Comparison

GlowWords vs Close Reader

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

Head to head
About

GlowWords

Enhance your reading and vocabulary with an AI English tutor. Import EPUB books, translate words, and review new vocabulary with flashcards. Practice conversation with an AI tutor for real-time feedback and corrections.

Highlights
  • EPUB reader
  • Parallel translation
  • AI English tutor
  • Vocabulary practice
  • Flashcards
  • Imported books
  • Reading progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Turn the words you read into words you can use. GlowWords brings EPUB reading, vocabulary practice and an AI English tutor together in one focused space. PRACTISE WITH MAYA Have a live voice conversation with an illustrated AI tutor. Talk about everyday life, travel, work or books. Get a correction, ask why, hear an example and try again. Live captions and typed replies help you keep going. Maya is AI, not a real person, and can make mistakes. READ AT YOUR OWN PACE Import EPUB books or explore the built-in library. Translate selected words, ask for an explanation and save vocabulary from what you read. Your imported books, reading progress and saved words stay on your device. MAKE NEW WORDS STICK Review saved vocabulary with flashcards and exercises. Follow your reading and learning progress without losing your place in a book. A NEW AFTER HOURS LOOK A warm, dark reading-and-speaking workspace, with clearer navigation and controls. YOU CONTROL THE CONVERSATION Online AI features require a GlowWords account and consent. You can mute the microphone, end a lesson or withdraw AI consent. Audio and selected text are processed by OpenAI; offline reading remains available. GLOWWORDS PLUS Optional auto-renewing subscriptions remove ads and the daily translation quota. Request-rate and shared service-capacity limits still apply. Tutor access is limited to six 5-minute lesson starts per account per day, subject to availability. The purchase screen shows the localized monthly price. No free trial is offered; payment starts when you subscribe. Payment is charged to your Apple Account on confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Apple Account subscription settings. Privacy: https://formhelm.com/glowwords/privacy/en/ Terms: https://booklingo-legal-9df066.gitlab.io/terms/en/

About

Close Reader

Features
Read full description

Close Reader is an e-book reader for iPhone and iPad that helps you read any book, in a foreign language or in your own. Press and hold a word for a translation that fits the sentence, and save it to flashcards. Forgot where you left off? Get a recap of what you’ve read so far. Ask the AI who a character is, what a passage means or what lies behind an event, even where the book has no footnote. It knows the book only up to your page, so there are no spoilers. At a glance • Your own books: EPUB, FB2, MOBI, AZW3, PDF and TXT (DRM-free), from Files, Mail or a messenger, or from your OPDS library (Calibre, Kavita, Komga). No store, no sign-up. • Books in any language; translations into more than 40 languages; the app itself speaks 20. • Free to download and read. AI help is free for your first 7 days (1,500 energy, no account), then runs on a plan or energy you buy; Medium starts with a 7-day free trial. • iPhone and iPad, in sync if you sign in. • No ads. Your text isn’t stored or used to train AI models. Help right where you stumble • Hold a word: the translation fits this very sentence. Reading in your own language? You get a plain definition. • Drag the handles to take in a phrase, or translate the whole sentence or paragraph. • Select a name: “Who’s this?” reminds you who that character or place is, from the pages you’ve read, and where they first appeared. • “Explain” gives the background of a passage: history, allusions, idioms and old-fashioned phrasing. • Questions about real history or the author get answers from the web, with sources. No spoilers Every answer comes from what you’ve read, up to the last line on your screen. In “No spoilers” mode we don’t even tell the AI which book it is, so it can’t fill in the plot from memory. Rereading? Switch to “Whole book”. Talk the book over • Ask for a recap, who’s who, or why a character did what they did. “Detailed answer” goes deeper. • Ask where something happened: the answer lists the places, and a tap opens the book there. • Answers link to the passages they rely on. Keep several chats per book; your notes can come along. • Chapters you’ve read have recaps, and rings in the contents show how much of each you’ve read. Learn the words you meet • “Save word” keeps a word with its translation and the sentence where you met it. • Flashcards adapt to your memory, with a daily reminder. Vocabulary exports to CSV. Find your way, keep what matters • The slider is a map of the book: chapters, bookmarks, notes and the time left in the chapter. • Jump anywhere to look around: your reading place stays put, and one tap takes you back. • Search the book. Footnotes open over the page, pictures full screen. • Highlights, notes, quotes shared as pictures, saved AI answers, bookmarks and “I’m here”. Notes export to Markdown. Easy on the eyes Four themes, fonts, text size and line spacing; pages or scrolling; portrait or landscape, with a two-page spread on a wide screen. Energy and plans AI help runs on energy: translating a word costs 1, and bigger requests show their price first. Reading, notes and flashcards are always free. Every feature is on every plan: Light, Medium and Max give 15,000, 40,000 and 80,000 energy a month, enough for everyday help plus about 25, 70 or 150 detailed answers. Extra energy you buy never expires. Subscriptions Light, Medium and Max are auto-renewing subscriptions, billed monthly or yearly. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in Settings > your name > Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://closereader.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://closereader.app/privacy

Screenshots

GlowWords4 screens
Close Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

GlowWords and Close Reader are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. GlowWords sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Close Reader sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
GlowWords versus Close Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGlowWordsClose Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB61 MB
Age rating+129+
DeveloperViktorya HovhannisyanIlia Ilinskii

In-app purchases

4 purchases

GlowWords

Subscriptions4
  • GlowWords Plus7 Days trial2 variants$2.991 Month
  • GlowWords Plus$2.991 Month
  • GlowWords Plus – 3 months7 Days trial$5.993 Months
Show 1 more
  • GlowWords Plus Yearly7 Days trial$17.991 Year
8 purchases

Close Reader

Subscriptions6
  • Light – monthly$4.991 Month
  • Medium – monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Max – monthly$19.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Light – yearly$39.991 Year
  • Medium – yearly7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Max – yearly$149.991 Year
One-time2
  • 10,000 energy$2.99
  • 30,000 energy$6.99

Questions

Is GlowWords free?
GlowWords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Close Reader free?
Close Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do GlowWords or Close Reader have ads?
Both GlowWords and Close Reader show ads.
Which is updated more often, GlowWords or Close Reader?
GlowWords ships an update every 3 weeks, and Close Reader every 3 weeks. Most recently, GlowWords was updated on November 5, 2026 and Close Reader on November 10, 2026.

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