu | 浩宇 黄 |
In-app purchases
NovelGlide
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$2.99
- Large Tip$9.99
Widget Reader
No in-app purchases









