Comparison

Storyarium vs MagicReader

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

Head to head
About

Storyarium

Features
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Twelve magical worlds. A growing library of beautifully illustrated comics. And bedtime stories that star your own child — read aloud, in seconds. Comictopia is a safe, ad-free reading world built for ages 4+. EXPLORE TWELVE WORLDS Pirate Adventure Ā· Superhero City Ā· The Detective Agency Ā· Wild West World Explorer Ā· Firehouse Heroes Ā· Maplewood School Ā· Glimmerstone Woodland Warren Ā· Enchanted Kingdom Ā· Sunny Farm Ā· Paws & Whiskers Four gentle worlds for ages 4–6, eight bigger adventures for ages 7 and up. Each has its own characters, its own comics and its own stories — so whichever kind of hero your child loves, there's a world waiting. New ones every month. A REAL LIBRARY OF COMICS Not clip art. Beautifully illustrated, properly told comic adventures your child can sit down and read cover to cover — the kind that turns a reluctant reader into one who asks for "just one more". New comics regulary added. BEDTIME STORIES, READ ALOUD Choose a world, add your child's name, and get a custom bedtime story starring them in seconds. Perfect for the nights when you're too tired to invent one — and for the nights when you want to read it together. BUILT FOR PARENTS TOO - No ads. Ever. - No links out, no chat, nothing to buy inside the story - Word-by-word highlighting helps early readers follow along - Works offline once downloaded — good for cars, planes and bedtime - One subscription covers the whole family WHY PARENTS CHOOSE COMICTOPIA Most story apps give you a generator. Comictopia gives your child somewhere to go — twelve worlds, a growing library, and something new every week. It's the difference between a toy and a bookshelf. Ages 4+. Ad-free. Cancel anytime. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

MagicReader

Features
Read full description

Read without touching the screen. MagicReader is a hands-free reader for EPUB, PDF and comics: turn your head, wave a hand, wink, or just say "next page" — and the page turns. Or sit back and let a natural voice read to you. Whether your hands are busy, wet, full, or simply resting — or touching the screen is difficult for you — MagicReader keeps the story going. NEW: OPENS LIKE A REAL BOOK • Ready for iPhone Duo — unfold it and your book becomes a two-page spread, with the spine right on the fold • Landscape reading — two pages side by side on iPad and most iPhones, for EPUB, PDF and comics, including vertical Japanese books • Flip page turns — pages turn over like paper and follow your finger • Split View on iPad and iPhone Duo TOUCH-FREE READING • Head control — turn your head left or right to flip pages; look up to open or close a book • Wink control — wink your right eye to go forward, your left to go back (Face ID devices) • Hand control — a cursor follows your hand; close your hand to grab a book, swipe from the screen edge to flip • Voice control — say "next", "back", "open", "read aloud" and more, in English, Japanese, Spanish, French or German • A guided tour teaches every gesture with live practice NATURAL READ-ALOUD • Natural, expressive voices read your EPUB books aloud — in English and Japanese • The sentence being spoken is highlighted, and pages turn in step with the narration • English narration powered by Kokoro; Japanese voices powered by VOICEVOX (VOICEVOX:No.7, VOICEVOX:å››å›½ć‚ćŸć‚“, VOICEVOX:é’å±±é¾ę˜Ÿ, VOICEVOX Nemo) • Books in Spanish, French and German are read by your device's system voice for that language, with nothing to download • Natural voices are downloaded once, then work fully offline — all speech is generated on your device YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY • EPUB and PDF books, plus CBZ/CBR comics and manga • Beautiful animated bookshelf themes — drifting watercolour clouds, a starry cosmos, and story worlds that come alive behind special books • Japanese vertical text (ēø¦ę›øć) done right, with optional automatic furigana (ćµć‚ŠćŒćŖ) above kanji • Comfortable reading themes, adjustable fonts (including OpenDyslexic for dyslexia-friendly reading), and remembered positions THOUSANDS OF FREE CLASSICS • Browse and download public-domain classics from Project Gutenberg and Aozora Bunko (é’ē©ŗę–‡åŗ«) — from Alice in Wonderland to éŠ€ę²³é‰„é“ć®å¤œ — right inside the app PRIVATE BY DESIGN • The camera and microphone are used only to recognize your gestures and commands, entirely on your device • Nothing is recorded, nothing is uploaded, and there are no accounts, no ads, and no tracking — ever MagicReader began in 2012 as one of the first face-controlled book readers on the App Store. It has been rebuilt from the ground up for today's devices — same magic, new tricks. Reading is best when nothing comes between you and the story. Not even your hands.

Screenshots

Storyarium4 screens
MagicReader2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MagicReader at none against Storyarium's 1. MagicReader also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Storyarium sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. MagicReader asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Storyarium ships an update every 2 months, MagicReader monthly. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
Storyarium versus MagicReader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStoryariumMagicReader
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIconic DigitalLeo Rivas-Micoud

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Storyarium

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription$3.991 Month
None

MagicReader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Storyarium free?
Storyarium is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MagicReader free?
MagicReader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Storyarium or MagicReader have ads?
Neither Storyarium nor MagicReader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Storyarium or MagicReader?
Storyarium ships an update every 2 months, and MagicReader monthly. Most recently, Storyarium was updated on October 31, 2026 and MagicReader on October 31, 2026.

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