Comparison

Smart Notes vs CastReader

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

Head to head
About

Smart Notes

This intelligent notebook uses AI to capture, organize, and retrieve your notes. It offers voice transcription, document scanning, and smart summarization to help you manage ideas and tasks effortlessly.

Highlights
  • AI-powered voice recording and transcription
  • Document and whiteboard scanning with OCR
  • Automatic note categorization and tagging
  • Summarize notes and generate action items
  • Convert notes to tasks and reminders
  • Collaboration and sharing features
  • iCloud sync across devices
Features
Read full description

Smart Notes: AI Note-Taker — the intelligent notebook that captures, organizes, and retrieves your notes effortlessly. AI-POWERED CAPTURE • Voice recording with automatic transcription • Document and whiteboard scanning (OCR) • Text notes with rich formatting • Import from photos and files SMART ORGANIZATION • AI automatically categorizes and tags notes • Full-text search across all content • Folders, notebooks, and smart collections • Color-coded labels and priorities PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS • Convert notes to tasks and reminders • Collaboration and sharing • Export to PDF, Word, or plain text • iCloud sync across all devices AI ASSISTANT • Summarize long notes with one tap • Generate action items from meeting notes • Translate notes to other languages • Ask questions about your notes Perfect for students, professionals, and anyone who wants to capture ideas without losing them. Download Smart Notes and never forget an important thought again. Privacy Policy: https://cantonallc.com/about/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://cantonallc.com/about/terms/

About

CastReader

This app transforms your reading into an audio experience with natural voices and synced highlighting. It offers AI-powered explanations for complex passages, making difficult texts easier to understand. Listen to books, documents, and web pages while on the go.

Highlights
  • Listen to Kindle books, PDFs, EPUBs
  • AI explanations for complex text
  • Synced highlighting with read-aloud
  • Auto-scroll and resume progress
  • Background and lock-screen playback
  • Supports web pages, photos, and pasted text
Features
Read full description

Read your own books aloud. CastReader turns PDF and EPUB books, web articles, and documents into speech, with text highlighting that helps you follow every word. Listen while you commute, study, or give your eyes a break. READ ALOUD AND FOLLOW ALONG Hear the original text in natural voices while the spoken words are highlighted and the page scrolls automatically. Read a chapter, review study notes, or listen to text recognized from a photo. Keep your place with both sound and text. UNDERSTAND WITH AI EXPLAIN For a difficult passage, listen to an AI-generated explanation. CastReader reads the explanation while marking the original with highlights, circled terms, and numbered steps, so you can connect each idea to the source. BRING YOUR OWN CONTENT - Camera or photo: recognize printed text - Web: open a URL and start listening - Files: PDF, EPUB, TXT, DOCX, and images - Paste: turn copied text into speech instantly - Kindle: connect your Kindle library and continue reading - Listen to YouTube: share or paste a public video link and hear its public captions with synchronized highlighting For Listen to YouTube, only public videos with accessible captions are supported. Videos requiring sign-in, age verification, membership, regional access, or private access cannot be read. CastReader does not play, download, or retain YouTube video or audio streams; speech is generated from caption text. CastReader is not affiliated with or endorsed by YouTube. ON IPHONE AND IPAD Use the layouts built for iPhone and iPad, in portrait or landscape. The Safari extension reads web pages with highlighting and automatic scrolling. Enable it in Safari settings and allow access to the pages you want to read. 32 READING LANGUAGES The international app now reads Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi (Gurmukhi) and Tamil, in addition to the existing 28 languages. The interface remains available in 28 languages. China services support 9 reading languages. Voice options and cloning support vary by language and region. FREE AND CASTREADER PRO Use CastReader free every day. Choose a monthly or annual Pro subscription for unlimited reading with standard voices, unlimited AI explanations, premium voice access, and playback speeds up to 3x. Cloned voices require Pro and use a separate allowance: 120 minutes per monthly allowance period. Optional 120-minute top-up packs add cloned-voice time without extending Pro. Local prices, billing periods, and renewal terms are shown in App Store before purchase. Voice and feature availability may vary by region. Dark mode and background playback are supported. Supported languages use Apple’s on-device OCR. Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi and Tamil use Google cloud OCR: images are sent for recognition through the international service after sign-in. Accuracy varies by language and image quality. Local reading history stays on your device; connected services handle their account and reading data under their own policies. Support for iPhone Duo: unfold for a roomier reading view, then fold back while keeping your place. Read Aloud and AI Explain adapt to the available space. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Smart Notes4 screens
CastReader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: CastReader at none against Smart Notes's shown. CastReader also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Smart Notes's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). On price, 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. Smart Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and CastReader sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Smart Notes ships an update monthly, CastReader every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Smart Notes versus CastReader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSmart NotesCastReader
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.8 (41 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—96.8% of reviews
Number of ratings—41 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size81 MB164 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMods Addonsohsame Inc

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Smart Notes

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Plan$0.997 Days
  • Monthly Plan$3.991 Month
  • Yearly Plan$19.991 Year
5 purchases

CastReader

Subscriptions4
  • CastReader Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • CastReader Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • CastReader Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$34.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • CastReader Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time1
  • 120 Clone Voice Minutes$2.99

Questions

Is Smart Notes free?
Smart Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CastReader free?
CastReader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Smart Notes or CastReader have ads?
Smart Notes shows ads; CastReader does not.
Which is updated more often, Smart Notes or CastReader?
Smart Notes ships an update monthly, and CastReader every 2 days. Most recently, Smart Notes was updated on October 24, 2026 and CastReader on October 28, 2026.

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