Comparison

PageWave vs StareWatch

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

Head to head
About

PageWave

Organize and enjoy your personal audiobook and eBook collection with a clean, modern interface. Track reading progress, set daily goals, and access your library across Apple devices via iCloud or your own WebDAV server.

Highlights
  • Import audiobooks and eBooks
  • Organize library with series view
  • Track listening/reading progress
  • Personal Reading List
  • Bookmarks with notes
  • Daily reading goals
  • iCloud and WebDAV sync
Features
Read full description

PageWave – where books belong. PageWave brings order, clarity, and joy to your book collection. Import your own audiobooks and eBooks, organize them at a glance, and enjoy them in a clean, elegant design. PageWave is made for people who like to own their content but still want a modern app experience. Your library and progress sync automatically across your Apple devices via iCloud — start on your iPhone and pick up seamlessly on your iPad, no manual transfer required. Or store your library on your own WebDAV server (NAS, Nextcloud, etc.). Features • Import your own audiobooks (MP3, M4B, M4A, WAV, FLAC, and more) and eBooks (EPUB, PDF) • Organized library with a book series view • Powerful search – finds chapter titles, descriptions, and other metadata • Listening and reading progress automatically saved for each book • Personal reading list – plan what to read next • Bookmarks with notes and colors for audiobooks and eBooks • Text search within the eBook reader – search by chapter or the entire book • Companion PDFs for audiobooks – booklets, sheet music, or scripts right alongside the book • Widgets for Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Mac – includes playback controls directly in the widget • Siri & Shortcuts: start books and entire series via voice, control playback, check daily goals • Daily reading goal with reminders and a confetti celebration upon completion • Detailed reading statistics – updated in real-time, featuring streaks and reading trends • PageWave Rewind: your reading year presented as an animated "Stories" slideshow • Chapter and track navigation, adjustable playback speed • Sleep timer with fixed times, custom duration, or "until end of chapter" • Magic Metadata: relevant book info automatically added during import • PageWave on Apple Watch: access the first three audiobooks on your reading list right on your wrist • iCloud synchronization for your library, progress, and settings • WebDAV support for personal servers – NAS, Nextcloud, etc. • Automatic cover art extraction from file metadata (ID3, MP4 atoms, EPUB) or via JPEG/PNG • Optional metadata import via JSON file (title, author, series, etc.) • Available in German, English, French, and Italian Activation To unlock the full feature set, a purchase is required — available as a one-time in-app purchase or a subscription. Audiobooks and eBooks themselves cannot be purchased or subscribed to within the app. Privacy PageWave does not process personal data beyond what's needed for the app to function. That data stays local on your device or — if enabled — in your iCloud account or on your own WebDAV server. PageWave has no backend of its own. The books shown in the screenshots are sample content and are not part of the app. End User License Agreement (EULA) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy https://pyritapps.ch/en/privacy-policy-en/ Support https://pyritapps.ch/en/support-en/

About

StareWatch

Upload your EPUB ebooks to your iPhone and read them on your Apple Watch using a unique RSVP format optimized for the smaller screen. This app allows for efficient reading directly from your wrist.

Highlights
  • EPUB ebook support
  • iPhone to Apple Watch syncing
  • RSVP reading format
  • Watch-optimized viewing
  • Direct wrist reading
Features
Read full description

If you own ebooks in EPUB format, upload them to the app on your iPhone, and send them to the companion app on your Apple Watch. Click the book and read in "RSVP" format, specifically designed for watch viewing!

Screenshots

PageWave4 screens
StareWatch1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: StareWatch at 5.0 against PageWave's 2.0. StareWatch also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). PageWave's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 months) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ratings volume and ads 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. PageWave sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. StareWatch asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StareWatch holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PageWave ships an update weekly, StareWatch every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
PageWave versus StareWatch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPageWaveStareWatch
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLars Arnetawabi

Customer experience

PageWave

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

StareWatch

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

PageWave

Subscriptions2
  • PageWave Month1 Month trial$0.991 Month
  • PageWave Year1 Month trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • PageWave Lifetime$59.99
None

StareWatch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PageWave free?
PageWave is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StareWatch free?
StareWatch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PageWave or StareWatch?
StareWatch is rated higher. PageWave averages 2.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while StareWatch averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do PageWave or StareWatch have ads?
Neither PageWave nor StareWatch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PageWave or StareWatch?
PageWave ships an update weekly, and StareWatch every 6 months. Most recently, PageWave was updated on October 24, 2026 and StareWatch on October 13, 2026.

Other comparisons