Comparison

Enve vs Issa Reader

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

Head to head
About

Enve

Features
Read full description

Bring every part of your reading life together with Enve Book Player, a private, flexible home for audiobooks, ebooks, comics, and podcasts. Use the files you already own, connect the self-hosted services you already run, and move naturally between listening and reading. Enve does not sell books or lock features behind a subscription. It is built around your library. LISTEN YOUR WAY Stream or download audiobooks and podcast episodes for offline listening. Navigate chapters, add bookmarks, adjust playback speed, customize skip intervals, and fall asleep with a sleep timer that gently fades the audio. A 10-band equalizer lets you shape narration for your headphones, speakers, or car. AirPlay, background audio, lock-screen controls, CarPlay, widgets, and the Apple Watch companion keep playback close at hand. Optional sleep insights can use read-only Apple Health sleep data to identify when you may have fallen asleep and offer to rewind your audiobook. Health information is processed on your device and is never sent to Enve. READ YOUR WAY Open EPUB and PDF books in a focused reader with adjustable fonts, type size, line spacing, margins, justification, themes, and page-turn behavior. Per-book settings remember how you like each title to look. Listen with text to speech, highlight passages, write notes, build vocabulary lists, and export your work to Markdown, Obsidian, or Anki-compatible formats. When a compatible ebook and audiobook can be paired, Enve can create a read-along experience that follows the narration through the text. Storyteller integration and on-device StoryAlign provide deeper synchronized reading on supported devices. ONE LIBRARY, MANY SOURCES Connect Audiobookshelf, Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, Grimmory, BookOrbit, Silo, Storyteller, Komga, Kavita, OPDS, WebDAV, Premiumize, Real-Debrid, or local files. Enve combines books from different sources into one library while preserving where each item came from. Browse by books, series, authors, narrators, or genres. Filter by source, media type, progress, and download state. Create collections by hand or build smart collections that update automatically. Enve can recognize related editions and keep audiobook and ebook versions of the same work together. PODCASTS WITHOUT ANOTHER APP Discover podcasts, add an RSS feed, follow shows, download episodes, and keep podcast listening beside your books. Continue-listening queues make it easy to return to unfinished episodes. SYNC ON YOUR TERMS Keep progress with supported services including Audiobookshelf, Plex, Storyteller, Grimmory, Komga, Kavita, BookOrbit, Silo, KOReader/KOSync, and Hardcover. Optional iCloud sync can keep Enve progress available across your Apple devices. Enve does not operate an account service or route your library through an Enve server. YOUR READING JOURNAL Track listening and reading time, completed books, weekly goals, streaks, and long-term history. Keep bookmarks, highlights, notes, vocabulary, and progress connected to each book, with export options for the tools you already use. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Enve has no advertising, behavioral tracking, or analytics. There is no hosted Enve account. Server credentials are stored securely in the iOS Keychain. Your media and activity remain on your device or travel directly to services you choose. FREE, WITH EVERY FEATURE There is no subscription or paid feature tier. The optional Tip Jar supports development but does not unlock content or functionality. Enve does not include or sell books, audiobooks, comics, or podcasts. A compatible self-hosted service, podcast feed, or your own lawfully obtained media files are required for content. Some features require a supported service, device, or iOS version.

About

Issa Reader

This app synchronizes your ebooks with audiobooks from a self-hosted server, allowing seamless transitions between reading and listening. It features a native typesetting engine, customizable reading options, and advanced playback controls for an immersive experience.

Highlights
  • Seamless read-to-listen transition
  • Native typesetting engine
  • Customizable reading faces and themes
  • Variable speed audiobook playback
  • CarPlay integration
  • Offline library access
  • Home Screen widget
Features
Read full description

Issa Reader is a native reader for Storyteller, the self-hosted server that lines an ebook up with its audiobook so you can move between reading and listening without losing your place. REQUIRES A STORYTELLER SERVER Issa Reader is a client, not a bookshop. It has no catalogue of its own and nothing to sell you. Point it at a Storyteller server you run, sign in, and read your own library. Without a server, there is nothing here to show you. READ A real typesetting engine, not a web view. Pages are laid out natively, so turning one is instant and the type is properly set. Six bundled reading faces, including Literata, Source Serif 4 and OpenDyslexic, or add a font of your own. Four page themes for daylight, lamplight and the middle of the night. Size, line spacing and justification are yours to set, per book or for everything. LISTEN Variable speed with pitch correction, chapter and sentence navigation, skip controls, a sleep timer, and full Now Playing support on the Lock Screen and in Control Centre. READ ALONG This is what Storyteller is for. Where a book has narration aligned to its text, the words light up as they are spoken, the page turns itself to follow, and tapping any line starts the narrator there. Stop reading, keep listening, and pick up on the same sentence — the two stay in step. IN THE CAR CarPlay gives you your shelves and chapters as proper lists, with Now Playing and a resume that lands on the sentence you left, not somewhere near it. Steering-wheel buttons, headphone controls and on-screen controls can each be remapped independently, so the same button can do different things in different places. YOUR WHOLE LIBRARY, ON DEVICE The catalogue is fetched once and kept locally, so searching by title, author, narrator, series or tag is instant and works with no signal at all. Shelves are built on your device from what you actually have. Download books to read and listen offline. ON EVERY SCREEN A Home Screen widget with your current book, chapter and progress. Native apps for Apple TV and the Mac are included with the same purchase, and Handoff carries your place between them. BUILT FOR THESE PLATFORMS Written in Swift for iPhone and iPad, using the system's own text engine, audio stack and accessibility support throughout. Dynamic Type, VoiceOver and reduced motion are respected, not retrofitted. Issa Reader is an independent client and is not affiliated with the Storyteller project.

Screenshots

Enve4 screens
Issa Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Enve at 17.0 against Issa Reader's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Enve ships an update every 5 days, Issa Reader every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Enve versus Issa Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEnveIssa Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size75 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIsaac LambBenjamin Issa

In-app purchases

None

Enve

No in-app purchases

None

Issa Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Enve free?
Enve is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Issa Reader free?
Issa Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Enve or Issa Reader have ads?
Neither Enve nor Issa Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Enve or Issa Reader?
Enve ships an update every 5 days, and Issa Reader every 3 days. Most recently, Enve was updated on October 11, 2026 and Issa Reader on October 18, 2026.

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