Comparison

Spine vs expt

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

Head to head
About

Spine

Features
Read full description

Read a chapter. Copy it cleanly. Continue in the language model you already use. Spine is a focused EPUB reader for people who want to read alongside an LLM without putting AI inside the bookshelf. One tap copies the current chapter as clean plain text, with the book, author, and chapter title included. Select a passage when you only need a smaller excerpt. Prefer to listen? Spine reads aloud with Apple voices installed on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Choose a voice and adjust its rate, pitch, and volume—without a voice account or a cloud reader. Your library stays private. Spine has no built-in model, requires no account, and does not upload book content. What you copy is yours to paste wherever you choose. Spine also includes: - EPUB 2 and EPUB 3 support - Chapter navigation and in-chapter search - Reading-position restoration - Bookmarks and inline notes - Adjustable type, size, and line spacing - Drag-and-drop and system document opening - Guardrails for unusually large or malformed files Spine reads DRM-free EPUB files. It does not decrypt DRM-protected books.

About

expt

A beautiful, distraction-free reader for all your local files, including EPUBs, PDFs, comics, and text documents. Organize your library, track reading progress, and enjoy a focused reading experience with customizable themes and layouts.

Highlights
  • Read EPUB, PDF, CBZ, CBR, TXT, CSV, code files
  • Customizable reader themes and typography
  • Distraction-free reading mode
  • Library organization with series and tags
  • Reading progress tracking and stats
  • iCloud sync for reading positions
  • 100% local file storage
Features
Read full description

expt is a beautiful, distraction-free reader for all your local files. Import EPUBs, PDFs, comics, text files, and more — everything opens in a clean, focused reading experience designed for deep reading. **Read Everything** • EPUB books with chapter navigation and search • PDF documents with native rendering • CBZ and CBR comic archives with page-turn viewer • Plain text, Markdown, CSV, code files, and HTML • ZIP archives with image grid browser **Designed for Reading** • Six reader themes: Light, Sepia, Dark, Solarized, Nord, Ink • Adjustable font, size, line height, and margins • Distraction-free mode hides all chrome • Reading progress tracked automatically **Organize Your Library** • Create series to group related files in reading order • Label and filter files by type, status, or custom tags • Search across your entire library by title or author • Track reading streaks and daily stats **Built for Apple** • Native iOS design with dark and light mode • iPad support with adaptive layouts • iCloud sync for reading positions across devices • Text-to-speech with language detection **Your Files, Your Device** • 100% local — no cloud storage, no accounts, no tracking • Import via Files app, Share Sheet, or drag and drop • Files stay on your device in the app sandbox

Screenshots

Spine1 screens
expt4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: expt at 15.1 against Spine's 26.0. On price, ads, 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.

Scorecard1 real difference · 7 level
Spine versus expt: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpineexpt
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThought Tides LLCArthur Park

In-app purchases

None

Spine

No in-app purchases

None

expt

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Spine free?
Spine is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is expt free?
expt is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Spine or expt have ads?
Neither Spine nor expt shows ads.

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