Comparison

Prism Notes vs Readium

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

Head to head
About

Prism Notes

Capture thoughts and links quickly with a familiar texting interface. Organize ideas with AI-suggested tags and develop them across linked threads. Review notes to keep what matters and easily search by keyword or meaning.

Highlights
  • Texting-like note capture
  • AI-suggested tags
  • Threaded idea development
  • Review mode for notes
  • Sync across devices
  • Natural language reminders
  • Lock screen capture
Features
Read full description

Prism is the private place for quick thoughts and links. It feels like texting, rather than writing in a document. Capture easily, organize with tags, develop ideas across threads, review to keep only what matters. Free to try! Features: - Private and on-device - Opt in to iCloud sync between iPhone and Mac - Voice transcription and voice memos - Lock screen widgets for text and voice capture - AI-suggested tags to make organizing easy or automatic AI tagging (requires apple intelligence) - Review mode to keep notes alive or let them go - Threads to evolve a thought and link them together - Search by keyword - Natural language reminders - just say "remind me tomorrow at 2pm" (requires apple intelligence)

About

Readium

Transform any text document, PDF, or web article into a natural-sounding audiobook. Follow along with highlighted words in real-time for improved focus and recall. Offers lifelike AI voices and offline playback for a private, distraction-free reading experience.

Highlights
  • Text-to-speech audiobook conversion
  • Real-time word highlighting
  • Lifelike AI and offline voices
  • Distraction-free reader with themes
  • Background playback with lockscreen controls
  • Supports EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and web articles
  • Adjustable playback speed
Features
Read full description

Turn any book, PDF, or web article into a natural-sounding audiobook — and follow every word as it's read aloud. Lifelike voices, online or offline. Read faster, remember more. Readium reads your books, PDFs, articles, and documents out loud with beautiful, human-sounding voices — while highlighting each word in real time so your eyes and ears work together. It's the calm, private way to get through your reading list. WHY READIUM • Listen and follow along — real-time word highlighting keeps you focused and boosts recall • Lifelike AI voices plus built-in device voices that work fully offline • Beautiful, distraction-free reader — 4 themes (Light, Dark, Slate, Sepia) and reading fonts • Background playback with lockscreen media controls showing the book title and author • Adjustable speed, sentence skip, and a sleep-friendly experience • Thousands of classic books from Project Gutenberg — one tap to add to your library • Optimized for iPhone and iPad, including split-view multitasking IMPORT ANYTHING • EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW3, and FictionBook (FB2) • Plain text, Markdown, and HTML files • Web articles — browse to any page inside Readium and add it with a tap • Share sheet — send a link from Safari or any other app straight to your library • Rename titles and edit authors to keep your library tidy HOW IT WORKS 1. Import a book, PDF, or paste a web link 2. Pick a voice — a lifelike AI voice or a device voice that works offline 3. Press play and follow the highlighted words VOICES IN YOUR LANGUAGE English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, and Bangla — with more on the way. Preview any voice before you pick. GREAT FOR Commuters and multitaskers. Students and researchers. Readers with dyslexia, ADHD, or low vision. Anyone who wants a beautiful, listen-along reading experience. Reading, but faster — and finally enjoyable. Download Readium and start listening.

Screenshots

Prism Notes4 screens
Readium4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Readium at none against Prism Notes's 2. Readium also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.6). Prism Notes's advantage is ratings volume (33 vs 4) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Prism Notes sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Readium asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Prism Notes against 5.0 for Readium. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Prism Notes has 33 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Prism Notes ships an update every 4 days, Readium every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Prism Notes versus Readium: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrism NotesReadium
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (33 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings33 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB106 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperTommy JosephRaquib Ul Alam

Customer experience

Prism Notes

All ratings33 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Readium

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Prism Notes

One-time2
  • Lifetime Unlock$6.99
  • Lifetime Unlock$12.99
None

Readium

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Prism Notes free?
Prism Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Readium free?
Readium is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Prism Notes or Readium?
Readium is rated higher. Prism Notes averages 4.9 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while Readium averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Prism Notes or Readium have ads?
Neither Prism Notes nor Readium shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Prism Notes or Readium?
Prism Notes ships an update every 4 days, and Readium every 6 days. Most recently, Prism Notes was updated on October 17, 2026 and Readium on October 15, 2026.

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